Here is a list of the animals of Gor

 

Sea Life

BINT:

There are two types of bints. One is a small, carnivorous freshwater fish like a piranha that inhabits the rivers of the rainforests. A large school of these bints can strip a carcass bare in minutes. The other type is a fanged, carnivorous marsh eel.


COSIAN WINGFISH:

Also known as songfish due to its whistling mating song; a tiny blue salt-water fish with 4 poisonous spines on its dorsal fin, found in the waters off the island of Cos. Its liver is considered a delicacy in Turia.


DOCK EEL:

A black freshwater eel 4 feet long, weighing 8-10 lbs. Carnivorous and aggressive, they inhabit the shallow waters around the dock and wharves of river ports.



EEL:

A voracious animal which can maim or kill a slave in moments. Some varieties are edible. Varieties include river eel, black eel, and spotted eel.


GINT:

A tiny freshwater fish which inhabits the rivers of the rainforests inland of Schendi. It has bulbous eyes and flipper-like fins and is amphibious, having both lungs and gills. It is capable of walking on its pectoral fins and is often found in the company of tharlarion, feeding off the scraps of their kills.



GINT Giant:

A large cousin of the gint found in western Gor similar in appearance but with a 4-spined dorsal fin. It is also amphibious and capable of walking on its pectoral fins.



GRUNT:

There are a few different types of this fish. One type is a large, carnivorous salt-water fish that inhabits Thassa. It is often attracted to the scent of blood like a shark. The blue grunt is a small, voracious, carnivorous freshwater fish also attracted to blood. It is particularly dangerous during the daylight hours preceding its mating periods. During its mating period, they are harmless. They are also more of a threat when they school and not when a solitary individual is encountered. The white-bellied grunt is a large game fish which feeds on parsit fish..

 


LELT:

A small (5-7 inches) blind fish with fernlike filaments at either side of the head which are its sensory organs; white with long fins it swims slowly and is the main food of the salt shark; inhabits the brine pits such as those at Klima in the Tahari.


MARINE SAURIAN:

There are two types of marine saurian. One type being harmless with a long neck and rows of sharp teeth. Its feeds on garbage and small fish. The other type is a fish-like predator with long, toothed snouts that are silent and aggressive; sailors fear them as they do the long-bodied sharks.


OYSTERS:

Presumably the same as earthen oysters they are found in the delta of the Vosk.


PARSIT FISH:

There are several types of this slender, silvery fish with brown stripes. They are migratory fish and the principal prey of sea sleen.

"The men with the net drew it up. In it, twisting and flopping, silverish, striped with brown, squirmed more than a stone of parsit fish. They threw the net to the planking and, with knives, began to slice the heads and tails from the fish." --Marauders of Gor, page 61

RIVER SHARK:

A narrow, black, vicious, carnivorous fish with a triangular dorsal fin that inhabits the rivers of Gor.



SALT SHARK:

A long-bodied (12' or more) carnivorous fish having gills situated under the jaw, several rows of triangular teeth, a sickle-like tail and a sail-like dorsal fin. It inhabits brine pits such as those of the Tahari.


SHARK, Marsh

: Long bodied, nine-gilled inhabitant of the rence island areas of the marsh, they are almost eel-like.


SORP:

A shellfish, common especially in the Vosk river, it is similar to an oyster and also produces pearls.


WHALES:

There are several varieties of whales on Gor including the Karl whale, baleen whale, and the Hunjer Long Whale, a rare toothed black whale which eats cuttlefish.

 

BIRDS


FINCH,

Whistling: Flighted bird found at the ground level of the rainforest; it is insectivorous.

 


FLEER, Prairie:

Yellow bird with long wings and a sharp bill; sometimes called the 'maize bird' or 'corn bird' from the belief that it is usually the first bird to find food.


Fruit Tindel:

A bird that inhabits the canopy zone of the rainforests of the Schendi area.

 


Gant, Jungle:

A bird related to the marsh gant that inhabits the river in rainforests inland of Schendi.


Gant, Marsh:

A small long-legged horned bird; broad-billed and broad-winged; hunted by marsh girls its cry is imitated by the rence people as a surreptitious means of communication.


