Branta

Brantas were herbivorous ungulates common to the North.

Description
A branta had a horse-like body but with a longer, thick-muscled neck. Its hooves were surrounded by large folds of skin that spread out its weight for walking atop deep snow and for increasing its traction on slippery ice, making its feet appear like clubs in shape. The animal's snout was covered in a massive ridge of bone, which ended in two stubby nose horns.

Behavior
Brantas were timid creatures who usually bolted when faced with danger. They use their long necks for browsing for food among the high pine boughs and their nose horns for uprooting plants. They prefer to eat in places where they can scout for danger with their long necks.

Combat
If cornered, a branta could be dangerous. Rearing and turning with a skid, it could suddenly charge at its attacker, attempting to butt with its horns and fling its attacker into the air after vigorously shaking.

Ecology
They lived in many terrains except for the most rocky and forest-covered. Brantas were immune to harm from the cold, so adapted they were to their environment. In contrast, they were especially sensitive to fire and heat. Like many animals, brantas had a highly developed sense of smell.

A group of branta was known as a hala. They also could be spotted in pairs or alone.

Uses
Branta seemed impossible to truly tame, but branta halas were sometimes walled-in by orcs or even dragons in mountain valleys. Branta meat was light-colored and tough but very nourishing.

Trivia
In the real world, hala is a word for "clan" for the Manchu people.