Mailing list request form Keep up to date for giveaways, meta events, and new things updated to the main thread!
[quote="mindsend"]ADD ME TO THE MAILING LIST![/quote]
Caution: While it wont happen for a Long time, as there are only 20 wolves on the island, and only five of them are male, eventually there will some inbreeding involved. In addition, these wolves can, have, and will hunt sentient beings on occasion, despite not being evil, to keep balance on the island or in order to survive.
If either of these facts trouble you, please do not go any further.
Quote:
TRADITIONAL BREEDING SEASON (Raffle and Credit): May Through August.* Status:OPEN (Wishing stars between Wolves unable to breed together naturally Can happen whenever there is a Familiar wishingstar, but can only be customed during this period of time , and can only be customed via custom raffle unless they win an out of season pass)
Quote:
UNOFFICIAL BREEDING SEASON (Raffle only): Whenever Goats hit a 10 Number Milestone Status:OPEN Current Yahn Weya Population: 60 Number needed before Ra'kari Can have out of season breedings: 70 Goals Reached 30: FItzroyal gets single credit breeding permit for one of their wolves (old method) (Still unused!) That Isn't first gen x First gen 40: UNOFFICIAL BREEDING SEASON OPEN TILL SOMEONE WINS A RAFFLE (Still unused!) 50: UNOFFICIAL BREEDING SEASON OPEN TILL SOMEONE WINS A RAFFLE (Still unused!) 60: UNOFFICIAL BREEDING SEASON OPEN TILL SOMEONE WINS A RAFFLE (Still unused!)
This is For Raffle only. Children cannot be customed in during this time period. If one wins in a raffle it is closed until it hits the 70 mark at which point it can reopen. No Credit breedings allowed.
Once a Raffle is won, Out of season breeding closes. Multiple pairings CAN win during this time period without effecting future goals.
Quote:
SPIRIT BREEDINGS Currently, spirit breedings between wolves are only allowed on a Special Case by Case basis and, while these pups are welcomed into the pack as a Gift from their Sun Deity, these are not the primary method of breeding. Because of this, Spirit pairs, for the time being,can only be posted on the Familiar Master CC breeding list (and of course, wishing stars). Season doesn't matter since it is the Spirits Will, if you wish to actively try with a Same Sex pair, we suggest you do it when wolves do not have a breeding season available to them.
Please note, this restriction does NOT count to Wishing stars -- you can enter those all you want whenever they are available for familiars to have familiar kiddies. Just remember that restricted or non-native breed offspring, other than wolves, cannot be canonly on the island, so would be born Mainland.
Other info Method allowed: FitzRoyal Male Wolf + Partner: credit purchase allowed. Everyone else: Breeding Raffles only (season only). Cut off number: N/A
Note: Due to their numbers compared to the goats, and their size, in order to keep from straining the environment the wolves are currently limiting their breeding's -- if they get smaller pups in future generations that don't such big game, they might eventually have their limits added to how many can exist before needing the occasional bigger kill.
They will, even if the goats don't explode in population, occasionally breed to try and keep from going extinct, but those are in small, singular batches at specific intervals.
Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2016 11:04 pm
Basics
Seeing themselves as the caretakers of the island, having been here for as long as their oral history can remember, the Ra'kari are a spiritual group of hunters and catchers, living off the land and, occasionally, capturing wild feral minded animals such as Peccary, Capybara, and Ocellated Turkey to fatten and lessen their impact on the environment. They also collect the eggs of the Giant tortoises of the land, monitoring the population raising the hatchlings up to later release once big enough that the other native predators cannot hunt them, only ever killing enough to keep the balance and allow them to create bowls from their uniquely shaped shells.
However, as guardians of the land, they cannot play favorites -- when some of the other familiar populations get too high, the wolves of Ra'kari hunt. After a three years of near peace, having only picked off a single goat per season as they managed the populations of other animals, the wolves turned on the goats of Yahn Weya, having had a booming few years in population and descended onto the land to strip of the resources necessary to support such large numbers, and began picking off entire parties of gatherers that went beyond the traditional territory of the goats, stealing their seeds and scattering them into the earth.
Enraged and emboldened by their numbers, wishing to rid themselves of the wolves permanently, the Yahn Weya took to the high mountains in force, leaving only some of their numbers behind, and descended upon the wolves from above in their own dens, catching them off guard and giving them no chance for rest, the tired members of the Yahn Weya retreating to the cliffs to rest as fresh warriors lowered to take their place. Desperate, the wolves howled for backup.
And the parrots of Hawiya Ayelasdi came to their aid, the flock swarming at the eyes of attacking goats on the ground and swarming goats on the cliffsides until they fell to death or grave injury. Rallied, the remaining wolves fought valiantly until there were no more assailants, parrots and wolves giving up their lives to give others a chance to survive.
