Name: The Joolaah, roughly translating to “Mother of life” in many fenerox dialects. Description: Long wool and a large protruding horn, the joolaah shares certain aspects with the earthen buffalo, however the joolaah has far longer wool, is taller, thinner and generally more docile. A joolaah's fur (with the exception of sheared joolaah) will have the creature look featureless and unusual, as the fur covers up most of the creatures body. Behaviour: The joolaah is a docile herbivore. Wild joolaah can however be fairly territorial and though they rarely lash out at sentients unless aggravated, they are known to fearlessly chase away predators. Tamability: The joolaah is an easily domesticated species. They are known to simply stay in areas with food and water, so one just has to provide that and they're likely to remain calm and in one place. Additionally, by showing to the joolaah that you are friendly and by building up a trusting relationship will allow you to get close and actually cultivate the creature. The joolaah are known to pass these trusts from generation to generation, and can even distinguish the families of sentients. One test involving joolaah had two participants interact with a joolaah. One treated it well whilst the other poorly. Ten years later and the children of the original participants and the calf of the original joolaah resulted in the calf showing greater affection for the son of the man who had treated it's parent well compared to the other participant. Due to this tenacity to learn and ability to form trusting bonds, joolaah have found their way in use as mounts, workforce and in convoys. A well trained joolaah is highly willing to do their masters bidding, and can easily be taught anything from useful skills to cosmetic tricks. Where is it found?: Across the fenerox homeworld and fenerox settlements. The joolaah is just as common wild (on their homeworld) as it is domesticated. Rarity: Outside of fenerox settlements/their homeplanet, very rare. Otherwise very common. Diet: Herbivore. The joolaah lives by grazing and foraging for roots, shrubs and mushrooms. Products: Joolaah milk: “Joolaah milk is not for drinking,” is a joke many missionaries make upon traveling to fenerox settlements and for obvious reasons. Joolaah milk is incredibly fatty, to the point of its consistency being more akin to porridge than milk. For this reason joolaah milk is almost exclusively used for cooking, in cheese or butter or as a base for medicinal salves. Joolaah wool: Joolaah wool is a thick, soft wool popular for clothes. It's warm and comfortable without being heavy. Some call it the optimal clothing material outside of perfected synthetic fibres. Joolaah meat: Joolaah meat is a staple foodstuff in fenerox culture. Joolaah horn (/bones): Actually an overgrown and fused set of tusks which exit the mouth just under the nose, the horn naturally serves defensive purposes however the fenerox frequently apply its use within tools, decorations, building materials and rituals. A long and arduous process involves hollowing out the horn into an instrument usually used to warn tribes of incoming combat and to raise warrior morale. Reproduction: Standard sexual reproduction. The bull will often mate for life with a single cow, contributing to their docile behaviour. Additionally, multiple bulls will often gang together in order to protect the herd from threat, thus you see the big herds of joolaah. Size: A joolaah can reach top heights upwards of ten feet for males and eight feet for females. Weight: A joolaah can weigh upwards of 700 kilogrammes. Lifespan: Joolaah's usually grow to around 60 years of age. Abilities: Resistant +: Thick wool makes the joolaah almost impenetrable to dust storms. Intimidating +: Their imposing size and tendency to huddle into big herds makes them unappealing targets for predators. Smart +: The joolaah has an incredible memory and capacity to learn. Flaws: Outnumbered -: When caught alone versus a pack of predators a joolaah has very little chance to survive. Hair in my eyes! -: A joolaah's wool will often grow over their eyes. Whilst this helps in dust storms, it can make spotting predators difficult. Other: Gestation: A joolaah calf has a gestation period of almost two years. This means the calf comes out fully capable of walking, running etc. A joolaah cow’s milk is so thick because a calf can gain about a hundred kilogrammes and grow to about five feet within the first month on the mother's milk alone, at which point it'll move over to an adult diet.
