#desert creature

Handsome little thief

I present to you the Başak, one of the many creatures of my Bestiarium Project!

Ideally im thinking on making the entire thing into a book, with the first tome being focused on a desertic environment. Its been fun using some of the knowledge from my biology studies ( tho i did marine bio, so not completely applicable haha)

This little creature is meant to fill the niche of a fossorial mustelid, like a mongoose.

Other critters:

Kandze

If you don’t love him a lot, please leave me alone.

He is the Yellow Desert Mongoose — sometimes called the Red Meerkat. He is smöl, weighing in at only 1lb averagely, so you must be kind to him.

When threatened by predators, he screams and then farts. Yes, really. But, sometimes it really do be like that.

While comfortable at home in the burrows — where flatulence is no longer necessary, and actually quite rude — he often cohabitates with Cape Ground Squirells or Suricates. Everyone needs a best friend.

But the most important observation of the Yellow Desert Mongoose... is that he’s a hopeless romantic. Their colonies revolve around a mating pair, like a Renee Zellweiger Hallmark special, and succeed in a hierarchy of age from there on.

Yet again, it’s that special time of year - tarantula mating season in California 🎉! Tarantulas are normally nocturnal, but in autumn, males emerge during the day to look for a mate. It’s not uncommon to see them crossing the trail while hiking.

Unknown beetle found near Deming, New Mexico.