It was only after every goat that had turned on them was dead and the heat of combat dimmed that they realized in horror what had happened: Not only had they lost all but twenty of their own members, only five males left in the whole pack, but they had decimated most of the goat herd that was the only prey animal large enough to be capable of allowing the wolves themselves to flourish.
Setting into action, they began to dry and cure meats to store, hiding their males away in the heart of their territory, away from the cliffs, and now wait, watching the surviving members of the Yahn Weya, hoping to, eventually, be sure of their own survival.
The island needs them. Even if those who live on it do not want them.
First, Second, and Third Gen wolves cannot be bonded with the Soquili of the island, or communicate in the same language as them. (This provides time for the soquili to develop their own culture and language.) They can be RPed encountering them though.
Fourth and beyond Generation members can bond with a soquili from the herd at a young age and learn both Ra'ak Tak and the language of the soquili of the island. They wont be considered official members of the Tribe anymore as the Soquili territory is neutral territory, but will still be welcomed by other members of the tribe and capable of breeding with them. They will not be targeted in soquili territories by the Yahn Weya tribe.
The Ra'kari are closely bonded to nature and tend to the populations actively and purposely to keep the balance of the island healthy and allow it to recover and keep from ever entering a time of hardship. Because of this, they have a very close relationship with both life and death, and will actively withhold breeding within their own tribe in order to keep from damaging the population
A war between the Yahn Weya and the Ra'kari tribes has resulted in the wolves now outnumbering goats the year the soquili arrived has resulted in a temporary cease fire... Though the goats, tired of being predated on, wouldn't be against having the five males of the Ra'kari Wolf Pack killed, rendering them without sires for cubs, especially since the wolves currently out number them.
During the war, only five of the males survived the clash between their territories.
Until the Wolves hit 50 members, they can survive on what they raise alone. 50-99 members they can do well by farming and hunting smaller game, including the larger iguana-like lizard familiars. By The time they reach 100 members, they will need to hunt larger game such as Tapir and the goats. Because of this, they are limiting their breedings.
Ra'kari's language of Ra'ak Tak is a language formed by making complex barks, yips, yelps, howls, growls, and guttural Noises, similar to natural wordless canine noises only with a higher level of structure to create a language. (I made up the name of the tribe and the language by making myself by interrupting a choking bark with a howl and a yip, turning the barking of "Ra'ak Tak" into a "Ra'k Aroo" but ending the roo of the howl into a ree of a controlled yelp to create "Ra'kari". Inventing these languages really confused family members of Mindsend's). There are OTHER Ways to do it as well, such as simply stating neither side understands the other when speaking to goats/soquili/most other breeds outside of allies
Need to know words and phrases
TBD
Language hint: While rp amongst wolves will be written in english when they are the main focus, when a wolf that only speaks Ra'ak Tak enters a soquili/other familiar groupings Rp you should either write in 'Ra'ak Tak' (It's An easy way to use this is to actually use Bing's (I know I know this is literally the only use for Bing that I know of) English to Klingon Translator, and then Tweak the words as you wish or use directly.) Or simply mark it as being a different language and write normally. Examples: 1: "" 2: "/I Don't understand what you're saying.../" 3: "*Can you understand me?*"
The Breeding Experiment Rules
The Main Goal Starting off with twenty Wolves, five males and Fifteen females, the goal is to see at what point it is impossible to avoid pairing up with a cousin while still being active reproductively. After which, the goal is to see how separated we can keep them even with similar relatives.
Rules
The First Five males can only breed with the first gen females and the second gen females they are not related to.
The first Fifteen females can only breed with the first Five males and second gen males they are not related to
Third gen and beyond are limited to gen Two, Three and Four, Fourth gen are limited to three, four, and five, Etc (One above, one below)
Exclusive pairings are not allowed at the current time: Try to create as many different 'lines' as possible. Romantically loyal but physically open pairs are allowed.
Try to avoid pairing up with cousins until there are no other options available, but focus on unrelated members within the three generations (One above, your own, one below) to keep them in the same general range of ages rather than going back to the low numbered generations with the cleaner bloodlines. THIS IS IMPORTANT!!
Currently, No lifemating/lovemating with a different species is allowed: Wolves only!
The first five males will not be able to breed until after the goats have reached 30 members to their tribe*, and will have a breeding actively purchased for every 10 goats after that. They will not actively try to hunt the goats** until the goats have gone over 100 members. * (The Yahn Weya are currently Currently at 10 members, and the first two gen 1 breedings will put them at 20). ** Goats will not be successfully hunted unless an owner wishes to take the goat out of the breeding pool and kills the character in a hunt. in breedings with less than the maximum, the 'missing' children will have been hunted before they reached breeding age.
