Post by !Tilly! on Dec 24, 2015 3:55:02 GMT
~Sapient Foxes~
Species Info
Species Info
LATIN NAME: Vulpes sapiens
COMMON NAME: Fox/es, Vixen/s, Dog/s, Kits, Cubs, Pups
LIFESPAN: 10 - 12 years
SEXUAL MATURITY: 2 - 3 years
SIZE: 25-30 inch/63-76 cm at the shoulder
WEIGHT: 4.9 - 31 pounds
DIET: Omnivore [both meat and plants]
ORGANIZATION: Eukarya > Animalia > Chordata > Mammalia > Carnivora > Canidae > Vulpes > Vulpes sapiens
ORIGINAL HABITAT: North America
PRESENT HABITAT: The Red On This Map
Culture Info
~SOCIAL LIFE
Foxes live in fairly large family groups, called either Skulks or Packs, depending on the nature of it.
Skulks are the family version of these groups, usually made up of grandparents, their offspring, their offspring's mates, and their grand-kits. These skulks tend to be more closely knit, since everyone is related in someway. However, these also tend to be smaller: since breeding is restricted to outside foxes, they tend to be much smaller, and more foxes go mateless for longer.
Packs are more complex, non-related groups of foxes. Multiple families live together in this social grouping, and thus these groups tend to be bigger. Depending on the Pack, either the eldest member of the Pack is the leader, or the one with the most desired trait: intelligence, strength, hunting prowess, etc.
In both groups, usually the group is split into four groups; the Leader/s, either a single fox or a mated pair: the adult foxes, usually around 3 years of age: The pregnant/nursing females, whose cubs are too young to be left alone for too long: and the cubs, who are too small to take care of themselves. These can vary between groups, but this is the basis for all of them at the roots. Usually each group has its own culture and rules, unless it lives jointly with another and things are tight enough that they're almost identical to each other, which has been known to happen in more plentiful areas where one can afford to share food and knowledge with an unrelated family/group.
~SOCIAL MANNERISMS
Low Tail, Ears Flat, Back Arched: Submission/respect, usually to a family member or a Leader of a Pack. Can also be communicated as panic or fear, depending on the situation.
Ears Back, Eyes Closed, Mouth Open: Angry, upset, or even jealousy; usually toward those the fox isn't fond of, or if they are threatened by another fox.
Ears Forward, Eyes Wide, Mouth Open: Playful or giddy, most often seen in young kits. This behavior is most common during times of plenty, when there's an abundance of food and life is particularly good.
Tail High, Ears Up, Fur Fluffed: Courtship/flirting. Usually kept for adult foxes, and usually initiated by the vixen side of the party. Depending on the season, some younger cubs might try to copy this, but it usually turns into simple playfighting rather than the usual end for adults. Sometimes this can end in a fight if the wrong message is sent, since during these little "love spats" few words are exchanged.
~DWELLINGS
Depending on the particular foxes and the area they live in, Foxes can have fairly magnificent homes, or simple little holes in the ground; however, these are the most common for the various places they live:
Snow Den: Most common around what would be Canada, northern America, Russia, and on mountains. These are simple and sweet, small little holes in the dirt; usually built into hills, where they have an upward curve to keep any water out. However, the size of the entrance is decieving: the inside can be huge, depending on how many foxes are rooming inside. It could be a tiny chamber meant only for a vixen and her kits, or it could be a massive bubble inside the hill for an entire Skulk, or it could be a chamber with many smaller caves jumping off it for a Pack to house many families.
Stick Dwelling: Most common in forested areas of the world, meaning they could easily be combined with Snow Dens or be on their own entirely as a separate dwelling. This is usually built up from riverside-mud/clay, long sturdy sticks snapped freshly off of trees, and more flexible ones weaved between the big branches to steady it. Leaves are an optional add-on, usually applied by more nervous/paranoid foxes who feel the need to make their dwelling as inconspicuous as possible. These generally vary in size, but rather than Pack size it's usually dependent on how many foxes work together on it. If they want to welcome the rest of their Skulk or Pack into it, then they'll all work together to make it bigger, and thus it will probably fit all of them. However, if a fox is making it for themselves or just them and a single litter, it'll probably hardly be the size of a beaver dam.
