Swamp SpeciesSwamp wolves are amongst the most endangered species of Delv Ihoo, but also one of the more unusual. Aside from their different appearance, as they lack ears and feature a reptilian like tail, females are capable of producing eggs and pups without a male. Swamp wolves have been known to stick to their community and avoid other lands and species. Because of this, many wolves don’t always recall this species as in a way they are forgotten. It’s extremely rare to encounter a swamp wolf outside of its natural habitat. Aside from all that, they are also one of the very few species to master a combined element which for them is vines and water. Despite the lack of ears, they have gained traits which will help them greatly when it comes to sensing danger.
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Information
Stats / Strengths
Advantage / Disadvantage
➠ Generally the swamp species is very resistant to fire, but if outside of their natural territory or dehydrated by lack of water they will become vulnerable to the fire species. |
Behaviour
Swamp wolves lives a very isolated life. Sticking to their natural habitat, they prefer to avoid contact with the outside world. They lack wolf ears and instead have ear holes underneath their fur. Their hearing isn't great in comparison to most wolves. While they don’t have trouble communicating up close, wolves can rather easily sneak up on them despite open telepathy. They gained their own traits to sense if a potential threat is nearby. They will flick their tongue once in a while or let it hang outside of their mouth as it picks up on scents and passes on a lot of information to the brain. Together with a very good nose, they will know by smelling and the scents they pick up with their tongue if they are alone or not. Their paw pads also allows them to feel vibrations which can also alert them if one is nearby. Having a keen eye sight also helps them greatly. So a wolf should think twice when underestimating this species based on the lack of ears.
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The most difficult species for them to pick up on are the wind species, as wolves coming from the air is one of the only things they cannot smell or sense on time. In many ways their tongue works similar to that of snakes. Swamp wolves require water to survive, and if they are out of water for more than 24 hours they could dehydrate, as their skin will dry out and eventually it will result in death. Because of this they will always live near water. Ears will often show how a wolf feels, but since they lack this they actually have more tail gestures. A tail partly tucked shows the need for social interaction, while a fully tucked tail means fear. Shaking their tail rapidly shows stands for intimidation. Swamps wolves are also capable of detaching their tail as a last resort, but unlike the poison species which requires 5 months for regrowth, a Swamp wolf can grow it back in a matter of a week. Because of the capability for the female to give birth without the need of a male, the odds of finding same-sex pairs are a lot higher in this species compared to other species. It’s not unusual for female that are bonded to a male to use her alternative method to help a male couple to have a pup. Swamp wolves only pair bond once, meaning if the partner dies even if they are young they will not seek a new partner or feel attracted to a new partner. Another unique trait is their gills hidden underneath the fur on their neck. They have three slits on each side, which possess vents that will only open and activate when underwater. This allows them to breathe both in and outside of water. Swamp wolves have unique pads, as it consists of wide plate-like structures. Climbing on trees or vertical walls is very possible, as their pads create a suction pressure. They are usually calm and observant, avoiding conflict. Swamp wolves generally do not fear things other than social interaction with outsiders. They live in a society rather than a pack, similar to a colony of sorts. While they are very social and interact on a daily basis, they simply prefer no lead figure and instead proceed through mutual agreement. If a conflict occurs, dominant figures will fight it out with one another. There tend to be more females than males and despite their Dragon God being male, females are more aggressive. One can often find them relaxing in the water or near the water as they spend a lot of time sunbathing as well. Males will shake their glowing spine-like structures to intimidate. Swamp wolves have a combined element, with that said they can control vines and even manipulate water, making their vines can be soaking wet. They do require a water source as dried out plants or plants which contain very little water can not be manipulated by them.
DietSwamp wolves have a huge variety when it comes to their diet. Mostly known to consume fish, smaller lizards, amphibians, insects and birds they are opportunists and so if given the chances they will consume mammalian meat as well. Generally they will never actively hunt large prey unless the individual animal is stuck in the swamp. They are known to hide underneath the surface and wait for expecting birds to land in the water. Similar to crocodiles, they will latch on to their prey and drown it underwater while shaking viciously with their head. Insects are considered a tasty snack.