The above rule is only true for full year -- Once a year a breeding season will be open regardless of number of goats, but only be allowed to enter raffles (And not use credits): May Through August.
First breeding of each of the original 5 males needs to have a minimum of two boys out of their breedings (So if there are two kids, both of them boys. If three, there can be a two boys and a girl etc). Females that didn't get a chance to breed with the first 5 boys pairs up with a 2nd gen boy for their first breeding. This creates a maximum spread and helps stretch out the genetic diversity for a few more generations before inbreeding becomes unavoidable.
Higher Numbered Generations should have breeding priority. For example a Gen 5 pairing would be more important for the actual experiment than breeding their Gen 3 Grandparent.
If you own a wolf with all five of the original males as ancestors, try to find the LEAST related wolves you can within your generational limitations -- ones with first gen female ancestors that you have no blood relation to. Continue to look for the most distantly related until you have a wolf related to every one of the first fifteen females. At which point you report in what generation they are and try to find Third or More cousins to pair with. Report if you cannot.
I cannot stop you from breeding these wolves Non-Canonly in mixers on occasion. Just keep in mind that any breedings with Mainlanders/any wolves not originating from these twenty will NOT be in Island canon, but instead are 'doppleganger breedings' set on the main land with the other wolf, and should hopefully only be done on rare occasions. THANKFULLY, Familiars do not have a limited amount of breeding slots so this will not hurt the project beyond your breeding cooldown.
Wishing stars entered can only canonly be for a chance for familiars, as we cannot introduce new soquili to the island. If a familiar not native to the island or is of a restricted/banned breed, it cannot be used canonly on the island -- they can still be 'painted' by the spirits to the wish, but wont ever meet the character since they're far away. Wishing for parents/siblings etc in wishing stars will result in dopplegangers of their deceased relatives mainland.
Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2016 11:07 pm
FAQ
Q: Will the Ra'kari Wolves Hunt soquili? A: for the time being, no: Soquili breed at a much slower rate with smaller 'litters', and when they reach adulthood become far too large, and tend to be too unified, for the Ra'kari wolves to hunt. In addition, soquili grazing habits causes less harm than that of goats. Because of this, the Ra'kari are more prone to help the soquili learn how to leave a lighter impact and help manage the island's balance after they have developed a larger territory. This will not happen until the fourth generation a minimum.
Q: Do they capture goat/Lizard familiars and fatten them like they do the capybara, turkeys,and peccary? A: With Familiars, they believe it is disrespectful to them to treat them that way and not let them live their lives naturally and unaware that their fate ends in the belly of a wolf. The Non spirit touched animals meanwhile are given comfortable lives within their main camp before slaughter, and some are raised through several generations before they add fresh blood from the wild into their stock.
Q: WHOO TEAM CARNIVORE! A:Okay this isn't actually a question, but it does have an answer -- They ARE slightly more liked maned Wolves in diet, where fruits, tubers, etc are actually a good part of their diet, though meat is still about 65% of their diet. Because of this, they eat a more meat rich diet than we modern humans do, but their diets can also be just as varied, with soups (cooked using hot stones dropped into turtle shell or pottery bowls or even tightly woven baskets using with wooden tongs) full of grains, tubers, and fruits as well as fats and meats.
Farming IS mostly used for seasoning and feeding their meat, but also frequently used to satisfy 45% of their diet -- Less than a Maned Wolf's Diet, but more than the Standard Grey Wolf. They must eat more or Equal amounts meat than plant-life, some individual wolves may lean heaver on the carnivore side (being more 25% Plant 75% meat) And others may lean more towards Vegetation (50/50) on an individual, but they can't be healthy eating 100% meat or 100% Vegetables (And no, you cant have a "Vegetarian" wolf that only eats Eggs and Tapir Milk, since they would also be unhealthy since they would have to eat so many eggs and drink so much milk (Which isn't easy to harvest) that the cholesterol would kill them. While we as humans CAN replace meats with beans, nuts, lentils, legumes, tofu etc with fewer issues, the wolves Can't.)
Q: How much do they hunt currently and how much do they raise? A: At their current size, the animals they raise and fish from the river near their home is enough to sustain them, however they still hunt wild game and some of the other familiar species to help keep their numbers under check as the largest predator of the island. Once the goats raise up in population, they will return to helping keep the numbers in check.