GIM, Horned:

A small purplish owl-like bird with tufts over eyes c. 4 oz. in weight which inhabits the forests of northern Gor.


GIM, Yellow:

A bird related to the horned gim that inhabits the second level of rainforests inland of Schendi.


GULL, Coasting:

Found in Torvaldsland is this broad winged bird with black tips on its wings and tail feathers, similar to the Vosk gull. Its feathers are used on the war arrows of Torvaldsland.

“Its feathers were five inches long, set in the shaft on three sides, feathers of the black-tipped coasting gull, a broad-winged bird, with black tips on it wings and tail feathers, similar to the Vosk gull”. – Marauders of Gor, page 23
GULL, Schendi: Inhabiting the area around Schendi on the Thassa, they nest on land at night.


GULL, Vosk:

A gull of the Vosk Delta and Vosk River. Its feathers are used on sheaf arrows. It winters on the prairies of the Wagon Peoples and flies north in the spring, when the ice breaks up.


HERLIT:

A large broad-winged bird of the Barrens. It is carnivorous and has yellow feathers tipped with black. Also called 'Sun-Striker' or 'out-of-the-sun-it-strikes' for its habit of striking with the sun above and behind it.


HERMIT, Yellow-Breasted:

a bird of the Northern Forest, it beats with a sharp beak against trees to hunt for larvae.


JARD:

a small scavenger bird that flies in large flocks. A flock can strip the meat from a tabuk in seconds. Found near Lydius.


LIT, Common:

a bird found in the second level of rainforests in the Schendi area.


MINDAR:

a short-winged yellow and red bird of the rainforests inland of Schendi. It has a sharp bill that it uses to drill into the bark of flower trees for larvae and grubs.


PARROT:

A bird found in the emergent level of the rainforest some varieties are also found in the level of the canopies of the rainforest.


TARN: crested hawk-like bird large enough to be saddled and flown, it is used in battle and in racing and is bred for swiftness and aggressiveness.

TARN, Racing: A tarn that is lighter and smaller than normal tarns. Used for racing, its wings are shorter and broader than other tarns and its beak lighter and narrower.


TUMIT:

large flightless bird about the size of an ostrich having a long hooked beak; carnivorous.


Ushindi Fisher:

long-legged, wading bird near the Schendi; long, white, curling feathers used for headdresses.


Veminium Bird: a bird with a beautiful song not otherwise described.


Vulo:

a tawny-colored poultry bird similar to a pigeon that also exists in the wild; used for meat and eggs.


Wader, Ring-Necked:

a variety of water birds that inhabits the rivers of the rainforests inland of Schendi.


Wader, Yellow-Legged:

a variety of water birds that inhabits the rivers of the rainforests inland of Schendi.


Woodpecker, Ivory-Billed:

bird found in the lower canopies of the rainforests near Schendi


ZAD:

a large broad-winged black and white bird with a long, narrow, yellowish, hooked beak found in the Tahari; they scavenge on carrion.


Zadit:

a small, tawny-feathered, sharp- billed bird of the Tahari. It is insectivorous, feeding on sand flies and other similar insects. They often land on kaiila and spend long periods hunting the sand flies that infest the host animal.

 

INSECTS


ANT, Marcher:

Known in the jungles of Schendi as 'The Marchers'. These aggressive carnivorous insects are about 2 inches long, with a shiny black exoskeleton and two antennae. Their name is derived from their, apparently seasonal, marches through the jungle in a single column, yards wide and pasangs in length. They may number in the millions, their path widening to as much as 500 feet when they overtake, swarm over, and devour all flesh, living or dead, in their path. Their bite is extremely painful, but not poisonous. Their victims die from being weakened from relentless attack, being overcome until they are still.


ARTHROPOD:

a creature found in the tunnels of the Nest of the Priest-Kings. It is 8 feet long and a yard high with a multi-segmented body and 8 legs. Its eyes are on long stalks.


GITCH: biting insect; description is vague, although it is used near mention of roaches


GOLDEN BEETLE:

an insect roughly the size of a rhinoceros which lives in the caverns below the Nest of the Priest-Kings in the Sardar Mountains; its prey is the Priest-Kings themselves. It releases an aroma that is so compelling to a Priest-King that to die by that method is referred to as succumbing to the 'Pleasures of the Golden Beetle'


GRASSHOPPER, Red:

beyond color, this insect is described as weighing around 4 ounces.