Stone Mound: Mostly created, in various forms, anywhere that there is a stream/river/creek with rocks that are small enough to be used. These are equally as complicated as the Stick Dwellings, however, they are less complex to actually construct, as you don't need to hunt too far for materials. Making these, usually a fox will dedicate a certain spot for their dwelling, then pick up multiple large rocks in their mouths at a time, and then start stacking more stones on top of them; between each layer is a thick coating of mud, giving it a sort of mottled look. These dwellings tend to be bigger just because riverside foxes tend to live in bigger groups, due to the advantage of easy pickings via beachcombing! Depending on the weather, some foxes may layer straw/sticks/more mud/leaves all over the outer layer of their mount, just to be certain the weather won't ruin it.
~RELIGIONS
As with any, foxes' beliefs vary greatly from place to place, and even from pack to pack, even if they live directly beside each other territory-wise. However, there are a few staple things in each one:
"Prey" Deity: This is one of the most important deities, as it embodies all of the meat the foxes eat on a daily basis: fish, birds, mice, rats, voles, bats, rabbits, EVERYTHING meat-based. This deity is usually pleased with something violence-related, like fighting for mating rights, playing with prey before killing it, and fighting any applicable animals that come around to threaten them - within reason, of course. If this god is displeased, it's associated with bad hunting and bad fertility in vixens for that particular year.
"Predator" Deity: This is another important one, because this one is the embodiment of all the threats in the world. From coyotes to wolves to bears to snakes, this one controls all the competition for prey the foxes have. This deity is usually pleased when the foxes start eating plants rather than animals, or if they start eating things they wouldn't normally eat out of desperation from the famines it's caused. If this deity is pleased, they will usually revoke their predators for a few years and let the foxes rejuvenate their numbers and lives before sending them on an accidental fasting session again.
*Night Deity: For the most part, this creature is seen as a force of good and order in the world. Foxes, being primarily nocturnal, love the nighttime - and so the deity inhabiting the moon would be their defender, their protector, and perhaps even a parent of their kind. Usually embodied by an owl (of different species, depending on the region), they are symbolized by the moon and kindness, welcoming, and clarity. This deity is usually pleased by the kindness in a fox's heart toward another creature, even if it isn't a fox, but rather another creature entirely! This deity is also very swelled with pride every time a litter is born, a courtship is successful, etc.
*Day Deity: For the most part, this creature is seen as a force of evil and chaos in the world. Foxes, being nocturnal, find it sort of hard to live in daytime, especially if their particular pack never goes out in day and sleeps their sunny hours away in their dens (see: every cat on the planet). The deity inhabiting the sun would be their antagonist and their primary predator, always causing mayhem and hatred throughout the fox population all over the world; this may also be a parent of their kind, depending on how the foxes view their deities. Usually embodied by a weasel or otter, they are symbolized by the sun and anger, exclusiveness, and muddling confusion. This deity is usually pleased with the dysfunction of a fox Skulk or Pack, and even moreso if they end up dissolving and splitting for good. However, the more pleased this deity is, usually the more evil they bring; the less this happens, the less the deity will act.
Fox Deity: In all the belief systems, the fox deity is always at the top, the head-honcho, and usually the #1 parent of the species as a whole. This deity is rarely depicted with a gender, and if it is, it's usually female due to the lifegiving properties of it. Another common feature is that this deity is always depicted as the Earth itself, however its body-parts are usually seen as different things: most commonly, the fur is the water, the pawpads/claws are the rocks, and the whiskers are the grass.
*Depending on the Pack or Skulk's lifestyle, the Sun and Moon deities can be reversed in terms of role: sometimes the Moon is the villain, and the Sun is the hero; usually these packs live in places where most of the prey is diurnal.
Physical Characteristics
~SIZE DIFFERENCE
As direct descendants of Vulpes vulpes (and its subspecies), they share most of the visible characteristics of their ancestor. However, they are notably taller and heavier than their ancestors. While the muscles do vary from fox to fox, they have similar structures: thin legs, thin tail, a delicate neck and a tiny little muzzle. In terms of weight, they're pretty much exactly the same as their ancestors were, even though it varies more widely now.