Q: Armor? Tools? Soup? HOW DO THEY DO THIS? A: While wolves paws are not as dexterous as even a cats, much less a raccoon, river otter or hippogryph, they are still able to use them to manipulate things. Because of this they are able to make rough tools and accessories. Some Metal, such as Bronze, is beyond their abilities (though gold, Silver, and copper may be used, but is scarce enough to be used more as an accent or thin coating -- most gold items owned are leftovers from back before a time remembered, passed down heirlooms, scavenged from old ruined areas as gifts from "long ones" (a long dead human civilization, called such due to how long their arm and leg bones are and their size compared to most familiars on the island, all that can be found of them are brittle, crumbling bones and scraps of gold.)... Or things traded for with the Seagulls), but they can tie knots, knap stone into basic tools, use sap to create glue, carve wood and bone (and shells), use flint and iron pyrite to start fires, stack wood, drill beads, even create simple clay figures they can set in the flames to fire. Soup is made by putting stones into a fire, then using a large bone curved 'fork' or a wooden pair of tongs held in ones mouth to take the stones out of the fire and put into a pot to heat the water. Meat can be stuck onto skewers and cooked over the fire or laid on hot slabs of rock next to or placed over the flames.
Q: After such a large massacre, it makes one wonder: What do the wolves do with their own when they die? A: Usually, when a wolf dies of old age or injury, the are prayed over and spend a little time being spent in honor, before being carried deep into the jungle, stripped of their accessories, and left out on the forest floor with other food offerings, returning them to nature and allowing the other scavengers of the island to return them.. Save for Their Tail, which is carefully removed, preserved, and given to their relatives to do with as they wish -- it is common for wolves to have shrines devoted to their ancestors inside their dens or tents, the tails there so they can "follow" their ancestors wisdom, and, as much communication is done with the tail of a canine, communicate with their spirits. Others may privately bury the tail.
When they die of an illness, they are cremated entirely, only metal and gemstone accessories removed (As they are easily sterilized and are difficult to replace), and ashes buried beyond their territory, and a totem is made to represent them for their families shrine.
In times of much death, such as the war that wiped out all but twenty of their members and all but ten of the goats, accessories are stripped and they give what members they can a skyburial (leaving them in the forest, scattered broadly for scavengers), but eventually tails are simply removed, and members are added to large funeral pyres.
Accessories are often given out in a will before their death, though if the death is sudden it goes to their next of kin to be distributed. Even if the will states otherwise, each child they left behind gets given something. If no next of kin or children are left, the pack will distribute them evenly among their members.
Q: Do they have any funeral rituals involving Spirit-touched Prey, especially the goats? A: With the goats having so much of them too valuable to leave behind, horns and bones, being useful for the creation of tools and accessories, hides being too valuable to the construction armor, dwellings as well as tools and accessories, even the teeth and hooves having a use, the wolves usually quickly cut off the tails of their ungulate prey and leave them behind with personal items they might have had on them, such as the reed collection bags or travois, since they note that, like them, the goats communicate a lot through their tails so their loved ones can contact their spirits, though the goats, not having such traditions of saving body parts, often end horror stories with "all that remained was a tail".
After the war however, the wolves didn't wish to venture into goat territory and invoke another attack that could end up wiping out more of both numbers, so instead they used the skinned tails to make soup so the spirits of the goats could live on in them and maybe, just maybe, they could pick up their ability to survive
The Larger members of the lizard family they hunt, since they lose their tails in the hunt often times, and its often where the most meat is, they can't really afford to leave it behind as a memento, so instead quickly remove and clean the skull with little bone tools they have, and leave them behind in a pile. Often times though they may simply hunt lizards for their tails, and leave them alone to regrow them after losing their meaty tail.
Other Small Familiars aren't hunted with as great of frequency, if at all by the wolves, the falcons and owls of the island being these smaller creatures main predator, the wolves tending to for the most part hunt non-spirit touched creatures. With spirit touched creatures, they offer a bit of food and water, and some of its blood to the jungle in exchange for the kill, and use everything of the animal. Same ritual goes for the animals they raise for food. The hunter that did the killing blow frequently gets first bite of the best part, or can save it to give to another. A hunter may offer such tasty tidbits as part of a courtship.
Q:What is the size range for the Ra'kari A:
Here you see the average sizescale of the wolves
The average size is about 6.5 hands at the shoulder, though larger ones, can happen without straining as long as they are of a lighter build (much like how an African cape dog is much much lighter than a grey wolf with long lanky limbs, but stand at about the same height at the shoulder) at 7.5 hands. The smallest of the fully grown members can reach down to 4 hands! The "Grey wolves" of mainland, however, can reach up to 9-10 hands tall. Sometimes, a singular wolf may grow to this size in the pack due to ancestry, but it's considered unfortunate when it happens as they require more food and, if too many are born large, would put strain on the environment, so tend to be put into arranged pairings with smaller members to breed their descendants back to the smaller, more manageable size.
