Canum

Extinct species of cannids

The Canum are a species of sapient creatures created by the Sha'rek'ta during their reign. It is believed that the last of the Canum died out during the Dark Ages. They appeared as fur-covered humanoid with an extended snout and canine features. Carnivorous nomads they clashed with most other sapient species on the world at the time.

The Canum stood about one-hundred and sixty centimeters (160cm = 5'2“) on average with females being about fifteen to twenty centimeters (15-20 cm) taller than males. The canum diet is heavily based upon meat, with most only eating a few grasses and grains to ease their digestion. They are not scavengers and will not eat carrion.

The bodies of the canum are covered in fur, with patterns and colors similar among close families. Their nose and jawline jut out from their face with teeth well-suited to a carnivore. Excellent olfactory, aural, and visual senses make them fantastic hunters as capable at night as during the day.

Their feet are unusually long for their bodies with four toes on each. Their hands resemble the kith, but with longer fingers and thick (rather than sharp) claws. Incapable of quick bursts of speed as the kith, they are far more well-suited to long jogging runs - often able to lope along for hours each day.

The canum are not incapable of using magic of any sort, but instead their connection to the Shadow Realms is considered so weak as to be nearly non-existent.

A canum female will give birth to two to three (2-3) children after a short six (6) month pregnancy. It is highly possible, and typically likely, that these children are from different fathers. Canum are mammals, with the mother nursing her young for nine to eleven (9-11) months until they are weaned on solid foods. The ratio of male to female births is 3:1, only reaching near parity in stressful environments.

After a child is weaned its body will grow far more rapidly towards adulthood, often reaching adolescence in its third (3rd) year. Full physical and mental maturity is reached during its sixth (6th) year. A female canum will remain fertile well into her late twenties (25-28) and capable of pregnancy every thirteen (13) months. A male canum will typically only remain sexually viable for ten (10) years; although males can continue to mate with females for a few more years.

If a canum continues to eat a healthy diet of meat with occasional grains it can live int its fortieth (40th) year, but rarely beyond its early fifties (50s).

The canum were created by the Sha'rek'ta, no known sub-species or relate species still exist on the world.