In terms of their young, the kits are born a little bit smaller than Vulpes vulpes's kits were in the past, more comparable to the way a cheetah is compared with her cubs, than a red fox ever would be with her cubs! The newborns of the foxes are a little bit fatter than Red Foxes, due to there being a better food supply and the mothers eating more, thus supplying more food for their babies. Fox babies also tend to grow a bit slower than Red Foxes, topping the maturity scale at 2-3 years, depending on the region.
~"RACES"
Not really "races" in the way humans phrase it, but rather "races" in terms of where foxes live. If a fox lives in a forest, they're considered a different "race" from a fox that lives primarily in meadows/grasslands - and they, in turn, are a different "race" from those who live in marshlands. The most common races:
Forest Foxes: Tougher, observant, opportunistic and nimble; that describes the life of a Forest Fox. The thick foliage means they can hide easier, but that also means so can everything else. Thus, Forest Foxes tend to be jumpier and more keen to see fine details; leaves shaking when there's no wind, a whiff of scent on the wind, a drop of water. Almost nothing can pass by their gaze.
Meadow Foxes: Swift, lithe, and laidback are the three words of choice for a Meadow Fox. Unlike a Forest Fox, there's few places for a large threat to hide, but the grasses hide a fox very well. While they still pay much attention to detail, it's more for hunting than for worrying about something trying to eat you. They're more likely to relish in the finer things in life, rather than worry over their next meal.
Water Foxes: It's uncertain whether or not Water Foxes are their own thing entirely, or if they're an extension of the foxes their river runs past. Either way, they definitely have their own mindset: they're incredibly laidback and relaxed. These foxes survive on the easy prey that appears near the river: from fishes to dead carrion that made its last trip to the water's edge. For this reason they tend to be more nomadic than other foxes, though it isn't uncommon for some of them to find a permanent home in an area they are particularly fond of, especially if they are bearing kits!
Desert Foxes: A whole population of calm, cool, and opportunistic hunters stalk the deserts. Desert Foxes are more calm than one might expect, and this is because they usually have a very regimented daily schedule: They hunt by night, when things are cold and all of the cold-blooded creatures are asleep; and they sleep through the day, when said cold-blooded creatures are actively looking for their juicy hides.
Marsh Foxes: Wily, cunning, and non-squeamish, these foxes live on the edge of a fox's resources. Marshlands are rough on foxes, mostly because mud slows them down and they sink into it, due to their itty-bitty legs and sometimes... overbearing weight. However, these foxes are usually the wisecracks and the ones with stupid humor and sex jokes on deck 24/7! Basically, the idiot redneck of the fox world.
Mountain Foxes: For the foxes that just don't give a Belgium anymore. These foxes are wily, opportunistic, and family-oriented. Due to their situation, their groups are notably smaller than the rest, given the fact that infant mortality is far higher than usual thanks to the cold and the predators. For this reason they're more tightly knit than any other population, regardless of how closely related they are!
Snow Foxes: The hardiest, most stubborn, most opportunistic Belgium you've ever met in your life - that's a Snow Fox! These foxes are willing to steal, fight, and scavenge to the best of their ability. They're brave, they're thick-headed, and they'll never let a friend/family member down, on their honor and their very lives. Loyalty runs deep in these foxes' blood, and it's a death-wish to betray one of them, ever, for any reason.
~COLOR "MORPHS"
Classic Red
Silver Fox
Black Fox
Cross Fox
Gray Fox
White Fox
Marble Fox
Tricolor/Calico Fox
Platinum Fox
Albino Fox
Technology
[NOTE] The type/use/commonness of technology in Foxes depends on where the fox lives, and how innovative it is when it comes to finding uses for objects. That's why this is broken into the various regions/races.
[NOTE #2] Things like domestication will also be included here, since there isn't enough to warrant its own section.
[NOTE #2] Things like domestication will also be included here, since there isn't enough to warrant its own section.
~Forest Foxes
Beaver Spear: A small spear, usually attained one of two ways: Pulling out of a beaver's dam, or sharping it with one's teeth. These sticks are usually used as a sort of "sideways weapon"; holding the stick in one's mouth and lodging it to the side, toward the opponent/prey item. Most often used to dispatch larger prey like rabbits. It also has a second use as a shish-kebab, where one can impale their excess prey items on it in the style of a shrike.
