Rabbuck

Scanderan Rabbuck
File:Rabbuck.jpg
a island rabbuck, forest rabbuck and nothern rabbuck
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Lagomorpha
Family:	Leporidae
Genus:	Rabbuckus
Species:	R.Rabbuck
Binomial name
Rabbuckus Rabbuck Hylfred Görenssen, 1785
Dark brown: northern rabbuck, light brown: island and southern rabbuck.

The Scanderan Rabbuck, also spelled Rabuk, Raubuck, Raubbuck and Rabuk is a species that is divided into three distinct subspecies that lives in Scandera in large massive herds. However so is it also known as being one of the chief prey for most animals in Scandera and amongst side of Shagarts and deer so is it the main source of food for the larger predators and have historically been used as a source of food for early humanoid tribes.

Etymology

The origin of the name rabbuck is just as with the shagart lost in the mist of times and it is theorised that it might have come from an old language spoken by a non-human population since all non-human scanderan tongues are long since died out. Hylfred for instance laid forth a theory that it might have come from the tribe that first learnt to move along with the rabbuck migrations even if this theory have lost it's support in recent days.

History

Just as with the deer so did human tribes not domesticate the rabbuck but rather did they move along with them at first while they dragged their shagart packs with them in large migrations. However as the tribes settled down so did they star to domesticate rabbucks more and more even if they still remained rare compared to the ever so popular Shagart even if hunting of rabbucks continued.

In the south however so were rabbucks the animal that got domesticated the most which gave it the mocking name "Elfir Sharrg" in urmål or "elven Shagrat". Once the humans moved down south however so were the rabbuck also domesticated in large scale amongst their shagrats just as the shagrats spread to the southern peoples.

Taxonomy

As most species so were the rabbuck first classified by Hylfred Görenssen when he released his book "di marklevande varelserna" where he divided it into four subspecies, the now extinct in the wild pygmy rabbuck "Rabbuckus rabbuck litenus", the southern rabbuck "Rabbuckus Rabbuck Sadius" and the northern rabbuck "Rabbuckus rabbuck Snaius". Just as with the classification with the pine monkey so was this one of the times when he used pig latin to name things and the names can be translated roughly to "Rabbuck Smallius" "Rabbuck Southius" and "Rabbuck Snowius" and as with the pine monkey so did the royal science advisory refuse to agree to name them that but were forced to step down when the high king settled the issue in favour of Hylfred after which Göran auf Borgnafe was said to have said. "I know those two are in liege with one another, him (Hylfred) I get, his lazy sense of humour but his royal highness is just doing this to spite me! Mark my words! I will have my revenge!"

If he carried out his revenge is to this day uncertain but he was detained in the large prison "tornet" or the tower for two days at the death of Gustav rex Stjärnkhrone IV before Hylfred revealed that he had spent the day of his death in his house and that Göran could not have been guilty.

Anatomy and health

File:Rabbucksize.png

Size compared to a human

The rabbuck is a cousin of the common rabbit which one can see on it's head and it's long ears, the rest of it does however remind more of a deer. When it runs however so can one see it's rabbit ancestry as it is known to make almost jumplike steps when it runs.

Thanks to it's large ears so is it known to be a very alert animal and it has a superb sense of hearing making sure it is rarely if ever surprised while it's long legs makes it able to sprint very quickly.

Contrary to rabbits and hares so does it also have a very long neck compared to it's body which it uses to eat leaves from the large trees of the Scanderan forests in the case of the northern and southern rabbuck while the island rabbuck have lost some of it's necks length compared to it's cousins on the mainland.

The island rabbuck is also much smaller than it's two cousins (and the pygmy rabbuck smaller still). The southern rabbuck is known for it's long neck while the northern rabbuck is known simply for it's massive coat of fur that turns white in the winter.

Reproduction

The rabbuck is known to reproduce remarkably quickly and it is often joked that it is only it's ability to breed that keeps it alive and a female once impregnated will give birth to five kids just three months after consummation. To further augment it's ability to breed new young so is it also able to breed throughout the year. While the mother often helps the kids so are they often left to their fate in danger and mothers are known to simply run away from their young which have earned the Rabbuck some disdain from the sentient Scanderans as a cowardly animal.

Diet

The rabbuck is a herbivore that eats leaves, grass and shrubberies as it slowly moves on either through the forest or over open plains.

Behaviour

The Rabbuck is an extremely timid creature that has a hard time to warm up to other species and with it's large herds so is it known to scatter and run for it at the first sign of danger. A herd on the other hand is a closely tied knot of individuals that often takes care of one another by grooming one another with their tongues. The herd is then divided into a large number of males and females that lacks other kinds of bounds and leadership amongst the herd is none-existent.

When a female is ready to mate however so does she release a dose of pheromones to signal the males that she is ready to mate after which several of the males, and even females, take their turns to try.

Life expectancy

The life of a rabbuck is short and they rarely gets older than five years old in the wild, in captivity however so have they been known to grow up to be at least ten.