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Lucas grew up as an only child in a small apartment with his parents. Their small family wasn't rich, but they weren't poor. When he was about two years old his mother divorced his father and took off, choosing to leave him behind. Lucas would still say he had a very happy childhood. His father was very attentive and spent as much time as he could with him. Unfortunately work ate up more time than they would of liked since he worked long shifts. The landlady, who's name is Nonie, also took good care of Lucas while his father worked and was almost like a grandmother to him.

He had a normal childhood. He went to school, managed passing grades, occasionally tried out for track, tried playing sports with the other boys in his apartment complex, had braces, and even had a paper route when he was 12. And, like other kids, he also had his share of bullies and unkind words thrown his way. He was teased quite often for his interest in aliens, werewolves, the Lochness monster and the like. Because of his strange obsession he was often alone.

Lucas' interest in the paranormal was started by his father. Together the two would watch science fiction and paranormal shows and movies (Star Wars, Star Trek, X-files, Unsolved Mysteries, Quantum Leap, etc), and read fantasy stories and comic books. Whenever something interested him he'd learn as much about it as he could.

Lucas has a lot of love and respect for his father. He was his teacher, role model and best friend. It was very hard on him when he died from a stroke when he was twenty, but because of things he taught him he made it through. Shortly after his father died he went searching for his mother. What he found upset him greatly and he is still working through what he learned in both his heart and mind. He still tries to maintain a postive outlook, but he struggles.

Currently still living in the same apartment he grew up in, Lucas works hard in order to remain there. Working two jobs keeps him busy, but he still tries to find the free time to write articles and short stories that he sends to different magazines hoping they'll be published. Still with no luck. In the mean time he posts most of his writings up on his website about the paranormal.


There are several things that Lucas keeps to himself, especially things concerning his mother and his father.

Items brought to the island:

Two weeks worth of clothes and underwear
A backpack and a messenger bag
Old laptop
A belt watch
A few notebooks
A sketch pad with supplies
Folders and binders full of paranormal information
The latest issues of his favorite comic books
A variety of paperback books and magazines
His camera with rolls of film
Plenty of candy (lollipops, Werther's Originals, gum, M&Ms, Hersheys, gummi bears, jolly ranchers, etc)
A few things of ramen
Several sets of clothes, hats, swimsuit, plus his father's old trench coat
Toiletries
A small, travel sewing kit in case of any tears or lost buttons
A CD player with a few mixed discs
Martian Popping Thing squeeze toy (link)
Photographs of his father and friends


Things acquired since arriving on the Island:
A sewing machine + materials/tools
Some music CDs
A special chair given to him by Gaius
Dog supplies (bowls, dried food, leash, floor pillow, treats and toys&bones)
Some new clothes
New books and magazines


Appearance of Lucas' duplex:

On the desk Lucas would have his laptop, the photo of his father in a frame, a bag of candy, his squeeze toy, and scattered papers and notebooks. On the shelves would be more notebooks and binders, the different books and magazines he brought with him, a few more photographs left loose, his CDs, and his camera. He's also ordered a sewing machine from the labs, which he sets up on the desk and usually leaves in the closet.

Inside the fridge he would always try to have it stocked with bottles of water, soda, fruit juices and some fruit, such as apples, oranges and bananas. On top of the fridge there would be stacks of instant ramen and other snack foods.

There are still a few bloodstains left by Emelyn on the gray carpet that he has yet to clean out.

Gaius gave him a special chair for Christmas, so that is also somewhere in the duplex.

There are also two bowls for Dasher on the floor, some chew toys for him, and a large pillow near the bed.

Physical Appearance:
Their thick, dense fur's color can range from a deep cinnamon to a greyish brown and even yellowish-creamy colored, with white on the throat, legs and face. Their tail is usually tipped with black, and they usually have an area of darker hair on their backs. Their ears are rounded and large, and are filled with white hair. The dhole's hair is longer and lighter-colored in the northern parts of their range, and darker and shorter in the southern parts of their range. They have a short square muzzle that enables them to have a very powerful bite. Unlike other canids, dholes have only two molars on each side of the lower jaw, as opposed to three. So they only have 40 teeth, opposed to the normal 42. Males tend to be significantly larger than the females.

