Post by Kazl Li-Yun on Jul 26, 2007 16:03:27 GMT
Ostrich Horse
Bearing the name of two mountable animals, the ostrich horse is the main mount of the Earth Kingdom. Its body, covered in short feathers, resembles that of an ostrich, including its legs, wings, and feet. It has a hairy tail, and an equine neck and head, though its mouth is an avian beak. The Earth Kingdom has bred these animals as war mounts and they can often be seen wearing armor.
Otter-Penguin
Commonly referred to as simply penguins, the Otter-Penguins in the Avatar world are a hybrid of a penguin and an otter. They are about the size of a human child and, once caught, can be ridden like sleds in a popular children's game. They have an extra pair of flippers below their first pair, a face resembling that of a seal, and an otter-like tail. It is unknown if these creatures are furred, or are feathered like traditional penguins.
Platypus Bear
The Platypus Bear is a hybrid creature resembling a cross between the bear and the platypus. Easily provoked, the Platypus Bear has been known to attack humans with its massive bear paws or teeth-lined bill. The Platypus Bear's body is mostly that of a bear, except for flat-webbed hind legs, a furry beaver-like tail, and the duck-like bill. The Platypus Bear lays eggs.
The Platypus Bear can also be trained and has been seen as both a circus animal and a brute enforcer. The Platypus Bear appear in the video game as enemies.
Polar Bear Dog
This creature is the size of a large dog. So far, it has only been seen in "The Boy in the Iceberg" at the Southern Water Tribe's village. It has a pink or reddish nose, rounded ears and three toed paws. Its fur is white except for a black striped pattern that begins at its nose and runs over its forehead and along its back.
Polar Mouse
The polar mouse of the Avatar world looks like but is quite a bit different than a real hamster. While it still squeaks in the same tone and is about the same size, it also has many cat-like characteristics. Its tail is long like a cat's, though mostly flat, and it has a triangular head with cat-like ears. The small rodent was first seen scurrying through an abandoned Fire Navy ship near the South Pole.
Possum Chicken
The possum chicken is a delicacy of the Foggy Swamp Tribe, most likely created as a pun on the tribe's persona as hillbillies. The white animal has an opossum face and tail. Its chicken side lies in its small talon feet and stubby wings. The possum chicken has a unique taste similar to that of chicken. Due makes the statement "tastes like possum chicken," a pun on the comical saying "tastes like chicken."
A possum chicken was first seen hanging upside down, a feat credited with the opossum but one they actually can't perform.
Purple Pentapus
The purple pentapus is a tiny, purple, octopus-like creature with five tentacles and eyes and appears to be a mix of an octupus and a starfish. It has a small beak like a normal octopus and suckers on its tentacles which it uses to stick to sewer walls and feed on algae. It can latch on to humans, and stay very tightly attached. However, it will release its grip if stroked on the head, leaving red pox-like marks where it was attached.
The Purple Pentapus was first seen in the Omashu sewers.
Pygmy Puma
As their name suggests, these creatures are about the size of the average house cat, and otherwise resemble melanistic leopards. Considered to be the "Kings of the Alleyways," they were bred for city living and have adapted to it quite well, being able to scale walls and fences with ease, as well as leap from building to building in the blink of an eye. They can be quite ferocious but at other times seem to be quite affectionate.
A Pygmy Puma pack was first seen in an alley in Ba Sing Se.
Rabbiroo
The Rabbiroo resembles a cross between a rabbit and a kangaroo. It has the head and ears of a rabbit with the body of a kangaroo. It retains the rabbit’s appetite for leafy vegetables. Their offspring are raised in the same method as the kangaroo with the young remaining in the mother’s pouch. Unlike the kangaroo, they tend to have multiple births. The Rabbiroo usually resides in open prairies. Baby Rabbiroos have a chunky, potato-like body shaped similar to that of baby rabbits.
Reptile Bird
The Reptile Bird resembles a cross between a green parrot and a lizard. It has a parrot beak, feathered tail, and wings capable of flight. The rest of its body resembles many small lizards, with spines down its back and legs. It has a clawed hand at the end of its wings, which it uses with its back legs to crawl around when it isn’t flying.
Saber-tooth Moose-lion
The Saber-tooth Moose-lion is a large, brown creature native to the forests of the Southern Earth Kingdom. They are a cross between a saber-tooth tiger and a moose and stand at about the size of a large moose. Its head's appearance is that of a moose's, with both genders having large curved antlers, and two enlarged upper fangs. Its body and legs resemble a feline's with pawed feet and a lion-like tail. Their cubs are distinguishable from their adult counterparts until their giant horns and massive tusks have grown and their stubby tails extended. They are usually friendly creatures until provoked.
Screaming Bird
A puffed up bird found in the Foggy Swamp, it appears as a pudgy feathered lump. The bird's beak, though tiny, can extend well beyond the size of the bird's head in order to let it emit a loud, ear-splitting shriek that sounds like a woman screaming. The bird does not really have any real world connections beyond its appearance as a bird, although its terrifying shriek may have been inspired by the call of the real-life Spot-bellied Eagle-owl.
Serpent
The Serpent is a huge amphibious snake, somewhat like the Unagi, with a body length ranging over a hundred feet long. Despite its considerable size, it is able to move swiftly through the water undetected for the most part, enabling it to steathily close in on its prey. Known for letting out a loud, piercing scream just prior to attacking, the Serpent is a fierce creature and seemingly guards the Serpent's Pass outside Ba Sing Se. It resembles a Chinese dragon with a little bit of seahorse when its mouth is closed due to the long cylinder mouth. This sea serpent first made its appearance in the original pilot episode of The Avatar series.
