#passive creature

Passive creature

a large, shaggy creature with a bright red undercoat and yellowish skin, with what appears to be a sort of camouflaging green 'shag' over their main body. they have six hooved feet, long, floppy ears, and of course, that signature nose from which it gets its name, a large snout like that of a wolf mixed with a cow or mooshroom specially designed for seeking out and uncovering its main food source of long-buried plant matter and seeds. their young are typically a lighter color with larger, rounder heads, and are often referred to as 'snifflets'.

unfortunately, the Sniffer is functionally extinct in the wild, with what remains of the species only appearing thanks to the help of conservationists and the occasional lucky find of an egg in ocean ruins. had it not been for the unique ability to preserve these embryos, the entire species would've been lost to time and speculation. luckily, they are making a comeback, and are surprisingly easy to care for if you have the right materials. 

quite a docile creature, a sniffer is… although mildly unaware of its size. its soft fur more than makes up for this, of course, along with its habit of digging up plants previously thought to be extinct, much to the joy of practically every botanist i know. in any case, the large, lumbering beasts are quite a welcome creature in my field of work.* they tend to be content to just wander around, sniffing for seed pods and the like in dirt, grasses, and moss, laying down flat and using their large snout as a shovel when they think they've found something. they are pretty much always correct on their assumption. this behavior is called 'splooting', and no, i did not pick the name, however fitting it is.

as a 'de-extinct' creature, not much is known about the sniffer biologically speaking. it's theorized to be related to the fossils we will sometimes dig up, but that's mostly speculation, as we've only ever found rib-cages and heads and no limbs, hip bones, or really anything identifying them. as from what we've gathered from the sniffer itself, however… the time period they lived in seemed to have allowed for much larger creatures, and seemingly brighter foliage given the vibrant nature of its coat. the extra set of legs seem to be for weight distribution, as the general size of them probably wouldn't support the animal otherwise. and, as stated before, very docile, though it hasn't yet been determined if this is because all our specimens are raised by humans or if their species is naturally this calm. no one can seem to agree what genus this creature would fall into, with its woolly coat, six limbs, and dinosaur-like appearance. my personal guess is a type of mammal, but for the sake of this work please take this with a grain of salt.

while not officially tamable, the sniffer is one creature that i would quite encourage to keep as a pet, granted you have the room for them. getting one would of course be a bit tricky, given their only living eggs being found in the ruins of buildings in the ocean, but if you can take the time to get one, they make very sweet outdoor pets. and of course, you'd be helping recover a lost species, possibly three if you decide to plant some of the seeds they dig up.

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[fourteen health points]

Passive Creature.

A yellowy-tan, spotted feline, a little bit larger than your average cat, typically with green eyes and a striped tail.

they live primarily in the jungle, avoiding the sparse jungle fields and bamboo forests where there is little cover, preferring to keep to themselves in the dense foliage of their home.

Ocelots are surprisingly skilled hunters for a creature so skittish around humans, these quick animals spend most of their solitary lives hunting flightless birds and the occasional turtle hatchling if the opportunity arises. despite being a food source they are unable to reach, they have also developed a taste for raw fish, such as cod or salmon, and will cautiously approach if you are holding some. they tend to avoid ledges, even though they are quite able to survive most, if not all, long falls perfectly fine. this is theorized to be an instinct that keeps them out of caves and ravines, where they can't find food and would likely starve. like cats, ocelots terrify creepers, and on some occasions*, the phantom. this has yet to be explained by our sciences, however. neither ocelots nor cats seem to be bothered by the presence of these animals.

these rainforest cats seem to have a common ancestor with the tamable feral cats found in villages, and it is speculated that at one time, they would've been a near-identical species, ocelots being considered housepets alongside cats. of course, as time went on, they drifted further and further apart on the evolutionary tree, and the wild ocelot is no longer a truly tamable mob due to their shy nature and unwillingness to live in anything other than the hardest to reach jungles of this world. you can gain their trust, keep them close, but they will forever be wild cats.

if you wish to keep an ocelot, be aware that they are quite different from a housecat. it takes time, and some slight bribery, to get them to trust you enough to even get a lead on them. come prepared with wither raw cod or salmon, and… make sure you are in the right biome… many an adventurer has made the mistake of looking for an ocelot in the wrong type of jungle. how you house them is up to you, but be aware that they can kill animals through fences and doors, so… perhaps don't put your turtle sanctuary or chicken coop next to their home.

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[ten health points]