Griffin

The griffin is a creature with the body, tail, and hind quarters of a lion; the head, wings, and forelegs of an eagle. The first appearance of a griffin was during the Age of Legends. If the creature was created by the chaotic flows of the Shadow Realms or the creation of some insane wizard is unknown. The merging of the King of Beasts (Lion) and the King of Birds (Eagle) created a noble and majestic creature.

Griffins are considered very intelligent; although not sapient. If taken young they can be trained equal to any dog, horse, or falcon. In Turan it is considered a sign of great wealth to have a griffin in the household and icons of griffins are used to depict wealth and monogamy.

A griffin can live nearly nearly anywhere except for the frigid tundras of the poles. A carnivorous creature it is the apex predator in its territory, driving out any who would compete for food.

Griffins typically live in large territories not far from the territory of their parents. These ranges are claimed by the males, with females free to travel from range to range. Should an unmated female wander into the range of a mated pair, the existing female will challenge her. Should the mate win, they unmated female will be driven out. If the newcomer wins then the unmated female will be allowed to stay. Rarely do they challenges result in injury or death, instead they are displays of grandeur.

The full age of a griffin is unknown; however several have been documented to live longer that three centuries. Griffins mate for life. Should one mate die, the survivor will live the rest of its life alone. They give live births as lions instead of eagles, typically a pair of cubs will be born. They cannot fly and spend much of their young life exactly as lion cubs. As they reach their maturity their wings grow steadily stronger until they can fly from the nest.

Griffin cubs have a high mortality rate with less than 50% of them reaching adulthood (20 years). A female will be reproductive when she reaches adulthood, but not until she has selected a mate. Once that occurs she will entered her reproductive cycle every decade. She is able to have cubs well into her first century; although her success rate begins to drop off after tenth litter.