LICE, Tarn:

marble sized parasites that infest tarns.


NEEDLE FLIES (sting flies):

Originate in the delta and similar places. Its sting is extremely painful but it is usually not dangerous unless inflicted in great numbers.
RENNEL:

a crablike poisonous desert insect.


SCORPION: found in the canopy level of the rainforest.


TOOS:

a crab-like organism with overlapping plating; inhabits the Nest and scavenges on discarded fungus spores.


VINT:

tiny, sand-colored insects found in the Tahari Desert.


ZARLIT

large, harmless, purple insect about two feet long with 4 long, translucent wings, with a span of about a yard. It is able to walk on top of water because of its padlike feet and feeds on small insects.

 

MAMMALS


ANTEATER:

There are six varieties of anteaters in the rainforests near Schendi. One type is the great spined anteater. It is about twenty feet long and has heavy clawed forefeet. These claws are generally used to break into termite nests, its primary prey. They are also strong enough to eviscerate a larl. The anteater's four-foot long tongue is coated with an adhesive saliva that it uses to collect them. It also commonly makes a whistling sound.


ARMORED GATCH:

This is a marsupial that lives in the rainforests near Schendi


BOSK:

There are fifteen varieties of bosk, a cattle like animal. These varieties include the brown bosk, red bosk, and milk bosk. They are commonly the long-haired wild ox of the plains. They have a thick, humped neck, a wide head, and tiny red eyes. They also have the temper of a sleen. With their two, long, wicked horns they can be quite deadly. The horns reach out and suddenly curve forward and may even reach the length of two spears. They are very important animals to the Wagon Peoples and also many others on Gor. Bosk meat and milk is available over much of Gor


FREVET:

These are small, quick, and friendly mammalian insectivores. They sometimes live in insulae in the cities and eat pests. As they cannot eat through walls, then they do not harm the insulae.


GIANI:

tiny cat-sized panther of solitary habits that inhabits the low branches of ground level in rainforests inland of Schendi.


HURT:

This is a two-legged, domesticated marsupial that bounds like a kangaroo. It is raised on ranches in several northern cities, herded by sleen and sheared for their white wool. Hurts replace their wool four times a year. The finest wool is sheared in the spring from the bellies of hurts and verr.


KAIILA:

There are two varieties of kaiila, the southern kaiila and the desert or sand kaiila. The earlier books stated that kaiila did not exist in the northern hemisphere but this was later changed as the Red Savage in the Barrens have kaiila. The two varieties are very similar. The southern kaiila are used by the Wagon Peoples as mounts. It is a silken, lofty, and graceful animal. It is long necked, smooth gaited, and carnivorous. It is mammalian but doesn't suckle its young. The young are born vicious and can hunt as soon as they struggle to their feet. The mother's instinct is to deliver the young near game. Once a kaiila eats its fill, it won't eat for several days. They are extremely agile and can easily outmaneuver a high tharlarion. They require less food than a tarn. They normally stands about twenty to twenty-two hands at the shoulder. They can cover as much as six hundred pasangs a day. Its head bears two large eyes, one on each side, and the eyes are triply lidded so it can travel in adverse weather like storms. It is most dangerous at these times and often hunts then. Some are colored black. They also have long, triangular tongues, long ears and four rows of fangs. They are trained to avoid the thrown spear. Until it is proficient in this skill, it is not allowed to breed. The sand or desert kailla is used as a mount in the Tahari. They are almost all tawny colored though there are some black ones. This variety does suckle their young. Kailla milk is reddish and has a strong salty taste. This is an omnivorous creature and must feed more frequently than the southern kailla. Its paws are much broader, the digits being webbed with leathery fibers and heavily padded. Its hair is never sheared though it is gathered when it sheds. The most prized hair is found on its belly. Such hairs are commonly used to make cloth. The long outer hairs are coarser and used for ropes and tent cloth.