Shirshu
A Shirshu is a large, wolf-like creature resembling a star-nosed mole. Its nose is used to "see" scents and find its prey, having no real eyes to speak of. The bottom portions of their legs are also similar in appearance. Its body, head, and tail mostly resemble that of a wolf or other type of canine. It is able to track its prey from over a continent away, and one is shown used by the bounty hunter June as a mount. Its tongue is barbed at the end and it secretes a venom capable of eventually bringing down creatures larger than itself, including Appa, leaving them completely paralyzed for up to one hour. The venom it secretes can also be harvested and used to produce non-lethal tranquilizer darts. Shirshu appear in the game as moderate enemies.
Singing Groundhog
Singing Groundhogs are responsive to musical notes, and will sing any note that they hear. They burrow into the ground and live in a community like prairie dogs. Aang demonstrated the groundhogs to his group, and they even responded to Sokka's sarcastic "La de dah."
Sparrowkeet
Used as pets in Ba Sing Se, the Sparrowkeet has the head of a sparrow with the same beak coloration. Their bodies resemble that of the Carolina Parakeet.
Tigerdillo
The Tigerdillo was seen briefly in "Tales of Ba Sing Se", in the old zoo. An intriguingly contrasting creature, it is a large animal that seems very aggressive, especially when hungry, but also very passive and quick to retract. It has the body and head of a Tiger, but its back is plated with an armadillo-like shell that continues to extend to the top of its head. A Tigerdillo is able to roll up into a ball when startled, much like that of a three-banded armadillo.
Tree Chameleon
The Tree Chameleon resembles the veiled chameleon in body structure. It has what looks like feathers extending from its forearms (or wings attached near them, it is only seen at a distance), though it is unknown if the creature is capable of flight.
Turkey Duck
This creature resembles a cross between a turkey, a duck and a chicken. It has the same down-like feathers and beak as a duck, the feet and tail feathers of a chicken, and snood of a turkey. They seem to have an irritable personality, especially towards Sokka, who has the poor fortune of annoying the birds several times.
The creature could be a reference to the turducken, a unique style of serving cooked fowl.
Turtle Duck
The Turtle Duck has the head, neck, and tail of a duck, all attached to the shell of a turtle. Its feet appear to be a combination of both animals. It is tan and brown with a white bill and pale stripe on its head. The turtle duck has no wings, though it is still a great flier. Its personality seems to match that of a duck.
Turtle ducks are first seen in a flashback of a pond at Zuko’s home.
Turtle Seal
The Turtle Seal is simply a seal with a turtle's shell. Unlike the turtle duck, whose legs make it look like a tortoise, the Turtle Seal's flippers are its prominent form of transportation; its body resembles a sea turtle. Its diet consists of fish, squid, and shellfish and its hard shell serves as protection from its main predator, the Polar Leopard.
Turtle seals were first seen in a small ice cave near the North Pole.
Unagi
The Unagi is a giant sea serpent capable of spewing out a large water stream like a geyser. Aside from its eel-like body structure and large fin on its head, the Unagi resembles a catfish, having barbels, a pointed head, and no scales. Along with its fierce appearance, the Unagi also has a large body that looks to be 200-300 feet long. The Unagi's primary source of food appears to be the Elephant Koi that swim with it off the shore of Kyoshi Island.
Unagi is the Japanese word for freshwater eels.
Vulture Griffin
The Vulture Griffin takes many of its qualities from the mythological griffin. With the head and wings of a vulture and the body of a lion, the Vulture Griffin appears to be a vegetarian, which is contradictory to both of its inspirational animals. The mane of the Vulture Griffin is made of white feathers, and it surrounds the base of the neck, as opposed to the back of the head as in lions.
Winged Lemur
Curious and energetic creatures, the Winged Lemurs are very similar to real lemurs, with the same body structure, tail, and coloration. They are a cross between a lemur and a spotted bat. The rest of the winged lemur appears bat-like, though unlike bats, the winged lemur seems to glide more than fly. The winged lemur also has opposable thumbs which allows them to escape the situations they put themselves in.
The first winged lemurs to be seen, were in Aang's flashback of Giatso, Where they are seen eating Cake off of some older airbenders in the Southern Air Temple.
Wolfbat
The Wolfbat is a hybrid of two typical macabre creatures that can easily instill fear in those that step into their dwellings. Its body is similar to a wolf but with a bat-like face and leathery wings that fold up under its front legs, allowing it to walk on all fours. Like bats, they seem to fly in groups, making them all the more dangerous. They appear in the video game.
Woolly Mandrill
One of the creatures Aang first saw at the zoo in Ba Sing Se. The woolly mandrill has the body of a woolly mammoth with the head of a mandrill, but has the similar physique of a rhinoceros. It behaves more like a peaceful dog at times, but when it is angered or confused, it acts like a wild elephant or rhino. Not much else is known about it.
Zebra Seal
Also known as the Polar Sea Lion, the Zebra Seal's body is mostly seal-like, aside from zebra-striped markings across the back and stomach. The markings enable the seals to hide their numbers while in the water when hunting for fish. These animal prefer to lay together in large masses and howl loudly when disturbed. The zebra seal made its first appearance when Aang escaped his iceberg; the beam of light created caused the seals to howl in unison.
