Lumbering Ketter

The lumbering ketter replaced it's ancestor in the Huggs Scrub and moved into the deserts of Glicker. They are perfectly adapted to life in the harsh environment. To deal with the hot air and the scarce supply of water, they spend most of their lives near one source of water, barely moving except at night. Their bodies have grown water storing organs called "water bladders" that can store enough water to survive on for about a week. These bladders are stored in their legs. They also have adapted thick, leathery hides that cover their bodies to protect them from loss of water. Their hides are so tough that only the sharpest of teeth can get through. Their legs have fused together due to misuse, and instead are use mainly as supports for their dense bodies and to store water. The water bladders in their legs can hold up to 5 gallons of water. They still function for movement, to an extent, but all they can do is drag themselves along the ground at a pace of about 0.3 kilometers per hour. They live in large groups of 12-14 adults and about 9-12 young. A group of lumbering ketters are called "lubbs". When their oases are about to run dry, they store up the remaining water and travel by night in search of new sources of water. After migrating to the desert, they had to deal with a complex problem of how to sustain themselves. There is not enough food in the deserts to survive on, especially for creatures as large as them. So, in order to survive, they have gone through a radical change. Their hides have now gained photosynthetic cells. There is about 1 photosynthetic cell to every 5 skin cells. They still have the photosynthetic wings and ears, allowing them to gain even more energy, but this is still not enough, so they still need to eat berries about once every 2 weeks. They have also evolved a new form of reproduction. When mating season rolls around, the ketters pair off and mate like usual, but instead of giving birth to live young, after about 3 weeks the females produce a fleshy orb that is actually a developing lumbering ketter. The orbs are held in between their wings until they fully develop in about 3 months. The females do this in order to preserve energy. The developing young actually have a much higher concentration of photosynthetic cells then the adults to supply the necessary energy for growth. because they live such slow lifes, it takes the young about 15-20 years to mature and have a life span of over 130 years. When they finally mature, the young join in groups of about 4 unrelated ketters and move off to start other lubbs.