 


KAILIAUK:

This is a short-trunked, stocky, awkward ruminant of the plains. There are several varieties including the Yellow Kailiauk. The yellow variety are tawny and their haunches are marked in red and brown bars. The males have a trident of horns and usually stand about ten hands at the shoulder. Females only stand about eight. The males weigh about sixteen hundred to two thousand pounds and the females only weigh twelve hundred to sixteen hundred pounds. They are located in the savannahs and plains north and south of the rain forests. Some herds even frequent the forests. The kailiauk of the Barrens is the larger type, standing twenty to twenty-five hands, and weighing up to four thousand pounds. Their numbers in the Barrens are enormous and most have never seen a man or sleen. They have nearly no natural enemies. They are migratory creatures and drift with the seasons, bending northward in the summer and southward in the winter. They generally follow a gigantic oval pattern that crosses the lands of many tribes so a tribe need not leave its own territory to hunt them. The known kailiauk in the Barrens travel in herds that have often been named. Some famous herds include the Boswell, Bento and Hogarthe herds. The four or five best known herds number between two and three million animals. The tremors from any of those herds can be felt fifty pasangs away. There are several smaller herds numbering in the hundreds of thousands, and there are even smaller herds of hundreds to thousands. They are rarely hunted on foot except in snow. They are commonly hunted by kaiilaback. They have four stomachs and eight-valved heart. A red savage can kill one with a single arrow by striking into the intestinal cavity behind the last rib causing large internal bleeding or by a shot behind the left shoulder blade into the heart.



LARL:

There are several varieties of this tawny leopard-like beast that is indigenous to the Voltai and other ranges. It is six to eight foot tall at the shoulder. Its head is broad, sometimes more than two feet across, and shaped roughly like a triangle. This makes its head viper-like. Their heads are in constant motion. It has an unobtrusive bony ridge which runs from its four nasal slits to the start of its backbone. The ridge can be penetrated by a spear but an imperfect cast would glance off the bone. It has an eight-valved heart in the center of its breast. They sometimes visit the civilized plains. When it hunts alone, it is silent until it roars preceding its charge. When hunting with others, they emit hunting cries, cries to drive their prey toward a certain direction, into the path of quiet larls of the same pride. A larl prefers to ruin a hunt, even with a number of other quarry, if it means that one might escape. No one had ever tamed a larl. Even when raised from a cub, a larl will go wild at sometime and run away. They are hunted with spears. They usually only attack men when provoked or no other prey is available. Hunters of larls use the Gorean spear. They go in single file. When they see a larl, the first man in the line casts his spear and then drops to the ground, covering himself with his shield. If the larl is not dead, the next man in line will cast his spear. The last spear must stand his ground if the larl is not dead and face it with his sword alone so the others can escape. The First Spear is usually the best spearsman and Last the worst. Its pelt is normally a tawny red or sable black. The black larl is predominately nocturnal and both male and female are maned. The red larl, the more common type, hunts whenever hungry and has no mane. Females of both types are smaller but are quite as aggressive and sometimes even more dangerous particularly when they are hunting for their cubs during the late fall and winter. The white larls have upper canine fangs that are a foot in length and extend down like a saber tooth tiger. There tails are long and tufted at the end. There are also larls in the jungles near Schendi. The heart of the mountain larl allegedly brings great luck, even more luck than that of the sleen. There is even a larl hunter dance that is performed by men. They dance in a file, dancing the stalking of the beast including the confrontation and the kill.

 

 


LART, snow:

This is a four-legged mammal whose winter fur is snowy white. It has two stomachs and the food in its second stomach can be held almost indefinitely. It hunts in the sun, eating bird's eggs and leems. It is about ten inches high and weighs eight to twelve pounds. A good pelt could sell in Ar for maybe half a silver tarsk


MONKEYS:

Several varieties of monkeys lives in the rainforest such as the Guernon monkeys , tarsiers and the nocturnal jit monkeys.


PANTHER:

There are several varieties of these cats. They include jungle panthers, yellow panthers, and forest panthers. The forest panther is a proud beast that does not care to be distracted when it is hunting. They hunt largely at night but are not invariably nocturnal. They will hunt when hungry or irritable. Panthers will usually only attack men if they are provoked or if no other prey is available. Panthers are able to climb but they normally take a hunting scent from the ground.


QUALA:

This is a small, three-toed mammal. It is dun colored with a stiff brushy mane of black hair. It travels in a scampering flock. The plural form for them is qualae.


