Gourdeer
First sketch concept by metalharpey
Appearance: A Gourdeer appears as a deer with a gourd-like material on its chest. Their gourd-chest may be carved and can come in any number of naturally occurring colors.
Diet: Decaying material such as wood, leaves, or carrion
Food Chain Rank: Detritivore
Typical Personality: Sneaky and shy
Body Language: Similar to deer
Social Life: Similar to deer
Language: When communicating with other Gourdeer, they may squeak, grunt, or bleat. When attempting to scare off predators, they may make a hollow rattling sound, or a rhythmic drum-like sound.
Behaviors: Gourdeer are constantly on the move, almost always grazing as they go. They live in groups.
Defenses: Antlers/horns(if applicable), stomping with hooves
Groups: usually in herds of up to 500, a group is called a Patch
Average Life Span: 80-90 years
Average Body Size: Varies based on the type
Reproduction: “Hatch” from gourds. When freshly laid, the gourd has no carvings and is identical to a real gourd. When ready to hatch, the gourd is dry, like an eggshell.
Life History: When freshly hatched, a gourdeer will have no carvings on its chest gourd. When they reach maturity, they carve their own chests, and hollow out the inside. Adults often have a unique chest carving, but may have the same carving as another. An adult may also have an un-carved gourd, but they are uncommon.
Types in order of most to least common
Deer (most common)
Sheep (most common)
Cattle (common)
Goat (common)
Pigs (uncommon)
Llamas (uncommon)
Camels (uncommon)
Gazelle (rare)
Hippos (rare)
Mouse Deer (rarest)
Giraffes/Okapi (rarest)
Traits
Species (see above)
Carving: face/jack-o-lantern (common), shape (uncommon), no carving/closed (uncommon), pattern (rare), no carving/open (rarest)
Light Color: colorless/white (common), yellow (uncommon), red/orange/green/blue (rare), purple/other (rarest)