Snarlwing

From Mizahar Lore

Snarlwing

Mammal Even with its striking fur, the Snarlwing is a deadly creature.
Frequency	Common
Threat level	Medium-High
Major features	Razor sharp teeth, fangs, and blade-like wingtips.
Abilities	Flying
Most common in	Cyphrus

Snarlwings sometimes called Bladewings are swarming weasel-like creatures that make up an important part of the predator niche in the Cyphrus Grasslands. Primarily nocturnal carrion feeders, the snarlwings only hunt live food when there is a lack of dead and decaying meat lying around. But once they start hunting live food, their sheer numbers can quickly become deadly for unsuspecting campers and travelers. Found in group situations called colonies, Snarlwings tend to burrow into soft sand or soil cliffsides where they create elaborate burrows much like swallows, though on a larger scale. Hunted for their elegant fur and shimmering wing-skin, the Snarlwing population tends to be lower around migratory and caravan routes in Cyphrus. However off route, these predatory fliers can pose a real danger to the wildlife and sentient creatures everywhere.

Physical Characteristics

Snarlwings have a strong resemblance to a weasel in that they have a long, slender, sinuous body, four legs that end in claws, and sharp tri-cusped teeth. They have a long furred tail that is thin and whip-like, often thought to create balance for the creature in flight. Snarlwings come in all colors from white to black, earth tones, and even pale golds and reddish hues. Their wings have a shimmer that preserves in tanning and makes the leather priceless. Their fur is thick and often compared to sea otter, though they are not aquatic dwellers. Snarlwings have large leathery bat-like wings that triple their body size, but make them somewhat vulnerable when they are not in flight because they get in the way of their body movements, as they do not tuck well against their body. Their teeth are long and razorlike while their claws are incredibly sharp and always ivory in color. Their total body weight, when full grown, can be upwards of fifteen to twenty pounds, while their young are born a fifth of their adult size.

Life Cycle

Snarlwings are sexually mature at a year old. The females go into their estrus in the middle of winter during the coldest time. It is at this time that the males allow their testes to descend, produce sperm, and mate with willing females. Once the females are pregnant that the males are mated with, their testicles tend to withdraw into their body cavities and are not seen again for another year. Young are born three to four months later at the very beginning of Summer or end of Spring, and stay with their parents throughout the first year. Snarlwings only produce one offspring (called a pup) a year normally. As a whole, Snarlwings live aproximately ten years. When a colony begins to grow too large to support itself in its local area, the younger members of the colony often split off and form another colony elsewhere.

Social Structure

Snarlwings pair up and stay with their mates until something happens to one of the pair, in which the survivor will seek a new partner. There is no rank within Snarlwing colonies, as each pair digs their own burrows and nests within. Snarlwings are believed to information share much like ravens and crows, and can be seen feasting then returning to a kill-site bringing other creatures to feast. Young are often picked on by older members of the colony and seem submissive until they pair up and mate. Snarlwings tend not to live into advanced age, though if individuals do, they often succumb to members of their own colony feasting on them. The same can be said of infirm or injured creatures.

Special Notes

Snarlwings can occasionally be tamed and made into pets. They are extremely vicious though, so such occurrences are rare and often limited to people with high Animal Husbandry or lore skills related to the Snarlwings. There has never been a kelvic Snarlwing.