Avijotun

## ***Basic Information:***

***Pronunciation:*** Ah-V-joe-ton

***Common Name:*** *Rostrumcum gigantes* (lit. Giant with a beak)

***Conservation Status:*** Near Threatened

***Height:*** 3m

***Weight:*** 137kg

***Diet:*** Absorbed Nutrients

***Temperament:*** Passive

***Gender:*** None

## ***Physical Appearance:***

The Avijotun is one of the largest animals endemic to the planet **Aurdov**i.

    It has an extended neck, four thick legs, and a clubbed tail. On its back is a spike-like defense mechanism and mossy green colored patches not indigenous to its subspecies, the **Beaked Avijotun****.** They are slightly heavier and taller than their beaked counterparts.

## ***Habitat:***

The Avijotun lives in the cold plains, forests, and hills of Aurdovi.

## ***Ecology:***

### ***Where in the food pyramid?***

The Avijotun is a primary consumer, also known as a herbivore. It is a heterotroph, which means it can't make its own food.

### ***Diet:***

The colossal creature is capable of eating the underbrush it walks through, but is also one of the few creatures currently discovered that can reach into the upper foliage and consume directly from trees. It is capable of absorbing some nutrients through its feet, drinking water by shoveling up snow using the flat "blades" that form the majority of its feet. It will also occasionally crush shrub-like plants that populate Aurdovi, getting extra nutrients, vitamins, and chemicals.

Its favorite foods are the **Aurdovi Rose** and **Frostium Pinesefia**, although it will also eat the **Lizzy Fern**.

### ***Predators:***

The Avijotun has little to fear from the comparatively small predators of Aurdovi, and so it has developed a passive personality, seeming friendly compared to many others in its environment. However, the creature has a strange relationship with the permanent residents of Aurdovi. As many have noticed, a group of Avijotun is beautiful in the wild, but is decidedly less so when that same group is walking through your settlement. Its size also protects it from much of the cold. In fact, it will seek protection only in the worst blizzards the world has to offer. The only other time it enters the caves is when it gives birth, where the parent will keep the young Avijotun until it is strong enough to survive the cold of the outside world.

## ***Behavior:***

The Avijotun travel in herds with the Beaked Avijotun. It is said that the Avijotun's call can be heard from about ten miles away. Specific calls mean different things: a short, almost hoot-like call alerts the herd of incoming danger while a long howl indicates the start of breeding season. The sac on the back of its head acts as a water reserve due to what little rivers and lakes Aurdovi has.

## ***Reproduction:***

They have no specified gender. However, two Avijotun are still required for reproduction. This is thought to be for an increase in genetic diversity. The Avijotun mating rituals are an uncommon sight since it takes place only when separate groups meet one another. The Avijotun then pair up and proceed to make noise by bellowing using the front hollow sac on their neck, stomping, and using their tails to strike whatever is nearby. This process is said to be dangerous for smaller animals, and so researchers have only observed this at a safe distance. Eventually, one of the pair backs down and both move to nearby caves, where the loser uses a special gland, located on the front of the neck, to form an "egg" made of a quick-hardening material. Both parents then release genetic information into this shell and alternate between protecting the egg and journeying to find food. The baby will grow for approximately 11 months, hatching at 1.5 feet on average. The new Avijotun will not leave the cave it was born in for another 11 months, after which, the two parents separate into their respective groups, with the loser of the initial contest taking the child. This parent will not mate again until the child is an adult.

## ***History:***

The Avjiotun were the once crossbred with other animals and then domesticated by **Serenal** and its people as pack animals. As Serenal became extinct, the Avjiotun were set free and became feral once more.

## ***Mythology:***

The Avijotun is sometimes believed to be able to have helped put the the **Pieces of the Sun** in the sky.

## ***Episodes:***

The Avijotun is seen in the following episodes:

**Ep. 7**