Jelenan

"An antlered Jelenan stag is an awesome sight. The Jelenan live in a variety of habitats of their world of Nassius Prime. This shy, solitary species are often difficult to spot in their natural habitats, despite their fairly large population."

- Senior Anthropologist Mammon Hoole statement about the Jelenan species

Jelenans were a race of herbivorous, furred, deer-like, bipedal, mammalian, humanoid species native to the eight mooned world of Nassius Prime. Finely built and fast-moving, and were known to have been a physically powerful and agile species.

With their sleek, athletic bodies; soft coat, large eyes, and rack antlers, Jelenans were the most notable species on their planet to visitors. Jelenans were a shy species that often spent daylight hours hidden away in the vivid forests and meadows of their homeworld.

Biology and Appearance
Jelenans had elongated, pronounced snouts; smooth fur, long pointed ears, large, wide-set eyes; blunted teeth, and a small, stumpy tails.

An adult Jelenan male would weigh from 150 to 300 pounds on the hoof, with females averaging from 100 to 175 pounds. While normally bipedal, Jelenans could walk on both legs and use their hoofed-fingered hands as front feet.

Jelenans also had immense, strong, hoof-like three-fingered hands which could provide increased dexterity and gripping power, functioning like a Human’s hand. Jelenans had very slender and muscular bodies with long thin arms and legs, ending with two-toed hooves that helped them run. The Jelenan’s hooves were broad, flat, and deeply cleft so that their feet could spread wide apart during each step to give maximum support on marshy ground or snow. Jelenan dew claws touched the ground only when they were walking; also helped to give a maximum area of support. Jelenans often made clicking noises with their feet as they walked. The sound was produced by a tendon sliding over a bone in the foot.

Jelenans were constantly alert for signs of danger and could spot a moving object a mile away with their large eyes, but it may not be able to see a motionless predator just a few feet away. A Jelenan’s triangular ears could move to pinpoint the quietest noise. When alarmed, the Jelenan would use its rapid sprinted ability to escape. It could maintain a speed of about 50 miles per hour for 4 or 6 miles over flat leveled ground. A 2-monthold Jelenan fawn could outrun a Human-sized Humanoid. At four months, a Jelenan fawn could outrun a horse. Galloping at full speed, a Jelenan’s stride could be more than 25 feet. When chased by a predator, a Jelenan could jump 10 feet into the air and cover 30 feet in a single leap. This maneuver was also used to confuse and frighten predators and attackers. It also gave Jelenans a clearer and wider view of their surroundings.

Antlers
Jelenan males had antlers that often reached the span of 2 feet, being divided into two branches curving forward and inward, with multipointed forks. A Jelenan male with a total of 12 points on its antlers would be considered a leader.

Young Jelenans had cranial velvet horn-knobs which would eventually grow into horns towards adulthood. If their velvet was cut, they would die from cranial injuries. Jelenans would normally shed in the winter and would grow again before the mating season. Jelenans would reach full size by 17 years.

Some other races of Jelenans had backward curving horns with small forward facing prongs. Some female Jelenans of various different races had horns that were very small. Other types of Jelenan included thick, ringed, lyre-shaped horns, long, spiral-shaped horns, and a single, backward-facing horn on their snouts. This antler identifying method was often used by visitors or strangers to tell which race or breed a certain Jelenan was.

Jelenan males were easy to distinguish by their larger size and antlers. Jelenan females, however, were smaller then the males and mostly had no antlers. The horns of the females whose races did have antlers were often smaller then that of the males. Both genders used them for defense. The male also used them to fight other males over a mate. While most Jelenans mainly ate the velvet as it falls off their antlers, the ones that lived in the herds inhabiting in the highlands would eat their shedded antlers due to the soil being deficient in minerals that the Jelenans needed to grow new antlers. Fighting male Jelenans sometimes locked their antlers together and could not separate. When this happened, they would both die of starvation.

