Striped Antelope

The striped antelope is a hoofed mammal that is found exclusively in desert terrain. In general, they stand at around 105-115 cm (41-45 in) at their shoulders, and weigh in at around 100-125 kg (220-276 lbs). Their spiraled horns usually grow to be around 70“85 cm (28“33 in), with males generally being on the larger end of their height and weight, and females being a little smaller.

They are always a darker sandy-brown color with paler undersides. There are sometimes animals that are born white or black, but these animals tend to be picked off by predators at a young ages due to being easier to pick out of a herd than the majority of the animals. They also have stripes, as their name suggests, that cover them from behind their heads, all the way down to their back legs. The stripes are a darker brown color, and fade into their base color near the middle of their bodies.

Their stripes are an interesting adaptation; they allow the animals to blend in with one another, making it harder for predators to pick out where one animal ends and another begins. Due to the fact that they can live in herds up to twenty animals, this can make it incredibly hard for predatory animals to figure out what animal to single out. Even calves are born with the stripes so that they can blend with the adults of the herd. They are also very fast, and can run up to 45 miles per hour, though they are only able to run at this speed for a short amount of time.

Due to their diet of desert grasses, and plants growing in and around desert oasis, the striped antelope can go almost indefinitely without drinking water. Most of their moisture is gained from their food, and they can store water that they do drink in the fat that covers their large shoulders, similar to a camel and its hump.

Because of needing to eat just about anything to survive, they have a minor resistance to toxic plants due to a gland in their stomach that neutralizes these toxins. Stronger toxins, poisons not from plants, and poisons that enter their body through other ways, however, still have the same effect as they would on any other animal. Only mild poisons (ones that cause non-lethal sickness) that pass through their stomach are neutralized.

Distribution

They are found all throughout the desert, and along the fringes of savannahs. They thrive in the heat of the desert, however, so the majority of these antelope are found there. They are considered to be common.

Habitat

Striped antelope are largely nomadic, and even when the females of the herd are calving, they rarely stay in one place for very long, due to needing to search out food. In an oasis, or along the Savannah, they may linger for a day or two, but rarely any longer.

Diet

They eat a plant-based diet, and they can digest just about anything that they eat. They will even eat cacti, using their horns to scrap off the spines of the cacti so that they can feed on them. This is also where the majority of their water comes from.

Relations

They are relatively skittish animals when it comes to people, though it's not uncommon for them to stand and watch an approaching person. If there is a hint of a threat, however, the animals will flee to get away. They avoid settlements, though some herds have become accustomed to the presence of people and will wander closer, but they will still flee when approached. Herds that have been hunted by people before are particularly flighty at even the scent of people and dogs. Due to this skittishness and flightiness, they are not able to be domesticated, and are incredibly hard to round up, even on horseback.

Mechanics

• Horns are used to clean spines off cacti
• Can eat mildly toxic plants without getting sick
• Very fast, though have low stamina
• Nomadic
• Not able to be domesticated

Material Properties

• The pelt of a Striped Antelope is a perfect material for the dwellers of the desert. It's tough, leathery exterior makes it a fantastic light armor, and it naturally insulates from heat-making the effects of the sun almost negligible when it shines upon it. This is often why most soldiers and adventurers buy a suit of it before they go on long ventures into the dunes.

Alchemical Properties

• A small gland in the stomach of the Striped Antelope produces an extremely effective-but small amount of liquid that can be used to create a universal antitoxin to both venom and most non-magical poisons if created with an alchemical solution. Once given, the Antitoxin cures the afflicted, but leaves the subject weakened and bedridden for one sept as it purges it from their system.

The World of Aethius • The Multiverse of Aethier