Stick-And-Branch Fence: This is usually exclusive to particularly crafty foxes, who know how to use their bodily tools very well and very efficiently. While difficult and time-consuming to make, it proves rewarding to almost all the foxes who make them successfully: they're more able to stick in one place without concern, as predators are more hard-pressed to enter, and their cubs have a safe haven to play in without worrying about them running off into the woods. It also allows the owner to see who's entering their patch before letting them in. This is made by digging holes and shoving large, tough branches into them, then using more flexible types of branch like willow and younger pines to make the base. Finally, more thick/older branches are squeezed between the weaved branches to make it particularly tough. This can take months to build, and so are less common than one might expect.
Mouse Traps: Despite being named "mouse traps," they can properly be used for any animal that burrows. This makes it easier to hunt rodents, as this renders all of their escape routs as worthless. This is constructed by packing dirt, sticks, rocks, etc. into all the escape-holes of a burrow, and putting a heavy rock on top for good measure. Then, leave one entrance open, with a small 'corral' around it. Eventually all of the little rodents will have to come out to this spot, where a fox can eat his/her fill of the helpless creatures. Bonus points are considered if the corralled area is big enough for a fox to run around in, presenting a challenge.
Little Bird Nest: This is one of the more challenging of the traps to make, since it's so delicate and small; however, the rewards are great. This is made by either stealing a small bird's nest (preferably one that looks like this), or making one on your own; that consists of finding the smallest, most flexible strands of grass and twigs possible, and slowly making them into a basket-like thing. After this is done, a fox should wedge a stick into the fibers so it points directly downward, and then hook the other side firmly into a tree, just above where the bird lives (this is usually done with some sort of prey animal's tooth, claw or rib bone). Then, a waiting game begins. when the parent bird returns to the roost, they'll inevitably bump into the hanging stick, which would dislodge it and make the little nest trap the birds inside.
~Meadow Foxes
Rodent "Home": A little trap that requires a lot of understanding when it comes to local rodents/burrowing creatures. This needs another member of the species you're trying to hunt, for scent reasons. A fox must find a collection of holes that tell-tales the presence of a rodent group. Then, they must dig another hole amongst them, being careful not to accidentally attach it to the rest of the tunnels. Then, the corpse of another of the species is to be shoved into the hole, carefully dragging it across all surfaces (extra points if you add food in there too). Eventually, one of the other creatures will come in, and the fox can dive in for the kill.
Grass Nest: A small basket made primarily of long, tough grasses and roots. This is usually the size/depth of a person's fist, and the handle just long enough for a fox-sized snout to carry, either in the jaws or hanging off the snout itself.
Grass Wraps: A more challenging thing to make, but all too common for Meadow Foxes. Since there are so many rodent holes and so much grass, it's easy to get overzealous and end up falling directly into a hole, probably breaking something. This little wrap has more to it than one may originally think: inside, it has 4 very strong sticks, bitten off to the needed length; then, those are attached to the legs by strands of long grass/willow branches, kept together by burrs. Then, the grass is added on overtop to keep it protected and cushioned, kept together by cobwebs.
Water-Basket: A softer version of the first basket. This one has a very special, specific purpose; bringing water from Point A to Point B, usually for another fox. This is usually a recycled version of an older Grass Nest; they just stick moss on it and keep using it. A fox using this will find a deep body of clean water, and then soak the mossy part of the basket in it until it's absolutely saturated; then, they'll most likely run like hell to wherever the water needs to be, before it all runs out or evaporates.
Berry Bushes: Some foxes have chosen to push their understanding of the world to the limits: they've started growing their own berries. They'll usually dig up a certain spot on their turf, usually a short walk's distance from their den, and then cover it up with bare dirt. Then they'll go out and collect the berries they particularly like/want, and then bury them in the fresh soil they'd laid out. While the actual preperation of the area is gross (dirt doesn't taste nice), the putting-berries-in part is fantastic, because they get to eat the extras! The foxes don't know precisely why their berries are growing, but they know the berries themselves have something to do with it.
~Water Foxes
Fish Corral: Usually made close to steep shores or large rocks, the foxes who make this usually have an easy time of it: all they have to do is find thick, tall branches and wedge them into the dirt of the shallows. A funnel is made pointing to the river, wide enough for a fish to swim in, but narrow enough that the fish can't get back out. Usually a fox will leave this little trap for the entire day, and then come back at night to check out what they recieved.
