Description:
Chavin are large wolf-like animals that grow to be up to 1.5m in length from nose to tail. Their colourings can range from a red, earthy brown to ashy grey-brown flanks, limbs and head with a lighter - often sandy-brown - coloured belly. The camouflaging stripes on their backs and legs are either black or the same colour as their bellies (this is a recessive trait and depends on the alleles received from their parents being homozygous recessive). Chavin are well built for speed and agility, enabling them to move swiftly and easily through their forest homes to catch their prey.
They are predatory carnivores and are common in warm and temperate climates, favouring deciduous woodlands. Chavin are most active at dusk and dawn, but it is not uncommon to see them at any time of day or night. They have yellow eyes which are so reflective that they appear to glow.
They are pack animals and although they do not live in family groups, they are still closely bound. There can be up to 10 adult chavin in a group. If this number is exceeded then lower-ranking members (normally young males) of the group's hierarchy (they are led by a dominant alpha male and female) will leave to join another pack or start their own.
When encountered, a lone chavin is not usually a great threat unless it is starved for food. But it will attack if it feels threatened or if it is approached too closely, although it will run if its opponent is larger than human-sized.
Chavin in packs are a different story. Unless they have just eaten they will attack any potential prey with great ferocity and simply will not give up once the chase is on: they will chase their target until it is dead.
Average Statistics
Size: up to 1.5m long
Weight: 100kg
Preferred Environment(s): Forests, woodlands, warm/temparate climate.
Diet: carnivorous / hunters
Alignment (if any): n/a
Life expectancy: 5-10 years
Solitary/Group (number): Group. Live in packs of up to 10 adults.