Q: Oo I got a nice white wolf from a breeding, can they have snowy adventures? A: No, not really: While the wolves live under the shadow of the only two peaks that are capped in snow, they are unable to reach them themselves: The mountain is too steep and sheer. A good amount of it is goat territory long before wolves can reach it. It may be possible if a wolf has the ability to swim really fast through the rapids and ending tunnel of the Pagh Chek Yii Taki (The throat of no return) at the southern end of the river that leads out into the gulf, fast enough to avoid drowning in the water tunnel, then find the path that let the moons enter the island at, climb the narrow passage way and, instead, walk around the edge of the mountains, right through goat territory, and carefully mountain climb to where the air is thin and the moisture turns to snow and ice. It would not be pleasant, and they'd have to make the journey back through goat territory, to slopes the moons went down, and sneak back home. It would not be worth the effort, and the only ones who may be able to do that are the ones with aquatic features that allow them to travel (Such as the ones with Orca tails). They do not however, have a word to describe snow, having never encountered it. The icy mountain peaks under which their camp is made are thought to be the bones of the world peaking from through the rock, bleached by the sun, and used to cut the clouds, creating the waterfalls.
Q: Ooooo so can the Orca tailed ones leave the island? A: Not really: They are not fully aquatic creatures, so don't have the adaptations that allow them to survive in the water long enough to swim too far beyond the island: They'd catch hypothermia or would simply tire and drown well before they reached another island. They can however swim out of the ring of mountains, and catch fish in the ocean. They can't swim back up the throat of no return, so they must sneak past the moons to get back in. Usually they simply fish in the rivers and the major lake of the island, or in the few saltwater pools in the caves fed by cracks leading to the ocean.
Q: My wolf Looooves Winter/Autumn/Summer/Spring. A: If they do, it'd have to be from a clearly "legendary" Source: The wolves have lived for centuries on this Tropical island, so the only real seasons are Wet and Dry... And being beyond the southern rainshadow, they get plenty of rain even during the Dry season, so it's more "Wet and REALLY Wet".
However, they do have legends of the lands beyond, treated as a location not in the real world, but the spirit world. Winter would be a place of dead trees and cold white ash, a place of death and destruction, but also a place where prey is weak and wolves remain strong. Autumn would be a Land where all trees had leaves that looked like fire, and all the animals were plump and groggy, a time of plenty where fruits and vegetables were available. Summer would be hot days of hunger, where the plants are bleached like the land of the Goats. Spring would be a place of Mothers.
They'd be thought of as places of the spirit world, and possibly places they would go after they die if they did not live lives worthy of being with the Tall ones. Many would wish for Autumn, winter or spring, not wishing to face the hunger of Summer.
The males The Five males are currently hidden away from the rest of the world, and never travel anywhere without a guard (Until at least the genders even out, and even then the founding five tend to be the most protected.
The wolves have one main deity and a host of demi-gods they also pray tribute to.
Kon Riki: Solar Creation Deity
A genderless sun Deity, Kon Riki is the head honcho sun deity and the main aspect of worship. Kon Riki created the world. They first created builders, the Tiki Makin, then they created chickens, but they were dim witted and unintelligent, only capable of eating, worshiping the sun with their cries, and creating imperfect sun representations (Eggs). Then they created the Wolves.
Tiki Makin: The Tall ones In ancient times, the avatars of Kon Riki Lived alongside the wolves. Tall figures painted with gold, with rounded skulls and flat faces, teeth made for both Plants and Meat. These tall, two legged furless beings eventually left the island and the wolves behind. The only evidence of their existence are the sacred ruins to the west they had built, and some even left behind their mortal bodies, resulting in their skulls and bones left behind. As they had no tails, the Wolves keep these ancient relics carefully in their most sacred Caves and Structures, frequently plated in gold or covered in jewels and used for special ceremonies to communicate to the Sun God and the Tiki Makin.
The Tiki Makin are the servants of Kon Riki and act as Avatar's for him on Earth. In Ra'kari beliefs, they helped settle the world Kon Riki created, setting it up for the wolves and teaching them the ways of survival and culture before venturing off into the setting sun. They represent the Sun set and their ancient ruins are sacred. It is said the Ancient Wolves were created by the Sun along with The Tiki Makin (Along with the plentiful chickens they still raise to this day), and lived on the endless seas until Kon Riki created Land.
The Tiki Makin, after settling the land, had many of them leave the island to return to Kon Riki, and those that remained vanished one by one to the ancient monsters of the Forest (That since the Ancient Ra'Kari had hunted out as a pack before realizing the giant Cats of the jungle were important for the balance of their world.), leaving the Wolves in charge of their world.