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Reproduction
Swamp wolves are very different in comparison to most species, as females have two different methods to have pups. They are also the only species where the female does not require a male mate to reproduce depending on the method. Swamp wolves bond for life. Males will light up the dots on their spine structures to impress a mate. Females too will attempt to attract a mate by presenting large fish as a gift. Scents too can play a big part. Because of their different methods or reproduction, it seems to be far more common for wolves to be homosexual than heterosexual. Especially females tend to bond with other females rather than males. They are sexually mature around the age of 18 but due to the different methods females are capable of having pups earlier, even so this is rare and not recommended by the parent figure nor accepted. Swamp wolves have two different methods of reproduction, one known as traditional and the other as non-traditional. Traditional speaks for itself as this is between a male and female. After mating, females will have a gestation period of 60-70 days before giving birth. But the non-traditional way is what this species is most known for as it is a form of parthenogenesis. Females are capable of collecting DNA from another wolf. They do this by rubbing their body against the desired partner as the gills serve a secondary function and absorb DNA. They can also use their tongue to lick the pelt of their partner as it too collects DNA. Often this process of collecting is combined with a stimulating behavior, where the collecting female will imitate the behavior of a male. This stimulation seems to be required for their secondary functions to activate and collect. Even so females are capable of causing the trigger themselves. Females have an additional inner skin bag which is where they process begins. The DNA is used to form an embryo and an egg will be formed. During this time the females will seem to have a dewlap as their skin expands as eggs are formed. During this time they are highly aggressive as their skin bag is visible from the outside and a vulnerable area. They can only have a max of 3 eggs but usually the clutch is smaller. The skin bag acts passively if not used, only during the creation of eggs will it act. As a female consumes food the skin bag will claim nutrients, and females tend to become very skinny during this form of pregnancy and lose a lot of weight. It takes around 5 weeks to form the eggs and 5 weeks for the eggs to hatch. When the eggs are ready the skin bag will open up which triggers the female to spit the egg out. Once the eggs are out, the skin bag will lose it's function and serve no purpose anymore. Their loose skin will in time return to its normal state give which take a couple of days. They can only reproduce this way once in their lifetime. Females will prepare a nest near the water for their eggs, as once laid they will cover them with sand of their natural habitat. It requires specific conditions for the eggs to hatch. If a female reproduces from the DNA of two females the chances are higher for females only to be born, but occasionally a male can be born too. In the traditional way pups are born blind and deaf, and gain sight, hearing and smell in a week. Hatched pups on the other side can already hear and smell things before hatching. Because of this, they imprint on the first voice they hear. It's believed the species remains so hidden out of fear for the outside world to take advantage of this, as in reality females could collect DNA from strong individuals no matter the species, meaning abilities could be passed on with a guaranteed success. Females are very protective of their young.
- If hatched from an egg, a pup tends to be more aware at an earlier stage through childhood. As within the shell they can already pick up on sounds and information from their parents.
- While technically it is possible for females to get both pregnant and an egg, it is everything but ideal. The skin bag will automatically claim nearly all the nutrients for the egg, the embryo's in development will lack all of these. The females become very skinny during the secondary method, this means that if they are also getting a pup naturally it could be deadly for them as well. Pups would not be born alive if attempted.
Physical Appearance
Swamp wolves have a dull palette of green colors with darker and lighter markings. Depending on gender some psychical differences and markings can differ. They feature a medium long pelt with smooth fur. They lack wolf ears and instead have ear holes underneath their fur. They have a reptilian like tail which does have fur but it is extremely short. They have slit pupils but depending on the emotion this can differ. Standard is slit, when angry the slit pupil becomes thinner when happy or emotional the pupil becomes wider and almost square with soft and round edges. They have a long pointy tongue and unique paw pads. Longer fur can be found on their chest and rump. While they have gills on each side of their neck they are nearly invisible due to the fur that covers them, in the water this is more visible. Females have more loosely connected jaw for egg carrying, which is how they are able to widen their mouth and remove the eggs. Their airways also expands as well.
- Males have thicker cheek fur and longer rump fur. Their markings differ all over the body in comparison to females. What sets them apart are the spine like structures located on their neck and tail. They consists of colored dots on each side which can light up.
- Females have more sleek fur than males but only slightly. They differ marking wise as they have a fully colored tail compared to males. While not visible, females have an additional skin bag located on the inside of their neck which only becomes visible if they carry eggs.
Powers and Abilities
Common moves
- Root/Vine control: This move allows swamp wolves to control roots and vines, they will use this in battle to their advantage. There is a requirement however as the roots/vines have to be soaking wet.
- Drain bite: With this move they will bite an opponent and drain liquids of water from their body. If dehydrated this move will come in handy. They can drain to a point that this move becomes lethal. Potentially their opponent can die from dehydration.
