Gnu

Gnu are a species of ungulate which roam the savannahs and plains of the Southeastern Threshold, from Harbourhead to the far edges of the Great Grass Sea.

They are dark grey-brown animals, in some ways similar to Cattle, though their forequarters are visibly more developed and muscled than their hindquarters. They have shaggy tails, beards, and manes, as well as curved horns and cloven hooves.

Gnu travel in large, loose herds, migrating across their range according to seasonal patterns of weather and rainfall. They are herbivores, who graze on the short grasses and shrubs of the Southeast. They are fast-moving and wary creatures, flight being their standard response to the threat of predators (such as Lions, Claw Striders, Soaring Mantises, or humans).

Gnu compete with a number of other herbivores, such as the Guar and Cattle, and gnu bulls may act aggressively to drive them away from fertile feeding grounds. Other herbivores are paid little heed, such as Yeddim and Dazzling Horses who feed on the taller plants and grasses the gnu ignore: these creatures will often intermingle their herds as they graze.

Gnu have not been domesticated, but are common prey for hunters in their range. Their meat is considered coarse and hard, eschewed by those who can obtain superior flesh such as that of beef Cattle, but their hides can be used to produce tough, durable leather of good quality.