Centuries later, a small raft of Tiki Makin, though these looked different than the ones of legend, their markings and colors slightly off, returned for a short while, bringing a small herd of Yowwa (Goats: The Yahn Weya) but only stayed for a few years to harvest some trees, make new rafts, then head off, leaving most of the Yowwa that had wandered off behind.
Riki Kish'k: The Sun's Life Breath A weaker sun, brighter than any of the stars, that lights itself up at random intervals, seeming to appear for a few nights at a time before vanishing once again. This ethereal second sun is said to grant wishes and create new life, so many couples that cannot sire children on their own wish to Riki Kish'k for offspring of their spirits, praying to this brilliant Night Sun, this Wishing Star....
The Riki Kish'k is believed to be the sleeping Sungod expelling life breath into the air, unable to contain or control its excess life giving properties, and releasing it for others to reach out and be given some of it.
Keeping the Balance An ancient legend speaks of when the wolves used to hunt indiscriminately in the youth of their species, creating destruction and death throughout the island. Angered by their waste, the Sun god chased them from the West and into the grass lands, jungle, and rainforest with a raging pillar of fire. separating them so they would be unable to hunt as effectively and punishing them for their greed.
Only when they learned their role to protect and tend the Balance of their world were they allowed to rejoin, having become three people: The Longlegs of the Grasslands, the quiet Prowlers of the Rainforest, and the tiny but fierce hunters of the Jungle Bush and Burrows, and joined to become the Ra'Kari in the Place of the Rising Sun where the Sun gives water to the rainforest.
Talking Tails Usually, when a wolf dies of old age or injury, the are prayed over and spend a little time being spent in honor, before being carried deep into the jungle, stripped of their accessories, and left out on the forest floor with other food offerings, returning them to nature and allowing the other scavengers of the island to return them.. Save for Their Tail, which is carefully removed, preserved, and given to their relatives to do with as they wish -- it is common for wolves to have shrines devoted to their ancestors inside their dens or tents, the tails there so they can "follow" their ancestors wisdom, and, as much communication is done with the tail of a canine, communicate with their spirits. Others may privately bury the tail.
When they die of an illness, they are cremated entirely, only metal and gemstone accessories removed (As they are easily sterilized and are difficult to replace), and ashes buried beyond their territory, and a totem is made to represent them for their families shrine.
In times of much death, such as the war that wiped out all but twenty of their members and all but ten of the goats, accessories are stripped and they give what members they can a skyburial (leaving them in the forest, scattered broadly for scavengers), but eventually tails are simply removed, and members are added to large funeral pyres.
Accessories are often given out in a will before their death, though if the death is sudden it goes to their next of kin to be distributed. Even if the will states otherwise, each child they left behind gets given something. If no next of kin or children are left, the pack will distribute them evenly among their members.
Like Maned Wolves, The Ra'kari are primarily carnivores but are closer to Omnivores than most canines, with 45% of their diet being vegetation, so not only do they farm herbs, vegetables, and other goods for their own diets, they farm a variety of plant life for various reasons. Not only do they farm extensively to provide excess for their food animals, allowing them to supply for them when grazing is slimmer during the dry season, or feed them continually like they do for their turkeys and chickens, they also grow plants useful for creating sleeping rolls, floor mats, and even tightly woven waterproof bowls for cooking. In addition, they grow Spirit-blessed basket grass to create baskets to store food in to make it last longer before spoiling in the humidity and heat, or place prematurely born wolf pups and livestock into. They have a large variety of Medicinal plants they also grow -- their forested area is essentially a garden that looks like a wild location with smatterings of more controlled gardens and farms.
In addition, herbs, spices, fruit, vegetables and berries are grown for consumption, to season dishes and sometimes simply be a sweet treat -- the berries may not be a main part of their diet, but like the wolves of mainland, they enjoy a bite of sweet on occasion, and can use the berries to create mildly alcoholic beverages for festivals, ceremonies, holidays, and trade. They are especially fond of Wolf Apples, which they grow on the edges of the southern grasslands, and Sugarcane, which they grow along the river.
On the Ranch Being Primarily meat eaters and a strongly established culture, the Ra'kari can live entirely on food they raise when at smaller numbers such as after the war, only hunting occasionally to retain balance in the ecosystem as the largest predator. Meat is frequently traded with other meat eating familiars for supplies or favors, and many of the species they raise are in the early stages of domestication. Their animals tend to be relatively free range, either given large fenced in areas in otherwise untouched jungle, or simply trained to stay within the village boundaries. Some species, such as chickens and turkeys, may be owned by individuals within their communal camps within the village territory, while others are kept communally overall within the camp and, if owned by an individual, marked in some manor to imply ownership.
