Aurox

The aurox is a semi-domesticated herd mammal native to the tropical grasslands of Anásthias, where they are essential to the livelihood of nomadic tribesmen in the Othei Plains of western Ororrplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigOrorr

Ororr [o-ROARR, ɒ̝rɔ'ɾ], also called the Holy Motherland of Ororr, is a theocratic nation in Anásthias, one of the world's great powers. It the largest nation in the world, perhaps the largest empire in history, occupying the entire northwest of the continent between the mountains and the sea. Ororrlanguagelanguagelanguage and the grasslands of Otekahré.

Aurox are very large quadrupeds with short glossy yellow-brown fur and sharp forward-thrusting horns, mounted on a large head with powerful shoulders. Herds have a dominant matriarch and a number of dominant bull males, who compete with each other for dominance and mating precedence whilst also guarding the fringes of the herd. Dominance behaviour becomes more aggressive with herd size, so that in very large herds, violent conflict between individuals can lead to serious injury and death. Aggressive conflict often causes large herds to split into more manageable units.

Aurox aggression is useful for defence against predators but makes them difficult to handle in domestic circumstances. Nomads such as the Othei achieve control through constant contact, becoming essentially part of the herd themselves and butchering only the weaker subordinate animals. Attempts to breed more pliable stocks led to the development of the aubrac, but true aurox they have never flourished in captivity.

The name means “golden bull” in ancient Thalsic.