Fish-Catcher: This one is easier to find, but harder to use. This is a stick found either floating in the river or on the forest floor, and it has to meet certain requirements: it should have 3+ tines on one side, but not the other; it has to be thin and light; and it has to be strong. A fox will usually chew down the ends of the tines until they've come to tooth-sharp points, and then patience must be demonstrated. A particularly calm fox can sit on a shore's edge for an hour or two, waiting for the right moment to strike. This is a sideways instrument, meaning it has to be used with the head hanging sideways; this means it's incredibly difficult to maneuver and even more impossible to use successfully. For this reason, foxes are usually toiling with it for their entire lives before they get it right!
Bone Cutter: This one is particularly hard to locate, but rewarding if it is. This is usually made out of a large creature's bones, and thus must be scavenged. The most commonly used type is antlers, ribs, and teeth. This can be chewed down to a very sharp point, if it isn't sharp already, and then used for multiple purposes: either for cutting off offending pieces of carrion, or gutting a fish, or even defending oneself from predators.
Willow Basket: A small basket, about the size of a fox's head, for carrying dead fish back to home-base. This is made almost entirely from willow branches, with only four being of a different variety, for the supports. Depending on the fish type, this can either bring only two or three fish, or an entire school of them. This is also handy for bringing supplies back and forth from one home to a new one.
~Desert Foxes
Cave Decorations: Desert Foxes spend their nights hunting, socializing, eating, exploring, and generally living life; but during the day they're forced to spend their lives under the ground, where the cold-blooded killers won't get to them. So, some foxes have turned to artistic release to get rid of spare time. Only a rare few foxes have been able to do this, but those that do pride themselves in it (the rest don't get the purpose). These paints are usually made of berries, animal blood, mud, clay, etc. Sometimes they depict a socialization that fox had that day, or it tells the tale of an epic experience the night before!
~Marsh Foxes
Rock Bridge: This requires the team-work of many different foxes, because the rocks needed are generally bigger/heavier than the foxes themselves. This can take weeks to make entirely, and even longer for its use to catch on, but in the end it's always worth the effort. More of these are cropping up now than they were before, because their usage is seen as more important now: foxes can get to each other faster and easier, because the rocks separate the mud from little fox feet.
Other
Finally got around to doing this... man, I am cripplingly lazy these days! I really wanted to do this, mostly because one day I actually want to try writing a book about these guys, and I wanted to share my idea for these dudes. I'm not 100% sure on what path I want their history to take:
(A) This is a seperate universe in which foxes evolved sapience instead of humans
(B) Humans were a thing up until [enter time period] and then went extinct/dissapeared, and foxes took advantage of all they left behind
(C) Humans are, in fact, a thing, and the sapient foxes live in the shadow of humans, trying to advance while staying as hidden as possible
Coding/Template
[div align="center"][font size="7"]Name Of Species[/font]
[img]Picture Reference Of Species[/img]
[hr]
[b][font size="5"]Species Info[/font][/b][/div]
[b]LATIN NAME:[/b]
[b]COMMON NAME:[/b]
[b]LIFESPAN:[/b]
[b]SEXUAL MATURITY:[/b]
[b]SIZE:[/b]
[b]WEIGHT:[/b]
[b]DIET:[/b]
[b]ORGANIZATION:[/b]
[b]ORIGINAL HABITAT:[/b]
[b]PRESENT HABITAT:[/b]
[hr]
[b][div align="center"][font size="5"]Culture Info[/font][/div][/b]
[i][font size="3"]~SOCIAL LIFE[/font][/i]
[font size="3"][i]~SOCIAL MANNERISMS[/i][/font]
[i][font size="3"]~DWELLINGS[/font][/i]
[font size="3"][i]~RELIGIONS[/i][/font]
[hr]
[font size="5"][div align="center"][b]Physical Characteristics[/b][/div][/font]
[font size="3"][i]~SIZE DIFFERENCE[/i][/font]
[font size="3"][i]~"RACES"[/i][/font]
[font size="3"][i]~COLOR "MORPHS"[/i][/font]
[hr]
[font size=”5”][div align=”center”][b]Technology[/b][/div][/font]
[hr]
[font size="5"][div align="center"][b]Other[/b][/div][/font]