SLEEN:

There are several varieties of this six-legged, long bodied carnivorous mammal. It is almost like a snake. Some can get as big as twenty feet long and up to twelve to fourteen hundred pounds. They have two rows of teeth in a wide and triangular head. Their paws have six claws. They smell like a weasel or ferret but only stronger. Sleens are very dirty animals. It is an efficient, tireless, almost infallible hunter. It is capable of pursuing a scent, days old, for hundreds of pasangs. Sleens in the wild are burrowing and nocturnal. They do not climb. Their preferred prey is the tabuk. They mate once a year in the spring. Their mating ritual is interesting. If a female has never mated before, she will flee and fight a male sleen. The male must finally take her by the throat and, belly to belly, mate with her. After mating once, a female never needs to be forced again. The mating season is usually confined to the spring. Their gestation period is six months and there are usually four young born. The young are commonly white furred and darken by the next spring. Young sleen are about eight feet long and adults are nineteen to twenty feet long. A young sleen's attack is noisy, a whistling rush, a clumsy squealing charge. An adult sleen sometimes makes kills swiftly and silently. There is also a hunting frenzy underwent by some sleen that is a function in part of the secretions of certain glands. Most domestic sleen are bred as it is hard to tame a wild one and a wild sleen could revert. If young sleen are taken from their mother within the first two months of their life, there is a good chance they can be tamed. It may still revert though, especially in the spring, during the mating period. The specific verbal signals between a master and his trained sleen are private. Verbality is important as a sleen on the hunt may not look at his master. Sleen are used for herding verr and bosk, tracking tabuk and slaves, guarding and patrolling, and many other activities. In Thentis, sleen sniff out the smuggling of black wine beans. Assassins even sometimes use them. The Gray sleen is the best tracker. The forest sleen is large, and commonly either brown or black. Prairie sleen are smaller than forest sleen, usually only seven feet in length. They are domesticated as herd sleen and used as shepherds and sentries by the Wagon People. Aquatic sleen, or sea sleens, are common in the north. There are four varieties of sea sleen in the north including the black sleen, brown sleen, tusked sleen, and flat-nosed sleen. Many migrate though some remain largely dormant in the winter. Their principal prey are parsits and they follow their migrations. A medium-sized adult sea sleen is about eight feet long and weighs 300 to 400 pounds. There is a white snow sleen in the north as well. Sleen hunters, for luck when they kill one, eat its heart. The heart of the mountain larl brings the most luck. There are no sleen in the rainforests. The sleen is considered Gor's most perfect hunter.

 


TABUK:

There are several varieties of this one horned, yellow antelope. The common type frequents Ka-la-na thickets. It is small, graceful and eats berries and salt. Young tabuk rarely leave the thickets. Their hide is a mottled yellow and brown. Northern tabuk are massive, tawny, and swift. Many stand ten hands at the shoulder. Northern tabuk hairs are hollow and give its fur an excellent insulative quality. Both types have a single horn of ivory, a deadly weapon. It is a yard or so long and two and a half inches at the base. The herd of Tancred is a gigantic herd of northern tabuk, one of several. This herd winters in the rims of the northern forests, south and east of Torvaldsland. In the springtime, short-haired and hungry, they migrate northward, following the shore of Thassa until they reach the tundra of the polar basin for their summer grazing. When winter comes, long-haired and fat, they return south. The prairie tabuk reside in the Barrens. They are tawny, single-horned, and travel in herds. Some varieties lie down when sensing danger. They can attain short-term speeds of eighty to ninety pasangs an Ahn. Their evasive leaps can cover thirty to forty feet in length and heights of ten to fifteen feet. There are twenty varieties of tabuk in the rainforests.



TARSK:

This is a six-tusked wild boar, with a bristly mane running down its spine. There is a giant tarsk that stands ten hands at the shoulder. There are several varieties of tarks in the rainforests, both large and small. They can be domesticated and the rencers keep some. They are best hunted from the back of kaiila with lances and the giant tarsk is often hunted on tarnback with lances. Tarsk meat tends to be salty.