Fur
Jelenan coat colors often raged from dark brown to tan, red, gold, and gray. Some races had white colored faces, thoughts, and bellies while others ranged from creamy white to chocolate brown. The coat of a common Jelenan fawn was often brown with white spots on its back in order to keep camouflage. The pelts of Jelenan children of other types of races had grayish-brown colored coats. But at 3 years, it would change to the same pale color as their parents. Some Jelenan fawns of other different races were also known to have been born with thick, wooly fleece. During winter, a Jelenan’s coat becomes dark gray, heavy, and dense with a woolly underfur which was waterproof by stiff guard hairs on the top.

When alarmed, a Jelenan would leap into air, exposing the white marking under its tail. This was done by rising up and spreading its long white colored hairs on its rump to warn other herd members. It would also emit a strong scent from glands at the base of the rump hairs.

Jelenan muzzles were fur-clad to help combat the subzero temperatures of the winter. As Jelenans reached their elderly stages, an extra of skin would grow and hang from their chins. This dewlap could grow as long as two feet.

Breeding, Reproduction, and Early Life


The mating season happened annually around in the autumn season of Nassius Prime. By that time, the Jelenan female would become sympathetic and the male would enter a period of excitement. After mating, the male would leave the female to fend for herself.

After a gestation period of eight months, the female would give birth to one or two fawns. Young females would normally produce up to one offspring, but mature females may bear up to two or maybe three. The fawns could stand and walk after birth, but they would remain hidden in a cover of vegetation for the first few weeks. They would emerge only when their mother would return to feed them.

Jelenan had an average lifespan slightly longer than those of most sentient species in the galaxy.Female Jelenan fawns would reach maturity in a total of 10 years, but male fawns would not be fully mature until at least 20 years of age. At the time of their maturity, they would also leave their mother.

Behavior and Society
A Jelenan would normally live alone or in small groups most of the year. The groups would usually consist up of 1 or 2 females with their young, or they could be bachelor groups of 6 or 7 males. In severe winters, up to 50 Jelenans would gather together for protection from the cold. The male could be territorial, especially if food was scarce. Outside the mating season, males would form their own roaming herds to separate from females and young. Typical Jelenan herds were almost constantly on the move during daylight hours, searching for food.

Jelenans were primarily grazing animals. Jelenans ate grass by simply cutting it between their sharp lower teeth and their hard upper gums. Jelenans also had strong teeth in their cheeks which enabled them to eat twigs and bark during the winter when grass was normally scarce.

A Jelenan could rely on its well developed scenes of hearing, smell, and sight to detect danger from predators. While a Jelenan is eating, its sight was often blocked by vegetation, so it would have to raise its head in order to take a look around for a few minutes. When it is alarmed, the Varanian would stare and rotate its ears towards the place where it senses the source of danger.

Due to Jelenans being shy of other species besides their own herds, they were rarely seen in any other planet or station beyond their own region in the Tie’lo arm of the Jeelu disk nebula. They generally avoided settlements of any other sentient species besides their own kind. Only a few Jelenans could be found on planets near their homeworld.

Religion
Most Jelenans believed in a god-like figure known as “Ronno”, meaning “Creator Spirit”. The other spirits would either both cause trouble or help and protect them from danger. Good spirits would also take care of them by bringing good seasons of good luck. Spiritual beliefs were not a separate part of life for Jelenans. The spirit world guided Jelenans in their understanding of nature. The goal of a Jelenan life was to be in harmony with both the natural and supernatural world. Different Jelenan stories tell tales of different spirits as well. One member of a herd was said to be a shaman, who many believed to have special magical powers.

Some ceremonies celebrated the stages of life: birth, marriage, old age, and death. Herd members would chant and dance in hope of strengthening the group and bringing it good fortune.

Behind the Scenes
Much of the information about the Jelenans is actually based off of real facts about deer (white-tailed deer, mule deer, and elk), the author’s animal spirit and favorite creature.

One reason for the author’s creation of the Jelenan was due to the fact that he noticed most sentient species in the Star Wars universe are reptilian, human, or insect, and the author was tired of the fact.