Critter Catalog
Tapir Groups are called: Candle Starting Amount: 67 Average size of Wolf Bred: 39 inches at shoulder Rate of birth: 1-3 children every two years approximately
In the wild, Tapir are not incredibly social, often only being mother and child or occasionally male and female pairs.
The Wolves of Ra'kari island have been slowly breeding and introducing wild caught stock to prevent inbreeding to create a tamer, easier to manage and raise Tapir, though their numbers are small enough that they are not a primary food source as a meat, but rather will occasionally tap them for blood as a renewable food source, only occasionally eating their captive tapir when they go past breeding age or, on rare occasions, when they have more than one child and are incapable of raising them.
The Ra'kari raised Tapir have the distinct separation from wild tapir due to not only having pierced ears marking who in the Tribe owns that specific Tapir, and paint often put on their rumps, but they also retain the dapple markings they were born with and occasionally are born piebald.
Tapir are a symbol of wealth and, after the war, it became common for Wolves to breed their tapirs to be able to gift their pups tapir calves to raise and start their own candles with. However, some opt out of it, preferring to raise the colorful turkey's or the small and adorable Miniature Capybara or nothing at all, and may trade their tapir away for goods once they reach adulthood, or donate it to the communal stock.
Capybara Groups are called: Herd Starting Amount: Approximately 50* Average size of Wolf Bred: 25 inches at withers Rate of birth: 1-8 per year
A social animal, the capybara was easy to breed into the larger size of their natural range and raise as food, their stock kept diverse with wild introductions. Due to the value of their fur and leathers, some capybara herds are bred to be different hues, ranging from a creamy white, their usual sandy brown, a deep mahogany, to a jet black. There are two main herds of Capybara (meat and leather) numbering approximately 25 members each.
*There are a few Capybara, typically bred from Runts, that are much smaller in number and size. Due to their social and friendly nature, only one or two males are kept viable for breeding and the rest castrated, and were raised and bred as pet animals. After the war they have been added to an isolated enclosure separate from the larger enclosures. They have not been officially added to the numbers of capybara, and are now being treated partially as their own sort of subspecies. The herd of Mini-Capybara number at about 30, while 10 are owned by Raktek specifically breeding them to create even smaller, easier to keep pet items, selected due to colors and markings. Like their bigger, partially domesticated species members, Their colors and markings can match that of a guinea pig but are still semi-aquatic, requiring a little pool for breeding.
Araucana Chicken Groups are called: Flock Starting Amount: 200 Average size of Wolf Bred: 4-5 pounds Rate of birth: 5 eggs a week first year
A major food source of the Ra'kari, the Araucana has existed alongside them for as long as their legends can recall, having been 'born to the island by the tall ones' to be their food in their creation legends, and the original, imperfect attempt of the Sun God to create life. Their eggs frequent many Ra'kari dishes, and their meat makes for a frequent meal.
These chickens come in 'rumpless' (lacking a tail) and tailed (having a tail and the long feathers that come with it), and are feathered heavily on the underside of their jawline, giving them a sort of long fluffy muttonchops when they're fluffed up.They come in a wide variety of colors (though all naturalistic ones found on non-spirit touched chickens), and their eggs come in a blue-greenish color, Pinks, peaches browns, whites, and dusty green. Not only are they used as a steady food source, but the eggs are cleaned out for crafts and art, and their feathers are commonly used for stuffing cushions or in decorations.
If you wish to color your own for RP purposes, please feel free too ,but please try to limit them to actual chicken breeds without modifying the base of this too much (So you can have a silkie Chicken head fluff, but not the entire body fluffed. Onagadori style rooster tails are also allowed) and have to be naturalistic chicken colors and markings
Ocellated turkey Groups are called: Rafter Starting Amount: Approximately 84 Average size of Wolf Bred: 2.3 – 4 ft Long Rate of birth: Clutch size 8 – 15 per year.
Not as prolific at egg laying as the Araucana Chicken, the Ocellated turkey is still a frequent site wandering around the Ra'kari camps and in their own pens. The brightly colored turkey is prized for its feathers, as well as its meat. Its frequently eaten a couple times a year, usually as part of a grand communal feast. These turkeys are brilliantly colored in metallic Rainbows, and some Wolves breed them for different color morphs not found in the wild species. The males and Females are equally colorful, but the males have longer tail feathers in a sort of brown and cream spotted pattern ending with brilliant metallic orange tips and black, as well as metallic blue/cyan eyespots.
