This is a creature from one of my fantasy worlds. Comments and questions are welcome.

Jaders are large green cats that are also called emerald tigers. Like tigers, jaders have black stripes, but their green fur and heavier build set them apart from tigers. Jaders have light green eyes that almost seem to glow, and even their teeth are tinged with green.

Jaders are five to ten feet long from the tip of their nose to the tip of their tail, with a weight of four hundred to over eight hundred pounds. They have good eyesight, hearing, and smell, and their green color helps them blend into the Darkwood Forest where they live.

Jaders mate for life, and so live and hunt in pairs. While many will choose another mate if their mate dies, some jaders will never mate again if their mate dies, and occasionally one of these lone jaders is seen. They give birth to two to four young, which mature quickly.

Jaders are somewhat legendary for being quiet and relentless hunters who are very dangerous to lone travelers and small groups on the roads through the Darkwood Forest. Leaving the road puts one in even more danger, for then the jaders can often attack without being seen first, and two such large and aggressive predators are hard to kill. A pair has been known to slaughter as many as twelve men at once.

Due to how dangerous jaders are, the kingdoms that the Darkwood Forest spreads through try to kill them off around the main roads, though these efforts are not entirely successful. Hunters like to come and test their skills against the jader, a test that many of them lose. A rare few men hunt jaders for a living, selling their valuable fur and getting bounties from the kingdoms they hunt in, but such men typically seem insane due to having to become almost like forest animals in order to hunt the elusive jader.

*Has just spotted this*

You shared some! Awesome.

And I love these creatures, you have worked on them well!

So do they live in dens in the forest, or do they just sleep on the forest floor? Where do they live when they're having a litter? How protective are they of their young, and how much does the male get involved with the young? Are they close, or does the male Jader not have much to do with the litter?

How are they with other Jaders? I mean, are they protective of their forest 'area' or do they share, and not bother whether other Jaders live nearby?

*Liketh muchly* The jaders sound amazing! Is it possible to tame one? Can you ride on one's back? *Sees a story idea coming and wants to write about someone who tames a jader*

Emerald tigers? I think I must've rubbed off on you

Why sayest thou so?

Do they view humans as any other prey, or will they tend to only attack humans when they feel threatened?

Thank you, Lady Elanor.


They sleep in sheltered places on the forest floor.


They are very protective of their young, which they raise in a sheltered place. The male jader will hunt alone soon after the female gives birth, but once the young are old enough to be left alone for long periods of time, the parents hunt together again.


Lone jaders who are young and have never mated do not have territories, but roam about at random until they find a mate. Mated pairs, and a jader that had its mate die and didn’t mate again, will guard their territory fiercely against other jaders.

Thank you, Milly.


It's theoretically possible that, if someone captured a jader cub, they could raise it to be fairly tame, though it would still retain dangerous instincts that would have to be watched.


They're not big enough for an adult human to ride. A child could fit on one, but due to the jader's temperament this is unlikely to happen.


You can always make up an even bigger cat for people to ride.

Seer is referring to the randomly-colored critters he tosses into chat. I chose green because it is a good camouflaging color for a predator that lives in a lush green environment, and because it would look cool.


They view humans like other prey, except with a bit more caution.

Thank you to everyone for all the good questions.

I know, right? It's a highlight of my week.

I love your names. Jaders = emerald tigers... that makes a lot of sense, and sounds very cool. What shade of green are they, specifically?

So do they have a litter of 2-4 cubs and then never have another litter?

I'll bet a jader pelt is the height of fashion, and would make a very ostentatious throw rug.

I like these a lot.

Jonathan shared some of us Fantasy stuffage.

:diesveryhappy:


You mention that the lone jaders are sometimes seen. How does one recognize a lone jader from one that still has a living mate, but is seperate from it?

Thank you, Aubrey.


It's a dark green, but not so dark that you can't see the stripes.


They have a litter of 2 to 4 cubs each year in the prime of life, but the mortality rate for young jaders on their own is high, due to other large predators.


Excellent point. I'll have to make sure some of the local royalty have some jader fur items.


I'm glad.

Yes.


A female will never be alone unless her mate is dead or she is young and looking for a mate. A male will never be alone unless his mate is dead, he is young and looking for a mate, or he is hunting for his mate and young. Thus, if it is an older female who is alone, it means her mate is dead, and if a male is older and seen alone outside of the time when cubs would be young, it means his mate is dead.

I figured the answer was somewhere along those lines.

Fascinating creatures.

Thanks.

Aah yes, ok. Thanks for answering!

At what age do the young Jaders leave their parents?

*gasps * I love these guys!!! Very creative. Are they revered by anyone in your world? For some reason I can't get that thought out of my mind....

That is such a good question that due to researching it I have to change something I said earlier. They leave their parents at around two years of age, so now I have jaders having litters of two to four every three years.


Thank you, Airianna. At the moment they are not, though it's possible that could change. I do have some other animals that are revered in certain parts of the world.

I'm glad the question helped.

So they are more menaces, of sorts, than anything?

Yes. Similar to tigers in our world, but more dangerous. I may develop them further when I am developing the local cultures in depth.

Cool.

These are awesome! This is sort of a wild suggestion, but an idea I just had that I thought I would share with you...in question form.
Are there any groups of warriors (assassins?) that require a new member to kill one of these creatures as sort of an initiation requirement? That would be similar to how the Spartans initiated new warriors I think.
Anyhow, these things are cool, I like how they mate for life, and might not mate again if they lose their partner. Good job all around!

Thank you, RunningWolf.


That's a good idea. I have something similar involving a ritual and an even more dangerous creature in another part of the world, so I'm not sure if I'll use it with the jaders, too.

Ooh, neat. *Wants to know about them next*

You're welcome!
Cool, yeah I wanna hear about the other creature (if you're ready to share it)!

I'll consider posting about them next.

As I recall, a Spartan initiate had to murder a slave without getting caught in order to become a full-fledged warrior.

These sound fascinating, Jonathan! I love their green fur. I don't really have any thing else to ask at the moment, since everyone else has already been asking questions. But I'll let you know if I think of any.

That too, but I think they also were locked in a cell with a lion and they had to kill it...or be killed.

Thank you, Azlyn.

Ah. Cool.

I thought about making the tiger in my photo manip a Jader, Jonathan.

That would have been neat. I've thought about trying to photo manipulate one...

That would have been awesome.

These creatures are awesome. Jaders - fits them quite well. The green pelt is my favorite part about them. Large cats in themselves are awesome. Green large cats? That's a new level entirely.

I don't have any questions right now, but I'll be sure to think of some.

Thank you, RedWing. I look forward to any questions you may have.


I've started working on it now, though whether it will turn out remains to be seen.

Cool. Can't wait.

Here is a rough conceptual picture of a jader stalking prey.

I love it!!

Thank you, Airianna.

I think the green adds to the stealthy hunter feel...

Yes, I thought so, too.

Oooooh! Green cats! What's not to like? Very nice.

Thank you, Azlyn.

Nice!

*Gasp* That. is. amazing! *Loves the idea of a green tiger*

Very nice, Jonathan!

Thank you, RunningWolf, Milly, and Raven Z.

I have a 'baby jader'. My tiger-striped kitty almost looks green... sorry, I'm off-topic.

*Hem*

I forget..did you state how much bigger than tigers jaders are?