Diet:
The dhole eats wild berries, insects, and lizards. Packs of dholes feast on mammals ranging from rodents to deer. Some of the dhole's favorites include wild pigs, hares, wild goats, sheep, and occasionally a monkey. Although the dhole is not a fast runner, it has great stamina, and will pursue prey for hours. As it is an excellent swimmer, it will often drive its prey into water. The dhole is capable of killing prey ten times its own size, and will defend kills very violently. It has been seen killing bears and tigers. Unlike many other "dogs," the dhole seldom kills by biting the throat. Larger mammals are attacked from the rear, while smaller ones are caught by any part of the bodies. The smaller mammals are killed by a swift blow to the head; the larger mammals are immediately disembowled. Dholes compete for the food, not by fighting, but by how fast they can eat. An adult dhole can eat up to 4kg (8.8lbs) of meat in one hour. Two to three dholes can kill a 50kg (110 lb) deer in less than two minutes, and they begin to feed on it before it is dead. The larger prey rarely die from the attack itself, but from blood loss as its body parts are feasted upon. (omnivore, but primarily carnivore)

Habitat:
Dholes like open spaces and can often be found on jungle roads, river beds, jungle clearings, and paths, where they rest during the day. Their hunting range is about 40sq km (15sq mi). The dhole can also be found in dense forest steppes, and the thick jungles of the plains as well as the hills. They are never found in the open plains and deserts.

Behavior:
The dhole is a highly sociable and cooperative animal, like the Timber wolf, the Amazonian Bush Dog, and the African Hunting Dog. Generally it lives in organized, extended-family packs of five to twelve individuals (this number rarely exceeds twenty five), with more males, sometimes twice as many more, than females, and usually just one breeding female. Large packs of over forty dholes have been sighted, possibly resulting from the temporary fusion of neighboring packs. Within dhole packs, there is almost never any aggression – there is a strict social hierarchy, so fighting is not needed - or bullying.

Dholes are very fond of water. After meals they race to a water site, and sometimes, if the water is near their kill, dholes will leave their food for a small drink of water. They have also been spotted sitting in shallow pools of water regardless of the temperature. Just as domestic dogs, dholes wag their tails. The dhole can leap to at least 2.3 meters (7.5 feet).

The dhole has some extraordinary vocal calls. It can make high-pitched screams, mew, hiss, yelp, chatter, and cluck like a chicken. Its most well known sound is its strange whistle, likened by early naturalists to the sound obtained when air is blown over an empty cartridge. These calls are used for contact within the pack. The whistles are so distinct that individual dholes can be identified by it.

Threats and Conservation:
Dholes are endangered due to prey base loss, habitat loss, and being killed by humans. Historically they have been trapped for their fur. They are often poisoned, trapped, shot, and their den sites destroyed. In India, diseases like canine distemper and rabies take a great toll on the dhole. Poison bait programs in Russia that are aimed at wolves have decimated dhole populations there.

Dholes have become an indirect food source for the residents of the jungles. Dholes do not attack human beings, and they usually retreat at the sight of a person. Human residents of the jungle follow dholes when they are hunting. When the dhole completes its kill, the human hunters scare it away and steal its kill.

Hunting of dholes has been prohibited in Russia since 1971. In India, they are protected under Schedule I the wildlife act of 1972, which prohibits killing of wildlife except in self-defense. They also occur in several protected national parks and wildlife sanctuaries throughout India and Nepal. The dhole is mostly rare throughout its range, and packs are fragmented.


Images of Dholes:
1 2 3 4


Links to Dhole Websites:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhole
- http://www.lioncrusher.com/animal.asp?animal=14
- http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Cuon_alpinus.html
- http://www.boltzmanninc.com/wildvistas/dhole.htm
- http://www.canids.org/SPPACCTS/dhole.htm
- http://www.cuon.net/dholes/



Special Note (for the geeks whee ): Turns out that there are fictional creatures called Dholes in the "Cthulhu mythos" by H.P. Lovecraft. They are also known as Bholes. More info here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhole_(fictional)