Wolly behemoth.

Wolly behemoth.

Brontobos boreoglacialis.

3.7-4.5 meters tall

The polar north of Siberia, call home to expanses of tundra and steppe, cold windy environments that few animals can stomach without the right adaptations. However, it’s still supports a tremendous amount of unique biodiversity that has since proliferated after the Anthropocene mass extinction. Glaciation in the past encouraged many animals to exploit polar habitats such as this, with many animals found in this habitat having their origins more than 15 million years ago. However, one of the more noticeable animals on this landscape is considerably more recent, Behemoth have their origins in arid North American climates before becoming there iconic size once tempret conditions returned. Tolerance for colder conditions allowed them to make their way up north, through the bearing straight and into the old world. The first species to break ground in Asia was the most cold tolerant of them all, the woolly behemoth. Their presents in the old world greatly impacted the Arctic scene, being ecosystem engineers in their size and abundance. During winter, they forage under the snow for grazing, thick fur on the side of their muzzle serves to keep the face insulated as it truffles around looking for food sutch as grasses, lichens, mushrooms and other low quality forage. Solitary animals this time of year they live in fission–fusion social groups, able to communicate great distances with one another through low rumbles created in a specialised stomach chamber, these can travel great distances through the ground and are picked up by the sensitive feet of others. This also lets them detect footfall of herds of smaller ungulates which they occasionally accompany, blockheads and pronggoats are occasionally used to cresh young with wile the mothers go to feed in areas that she considers too dangerous to bring her offspring, typically when feeding in forest both boreal and broadleaf. Young or born midwinter, remarkably developed with dense pale pelage to help them survive the most treacherous first few months. By the time the young is weaned good quality forage will re-emerge as summer arrives and this season of abundance will result in the formation of small herds of woolly behemoth. The first few months are quite peaceful, with many individuals renewing bonds, introducing young to the dynamics and Keystone individuals of the herd, and sharing ecological information. In summer, mothers will cresh young with other woolly behemoth whilst she goes feeding, and the babysitters take this time to also educate young on life skills that will be needed over there 80 year lifespan. For instance, Some herds have learned to exploit the mass feeding of caterpillars in certain birch woodlands come summer, lapping them of tree branches as a source of easy protein. This information has been passed down the generations, and is the root of the second common name, the gusenit. However, mature males eventually become enraged with testosterone come late summer and autumn, trying to attract female attention with males fighting. Pushing up against one another’s chest, they try to gore and jab their opponents side, accompanied with foreplay such as posturing, snorting, stomping and charging. These violent scrums interest females not just visually, but the sounds of their fighting travel great distances through the ground which are picked up on by females in heat. Females mothering calfs or those babysitting tend to avoid these skirmishes as they can be quite dangerous and distressing for them. With the approach of winter, young returned to the sides of their mothers to head off on their own back out in the tundra. The young will stay by their mother’s side from 10 to 15 years before maturing and heading out on their own, still keep in contact through low frequency calls throughout winter, and meeting back up again in the summer, with males making bachelor herds.