Peccary Groups are called: Sounders Amount Raised: 60 Average size of Wolf Bred: 3 – 4.3 ft. nose to tail Rate of birth: 1-3 young every 2 years
These pig-like animals are kept in a rather large enclosure in the jungle, partially due to their need to travel, but also due to their strong smell. Despite this, the animals are a frequent part of the diet, and require only a minimal amount of work to keep tame and well fed. Individual herds range about 5-20 members.
Coypu Groups are called: Collony Amount Raised: 40 Average size of Wolf Bred: 1.7 ft length Rate of birth: 1-13 with an average of 4.5 young per year
Coypu, or the nutria, are a smaller semi-aquatic rodent with a long tail also raised by the Ra'kari. They are typically kept in the same enclosures as the Capybara, as both are social semi-aquatic rodents with many of the same needs, though provided separate shelters. Due to their reproduction rate, the semi-aquatic, muskrat like animals are a frequent part of the Ra'kari diet.
The Hawiya Ayelasdi Close ally/Sister tribe Some species of parrot will also supplement their diet with meat. Usually this means scavenging, but the Hawiya Ayelasdi (or "Meat Cutter") parrots that have taken to the habit have teamed up with the Ra'kari Wolf Tribe and, during the war, helped knock goats of the Yahn Weya Tribe off of their cliffs to face the wolves directly in battle or die in the fall and are feared by most of the other groups. Outside of the war, they help scout out prey for the wolves and eat their scraps, acting much like Ravens of mainland might.
After the war, the Hawiya Aylasdi moved into the Wolf's territory permanently rather than part time, living mostly on the cliffs and trees, though some may even join wolves in their Earthen dens and wigwams. It is common for the wolves to have a place set up specifically for their avian companions, and meals are often shared. It is not uncommon for a wolf and parrot to be bonded in a way not to dissimilar to how familiars may be bonded to a soquili and vise versa, though often the two consider each other extensions of each other, separate bodies with the same soul. In these instances, the wolf will often wear the shed feathers of their avian companion, and the meat cutter gets a necklace with a little capelet roughly woven out of the fur of their lupine companion, though the capelet, requiring more work to make, is often only worn for special occasions. When a wolf dies, their bonded familiar is treated like one of their close relatives, and thus gains part of their accessories.
The Blooded Neutral Some of the finches have been supplementing their diet with the blood of larger animals, which the larger ones allow in exchange for the finches also removing parasites. One flock of these particular species of finch calls themselves The "Blooded" in their tongue, and marks their territory well and this spot is used as a neutral location, and many members specialize in healing and dealing with parasite born illnesses, so no members of the flock are hunted when identified, and hunting is forbidden in their territory. However it is also forbidden to move into the territory permanently as a large group to avoid predation: While it is fine to weather the night there as an individual, payment is in blood, and a healthy individual abusing their welcome will be pecked at and fed on with greater frequency, and a 'tribe' refusing to leave will simply cause the location to be abandoned and its members shunned, though familiars approximately the same size as the members are welcomed to stay.
The wolves have a high respect for the Blooded, and will sometimes trade with them, and will, if a tribe refuses to leave a territory run by The Blooded, offer to chase them off for the Blooded without actually hunting them so they will not have to abandon their territory. However, despite their friendship with The Blooded, they understand that the little birds will not aide them in the hunt or risk their lives for their sake (Unlike the Meatcutter flock), but are treated as fellow bringers of balance on the island.
Some members of The Blooded remain permanently in the Ra'kari Tribe or rotate out with others from the main flocks. The Ra'kari provide for them by not only weaving them elaborate hanging baskets similar to the ones offered to the Hawiya Ayelasdi Flock, but also allow them to feed from their Tapir and provide them fresh offerings of blood when sharing meals. Because of this, some members cannot retain their neutrality. Other members have settled permanently with the Yahn Weya, so the non-neutrality among individuals of The Blooded is known, but they also refuse to spy on the other group as usually a Bonded Blooded will only protect the one member of the tribe they are closest with and their close kin rather than protecting the whole group, for breaking full neutrality gets them banished from the ranks of the Blooded and attacked on sight should they leave the territory of the group they bonded to.
The wolves are measured in Hands (4 inch segments) from their feet to their shoulder, ranging about 4-8 hands high. Taller members TEND to be thinner builds with longer legs, while thicker built members tend to be smaller overall.
However on rare occasions a thickly built, 8 hands high wolf looking much like their grey wolf cousins of mainland, does occur, but as they require more food they are frequently bred with smaller members of the tribe to bring their offsprings sizes down to reduce long term impact. Really small members are often bred with larger ones as well, since if the pack gets too small over all they would be unable to keep the goat population balanced.