URT:

There are several varieties of this common rodent. It is usually fat, sleek and white. It has three rows of needlelike teeth, tusks that curve from its jaw, and two horns that protrude over its eyes. It also has a long hairless tail. Most are tiny enough to hold in palm of your hand but some can get as big as wolves or ponies. Certain varieties migrate twice a year though it is only dangerous if you are in the middle of their path. In the rainforests there are gliding, ground, leaf and tree urts. The canal urt is web footed and can be found in Port Kar's canals. There are also brush urts and forest urts. Some large urts are domesticated and bred for attacking and killing. Most urts attack in a pack and are messy and noisy when attacking.

 


VART:

These are blind, batlike flying rodents. They can grow to the size of a small dog. They can strip a carcass in minutes. Some are rabid and they hang upside down like bats. There are jungle varts in the rainforests. Varts on Tyros are trained as weapons


VERR:

This is a mountain goat, indigenous to the Voltai Mountains. They are long-haired, spiral horned, and ill-tempered. There is a small, long-haired verr that is smaller and less belligerent than the wild verr. Some are domesticated and they are a source of wool and milk. The finest wool is sheared in the spring from the bellies of the hurt and verr.



ZEDER:

This is a small, sleen-like carnivore from the rainforests. It frequents the Ua River and its tributaries. It grows to two feet and weighs eight to ten pounds. It is diurnal, can swim well, and builds a stick and mud nest in tree branches where it sleeps at night

 

REPTILES


HITH:

This is the huge, many banded python of Gor. The great banded, horned hith is the most feared constrictor but is only native to certain areas of the Great Forests. The golden hith is a rare snake. Its body would be difficult for a grown man to encircle with his arms.


OST:

This is a venomous, brilliantly orange snake that is little more than a foot long. Its bite causes an excruciating death within seconds. A powder prepared from its venom can be put into wine. The osts of the rainforests are red with black stripes. The banded ost is yellowish orange and marked with black rings.


SNAKES:

Besides the ost and hith mentioned before, other snakes also exist on Gor. Some other snakes include the adder and marsh moccasin.


THARLARION:

There are numerous varieties of this reptile. One type is a species of saddle lizard, common on Gor especially in swamplands and deserts. They are used mostly by those who have not mastered tarns. Tharlarions have been bred for a thousand generations before the first tarn was tamed. Wild tharlarion have round, shining eyes, webbed feet, teeth ridges and a long brown tongue that curls around their prey. They are carnivorous creatures. High tharlarion are short-tempered creatures, that run on its two back feet. Its forelegs are tiny and near useless. They respond to voice signals though sometimes the butt of a lance is needed to move them, hitting them about the eye or ear openings. Those are the few sensitive areas on its body as they are almost impervious to pain, having a sluggish nervous system. Most of the larger varieties have a brain and a smaller brainlike organ, located near the base of the spine. They need far less water than tarns and their metabolism is slower than a tarn. When they move slowly, their stride is a proud, stalking movement. When going fast, they bound in leaps that can carry them twenty paces at a time. Its saddle is built to absorb shock, unlike the tarn saddle. Mounted warriors though still wear a leather belt around their waists. They also wear high, soft boots to protect against the abrasive hide of the creature. Draft tharlarion are four footed, slow moving animals. They are herbivorous and also known as Broad tharlarions. There are at least four species of draft tharlarion. Sea tharlarion, immune to the poison of Cosian wingfish, grow up to thirty feet and more in length and have a yellowish slatted belly. Rock tharlarion are the small lizards of the Tahari. There are tiny water tharlarion, about six inches long, that are little more than teeth and tail like piranha. Some live in the swamps. There are also marsh tharlarion and river tharlarion. River tharlarion are long necked, web-footed, and scaled. Some of them are herbivorous and can be domesticated. They may be used to tow barges on the Cartius River. Tharlarion are also used as cavalry and there are even racing tharlarions. Racing tharlarion are usually larger and more agile than saddle tharlarion but smaller than draft or war ones. The city of Venna is famed for its tharlarion races. Some select breeds of racing tharlarion include the Venetzia, Torarii and Thalonian.


TURTLES:

There is a variety of Vosk turtle, a hook-beaked creature, that can grow to be gigantic. It is a persistent carnivore that is almost impossible to kill. The marsh turtle is another variety of turtle on Gor.

 

 

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