- Drowning waters: With This move they will generally control and manipulate water sources(swamp/bog/marsh) to pull opponents down and drown them. They require waters that are highly concentrated in plant material. Clear lakes or streams will not work.
- Suffocation: With With this move they will use their strong tails to wrap around the neck of a wolf to either choke them or knock them out.
- Tail slam: Swamp wolves will swipe their tails at opponents in such a speed that it can easily slam down opponents. Equally they will use it as a whip.
- Blinding lights(♂): Male swamp wolves generally only use this move in self defense. It does not damage their opponent ,but the intense light flash which is released from their spine like structures will blind their opponent giving them the opportunity to strike back or escape a potential hostile situation.
Abilities
- Soaking nature manipulation: This ability allows swamp wolves to control roots and vines, but only if these are soaking wet. Therefore vines/roots located at swamps, wetlands or lakes are generally the ones they can use. A little bit of water on a plant (rainy day) is not enough for them to control it.
- Water manipulation: This ability allows them to manipulate water even if it's slightly limited. They require waters that are highly concentrated with plant material such as swamps,marshes,wetlands and bogs. Clear lakes, rivers and seawater will not work for them.
- Water drainage: This allows swamps wolves to effectively drain watery liquids out of an opponents body with drain bite.
- Detachment: This allows them to drop their tail depending on the circumstances. They can regrow it similar to poison wolves but faster.
- Soaking: This allows them to gain the upper hand against the fire species. As they dry a lot slower when they leave a water source allowing their body to be soaking wet for up to an hour. This renders fire based moves useless against them.
- Glowing lights(♂): Male swamp wolves have spine like structures which have colored dots on each side. These dots itself can light up. They use this for several reasons. It can attracts insects which they enjoy eating, but it also serves as a light in dark areas. Aside from that they will also use it to intimidate opponents or attract a mate.
- Slow metabolism: Swamp wolves are generally known to eat quite well, however unlike most Delvihen wolves they are capable of slowing down their metabolism, this is done in dire or lack of food. The longer they remain in this state the thinner their tail will become. This means that they can't stay in this state forever and do need to fatten their tail once they come out of it. While it allows them go 2-3 months without food, it does slow them down physically.
- Sunbathing boost: Swamp wolves might spend a lot of time in the water, and even require this to live, however they do enjoy to come out of it and sunbathe for a little on top of rocks or trees to rest. This gives them a small elemental boosts for about 10 minutes.
Mythical abilities
- Swamp transparent control: This mythical ability allows for swamp wolves to turn transparent in waters that are highly concentrated with plants. It makes them near invisible and hard to spot by any potential opponent that is fighting them. Not only that but their control over watery vines and roots is increased heavily. Meaning that while normally controlling 1-3 vines is difficult, their control can be as high as 10-20 individual vines. Swamp wolves who mastered this ability would act as if a large creature underwater is attacking rather than themselves.
HabitatSwamp wolves originate from the Lamua Swamp. Living in an isolated society they are not known to venture out. Upon contact with a different species, a fear response can be triggered. When different species are near they are known to dive in the deepest parts of the swamp from days to weeks to hide. It’s not clear where they would prefer other than their natural habitat. Rivers, lakes or any water source will always be required though. If individuals do leave the society, they are never seen in hot areas such as the desert or in snowy areas.
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Dragon God Lemulg
Gallery and available coloration's
Below you can find extra images and a link which contain the coloration chart. This chart shows all the available coloration's this species can have. Available colors for different mutations are visible as well.
Trivia
- Originally the Swamp species was inspired by a wolf adopt created by "Chylk" on Deviantart.
- For AzureHowl the swamp species did have it's own reference, but it was never released.
- For the reboot the swamp species got some color and marking changes, the male also gained spine-like structures. The color was changed to better suit their natural habitat on the map of Delv Ihoo.
- In many ways the swamp species has both traits from amphibians and reptiles (Gecko's, salamanders, crocodiles and snakes).
- The reproduction system is based on parthenogenesis which can be found in many female reptiles.
- Behavior wise, inspiration for reproduction came from the "New mexico whiptail".
- The egg laying process through the mouth was inspired by the "Brooding frog".
- The changing of pupils in their eyes was inspired by the movie HTTYD.
- Swamp wolves are the only species of which the female can reproduce without a male.
- The swamp species is also the only species where homosexuality is more common than heterosexuality.