Wɑɬomi ðɛmɛk'

wɑɬomi ðɛmɛk' (Striped Shore-deer): A medium sized amphibious herbivore, they graze on the turbulent shorelines of the open coast.

## Biology

Adults stand at ~4 ðɛmɪ at the shoulder. While pattern and colouring vary widely across the different species, most are darker and dull blues and purples, with light undersides and darker backs. The tail is most often bright white and may be barred with black or another dark colour. Most have some form of stripes, but some are spotted or lack any markings. The young often look very different to the adults, and closely match the short mottled vegetation that grows between the wave battered rocks of the shoreline, while still having the bright tail fan that they hide under themselves unless needed.

While they lack pinna (ear flaps), their conical head is dotted with sensitive divots that allow them to pinpoint the direction of a sound both above and below water. The heads of the young are more rounded and have fewer divots, with the head growing longer and developing more divots with age. The neck is S-shaped and very flexible, and in combination with their dense, short feathers, it can appear that they can lengthen and shorten their neck.

Their legs are long, and can appear disproportionate on juveniles especially. They end with four-toed, clawed feet with webbing in between the 2nd and 3rd, and 3rd and 4th digits. The first digit is shorter and placed in opposition to the other three. They are nimble climbers with ability to navigate on the slippery rocks along the shore, and surprisingly fast swimmers. While they can dive they rarely go deeper than 30 ðɛmɪ, preferring to graze on the fast growing tips of the kelp plants that most animals in the area avoid due to the faster and more dangerous water closer to the surface. They lack teeth in the front of their mouth, instead possessing a self-sharpening beak to snip off bits of foliage before chewing them with their grinding molars.

They most often live in small herds of 6-2012, with each herd laying claim to a small region of the coast. There is no real system of dominance within the herd, with each individual either following another or doing their own thing to their own preference. While relatively peaceful among themselves in periods of high food abundance, and generally living in larger herds during those times, they can become territorial in periods of low food abundance. Herds tend to split up and become protective of increasingly smaller sections of coastline. While disputes mostly consist of ritualised displays – fanning their tail out, vocalisation, and mock charges, occasionally they will be more physical in nature. These fights consist of charging into head-butts, and attempts to kick, bite, and scratch the other individual in addition to vocalisation and tail fanning.

ðɛmɛk' exhibit a high degree of parental care, with a single offspring born in a high degree of development once a year. In closely-knit herds, the raising of offspring can be very communal in nature, providing milk to any juvenile, regardless of relation, and even adopting the young of a deceased herd-members. In less bonded herds, young are often raised individually, with adoptions only taking place if the adult’s own offspring has died. The young are often left on the shore for at least the first month or so of life, either in a pile protected by an adult baby-sitter, or alone while the parents graze off-shore. The young reach independence at about 6 months, and usually have their first offspring at the end of their first year of life.