OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a species for characters to fight or adopt
- Image Credit: Here
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: N/A
GENERAL INFORMATION- Name: Dire Badger (Mare katr in Mando'a)
- Designation: semi sentient
- Origins: Wayland
- Average Lifespan: Average life span for Dire Badgers is anywhere from 40 to 60 years.
- Estimated Population: Scattered (Smaller groups or individuals found in many places around the galaxy)
- Description: Dire Badgers are known as fearsome omnivores and are a far cry from their smaller similar looking counterparts. Originating from the planet Wayland these adorable looking mammals can now be found in limited quantities all throughout the galaxy due to intergalactic trade and transport of these animals. They're capable of taking a lot of punishment, have shown repeated bouts of incredible fearlessness and tenacity often going against predators several times it's own size. Mandalorians that have visited Wayland have regarded such creatures with great respect and many have earned a signet from their encounters with the Dire badger.
- Breathes: Type 1
- Average Height of Adults: 2-3 meters
- Average Length of Adults: 4-7 meters
- Skin color: Grey to light pink skin underneath the fur
- Hair color: Black body fur with white to silvery grey striping on the to top of body
- Distinctions: Dire badgers can be noted from other mammals for their long slender bodies. Female Dire badgers are usually around half the size of their male counterparts. They are adorned with black fur that covers their face, legs and underbelly and have some form of white stripping at the top of their bodies. The pattern of this stripe can vary between dire badgers with some showing a solid broad stripe that covers the entire top of the body for example. Rare examples of Dire badgers have completely black fur with no striping. The Dire Badger has a small nose and eyes for it's size, with no protruding ears in order to provide better protection in a fight. They're also known for their long and sharp claws that are used to burrow into the ground.
- Races: N/A
- Force Sensitivity: Non-Sensitive (no members of the species are FS),
- High Survivability- Dire Badgers can take punishment and are hard to critically injure. They have very thick skin and fur that is most concentrated around the neck and underbelly. This skin can be difficult to pierce and hangs loosely meaning that Dire Badgers can be exceptionally maneuverable even when pinned down. Combined with high tolerance for poison means that Dire Badgers can be a challenge to kill to or even injure.
- Cunning- Dire Badgers display high amounts of intelligence. They can improvise tools and display the ability to problem solve.
- Putrid Smell- Dire Badgers can emit a powerful smell from a pair of glands that are used to either mark their territory or to help defend itself. In combat this smell is so powerful that it can disorient and demoralize it's enemy within an area near the Dire badger.
- Limited Mobility- Dire Badgers have short stubby legs in relation to their overall size. As a result this limits how fast it can move and means that it can't quickly disengage from fights. Any fight a Dire Badger engages in is often one to the death as a result.
- Captive Nightmare- Dire Badgers are a challenge to keep in captivity. Often looking for any means of escape and even inventing a few along the way. Dire Badgers kept in captivity can form bonds with their owners but they will also exhibit a distinct personality and will, meaning that it will often act on it's own accord. As a result they can be highly unpredictable and require a high amount of patience and thought to keep.
- Honeyed Addict- Dire Badgers love honey and the larvae in honey. They'll do anything to get to this nectar, even if it means have to endure mass stings, or other threats near the vicinity.
- Diet: [Omnivore] Dire Badgers have been known to feast on a wide variety of plants and animals. They'll eat animals of all types, but usually prefer to hunt creatures of smaller or similar size, as well as forage plants like berries, roots and fruit. Though Dire Badgers will generally eat what is available, and has been shown to burrow for food in the ground it smells, even scavenging and stealing the catches of other larger predators. A Dire Badger's favorite meal though is the larvae found in the hives of honey producing insects such as bees, it'll endure excruciating pain from repeated attacks to feast on this.
- Communication: Dire Badgers typically communicate through deep hoarse grunts and snarls as well as body language. They have been known to also scream as well. Dire Badgers also have a pair of glands that can emit a harsh smell in order to mark their territory to other creatures.
- Technology level: N/A
- Religion/Beliefs: N/A
- General behavior: Dire Badgers typically are raised by their mother for their first few years of their lives. During this period the mother will teach it's child all the essential skills it needs to survive from hunting and burrowing to tree climbing. After that they travel the wild as solitary creatures and will jockey for dominance over an area if it senses a rival Dire Badger. Dire Badgers will generally default to a fight response when threatened and is very dangerous when cornered as a result. Dire Badgers won't back down from most animals and are very daring in a fight causing many larger predators and hunters to flee from the creature as they find fighting it is simply not worth their time. In other words Dire Badgers tend to be blase to danger. Dire Badgers are also incredibly cunning, they've displayed in captivity the ability to use simple tools and problem solving to escape enclosures. Dire Badgers tend to avoid sentients if given the choice and it's been observed that they pick up nocturnal lifestyles in areas where civilization is present.
Dire Badgers are native to the planet Wayland and have evolved outside the influence of advanced civilization until the planet was discovered during the Republic's Second wave of expansion. Initial settlers regarded Dire Badgers as a giant pest, often targeting live stock and proving to be capable of defeating enclosures designed to protect live stock.
Some however saw potential in their use in pest control and would try to transport them to other planets with the purpose having them naturally hunt certain animals, the Dire badgers were valued for their high poison tolerance. It was during this attempt that many would be colonists would realize the folly their ways Dire Badgers found themselves adapting quickly to their new environments on planets all over the galaxy. This would disrupt the natural food chain and create more problems than it was worth. Though efforts were taken to wipe out the new invasive Dire Badger populations they have proved difficult to wipe out and exterminate, existing in limited quantities all over the galaxy.
Another interesting group that interacted with Dire Badgers was Mandalorian Tribes. They were hailed by Mandalorians as fierce opponents and honorable kills. For many hunting a Dire badger was often used as a Mandalorian's Verd'goten or they would earn their signet through battle with one of these beasts. In fact the Dire Badger's current modern name comes from is a direct translation of Mare Katr in Mando'a. Many Dire Badgers were were brought to Mandalorian worlds for the purpose of taming or hunting. Mandalorians were often one of the few peoples with the patience to try and raise Dire Badgers and use them, with their unique personality and attitude often looked upon as a positive trait amongst Mandalorians.
Nowadays though Dire Badgers have a fabled reputation. Their never back down attitude to the face of danger having become a collective and idealized trait, and often stories over exaggerate the capabilities of the Dire Badger. They are now as Revered as they are dreaded, thanks partly to modified nature documentary footage found on the Holonet. While sadly some Traditionally Mandalorian worlds have thought to have seen the complete extinction of their Dire Badger populations as part of the The Sith Empire's totalitarian control of the worlds. Though there are rumors in the rebuilding of these worlds that Dire Badger's have been seen roaming the land again.
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