Animals (Understory)

The animal species of Understory. The level of anthropomorphism is “Largely Normal Animals”, comparable to Bambi, Charlotte’s Web, Watership Down, etc.

Beaver

Impatient and irritable. Homebodies, living in the Cattail Marshes.

Black bear

Playful and lazy. Males come of age in fights for territory.

Coyote

Relative newcomers to the Forest. Replaced the role of the wolves that were lost during the Great Clearing. Deep-seated hostility towards lynx.

Deer

(To be written)

Snow Hare

(To be written)

Lynx

Mysterious nocturnal stalker. Their population is scarce, but steadily consistent, even throughout the Great Clearing. Feeds mostly on snow hares.

Moose

Keepers of The Way. Patriarchal, but matrelineal.

Porcupine

(To be written)

Red Squirrel

The Conifer Guard. Fiercely territorial, clans are protective of animals in the clan’s domain within the Spruce-Firs.

Box Turtle

(To be written)

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I want moose to be very significant to this setting. I think they're underrepresented in fantasy, and I'd like them to get the respect they deserve. At first, I started to worry that by making moose so widely respected among the forest, I might accidentally vilifying coyotes for feeding on them. Then I thought about it, and decided predation is natural. The coyotes honor the rules of forest, and the moose respect the coyotes' right to feed.