Lumbering Pasakerd

As time progressed and new kinds of predators evolved on the scene, the Grazing Gossalizard would experience more intense selective pressures. One population would begin to become bigger and bigger, relying on their sheer mass and bulk to fend off attackers. This would lead to the Lumbering Pasakerd, who quickly became a common sight in the northern parts of Drake.

The Lumbering Pasakerds spend most of their time feeding, devouring all kinds of vegetation in an area until food becomes scarce which then marks the time they move to a different location to continue feeding. Their forelimbs have become adapted as gigantic shovels that help uproot vegetation for them to eat. Much like their ancestors, the Lumbering Pasakerds are not naturally gregarious, usually only congregating together when there is an abundance of food in a small area though they tend to stick together when they move as their numbers can sometimes deter predators.

Much like their ancestors, the Lumbering Pasakerds often migrate between the Drake Tundra and the Drake Polar Steppe depending on food availability, though they are also known to tough out the harsh winter months in the Drake Tundra on occasion and survive through relying on their bulky and dense coats to keep warm. When vegetation becomes scarce, the Lumbering Pasakerds will often supplement their diet with carrion and usually seek out bones since they’re often rich in nutrients.

Since they are primarily herbivores, the silk glands once present on their ancestors have been completely lost since they serve no real purpose.

When it comes to reproduction, the Lumbering Pasakerds breed similarly to their ancestors but taken to a greater extreme. They generally produce around a hundred eggs in a single batch, which they deposit within a burrow dug out of the dirt by their forelimbs and faces. After the batch is deposited, the mother will seal up the burrow and abandon the clutch to their fate. The young will dig their way out of the burrow once they hatch and begin their tough lives. While adults can use their sheer bulk and massive heads to fend off predators, juvenile Lumbering Pasakerds lack the sufficient size to effectively use this defense and so often fall prey to the many predators of the tundra such as Sprinting Bubbleskins or Feral Tuskents. Their best defense is to stick with congregations of adults, though the lack of social bonds means adults may trample them without giving a second thought or even smack them away from bits of food. Despite growing at a faster rate compared to their ancestors (taking about 1 year to reach sexual maturity and then taking another year to reach full size), only about one or two individuals from every hundred or so eggs will typically reach sexual maturity under normal circumstances.