Ore (shadechristiwolven)

Species Name:
Ore (pronounced OH-reh). It doesn't really have a meaning, I just like the sound. Scientific name is Carnequus panthera - meaning: "meat-eating horse-lion"

Permission:
Anyone can make a character as long as they...
Credit me for the Ore species and provide a link to my gallery in any artwork including the character
Let me see the pictures they make

Common Features:
As their scientific name suggests, Ore basically look like a cross between horses and lions. They have long faces with teeth that look more like bear teeth with both cutting incisors and grinding molars. Ore are omnivorous and opportunistic group-hunters.

Their front legs are jointed like a horse's, but they have front paws with retractable claws. They have a very pronounced dew-claw (almost a pseudo-thumb) on the inside of their claws that they use to hang on to prey; they can manipulate some objects with their paws (like a mitten-cat) but the jointing of their legs does not allow them to use tools. Their back legs also look like a horse's, with four toes ending in hooves. They commonly sharpen their hooves on gravel and stone to further damage opponents, prey, and other predators when they kick.

Ore have prehensile tails that almost resemble a chameleon's. The tail spirals inward and is used primarily for balance when running and hunting. They can possibly carry some objects with their tail, but it isn't common. Males have a retractable "stinger" in their tail that they use against particularly difficult prey or opponents.

Intelligence-wise they are more intelligent than hyenas or corvids (birds like ravens and crows), but not nearly as socially-complex as chimpanzees, bonobos, or dolphins. Their ability to solve puzzles is mostly limited to their poor manual dexterity, so it is difficult to judge cognition based upon object-manipulation based tests. It is apparent that they recognize primary and secondary relationships within their herds, and they use complex group-hunting techniques when bringing down large prey that suggests group-planning and communication.

Vocalization sounds like a big cats'. They chuff, growl, purr, hum, rumble, and their roar sounds more like a cougar or mountain lion than an African lion.

Common Colors:
All fawns (a baby Ore) are born a tawny, mottled, golden color to blend in with the grasses. (Ore are not the top predators of their home-planet so the young must be especially camouflaged.) All fawns have a patch of pure-white bushy fur under their tails to serve as a warning "flag" when they are distressed.

When an Ore turns about two to two and a half years old its tawny color begins to fade into its adult colors. Adult Ore are usually chestnuts/sorrel, bay, palomino, and dun colors. Piebald Ore are very rare, and usually limited to Ore born in the arctic tundra instead of the plains, prairies, or savannas. Other horse colors and patterns are allowed but very rare, so please ask me first.

Common Sex Features:
As stated, males have a "stinger" and females do not. Males are also heavier and stockier than females. Males have a mane (like a horse) which is very thick to help protect them against bites from other males in fights. Dominant males also have a shaggy "beard" that grows in correlation to the amount of testosterone in their bodies. Also, some males are more likely to have "feathering" of the legs.