Qrykee

(KRIKE-ee)

The qrykee is the first of its kind - a true living fossil. After the discovery of the great Centropolis Sewer Beast, Euclid began to wonder about his own experiment, at the time known as #716. He discovered that his experiment had not only DNA related to the Sewer Beast, but to an ancient, long-extinct species - and in fact the qrykee was a true evolution of these combined genetics. Unlike previous experiments, qrykees were not only able to breed on their own, but were also able to be potioned into the various colors known to other Subetan species. Thanks to this, the qrykee was declared a true, separate, non-experimental species and has since been allowed to multiply and establish a wild territory, primarily in the area around Veta Lake.

The qrykee is quite large - on average, they span 9-10 feet (2.7-3 m) from nose tip to tail tip, and they tend to weigh around 500 lbs (227 kg). Despite their size, they are quite quick in water, though they prefer to spend their time lazily floating on the surface, sometimes riding waves and currents without any care to change direction. They are almost entirely aquatic, and everything from feeding to mating is done in the water. Female qrykees will venture onto land only to lay eggs, and they will only stay long enough to dig a hole, lay a clutch, and bury it with anything nearby for camouflage. From that moment on, the eggs are left defenseless. Qrykee hatchlings, called croquettes (due to a nickname given to them by Euclid during their creation), must fend for themselves from the moment they leave the nest. Once they return to water, however, they are relatively safe - qrykees of all ages and sizes have very few enemies. Qrykees can hold their breath for an impressive 20 minutes, and they will remain fully submerged even when sleeping. While they are not territorial, they are not particularly interested in one another, either. Qrykees have been observed to live in large packs, but do not seem to assist each other with things like hunting and playing. Instead, they seem content to just be around each other with minimal interaction.

Perhaps because of its man-made component, qrykees actually make quite enjoyable pets! They can be rather aloof and almost lazy, however, and are not the ideal guard-pets that people originally thought they would be. In fact, regular exercise is required to keep a qrykee from growing too obese. A large pool is needed for them to swim, sleep, and feed in, though domestic qrykees seem content to spend more time on land than their wild brethren. Qrykees require a diet made entirely of meat, and domestic qrykees in particular seem to favor certain meats over others. This can be unfortunate for the qrykee owner whose pet leans towards exotic tastes!