Shirgioolgen

Shirgioolgen (genus camelussus, camel-pig) are a small genus of desert dwelling Mowboars. They are found in the deserts and steppes of Central Asia and Siberia. Their name comes from the Oroqen words for "sand-pig". 

Biology

Shirgioolgen measure at about 7 feet at the shoulder, 9 feet in total height, and 13 feet in length from head to tail. Their neck measures in at 1 foot in length. 

Shirgioolgen have developed a fatty back hump for water storage, much like camels have. Their back hump developed from their neck hump, which was extremely muscular for intense chewing. The strong muscles that once held onto the jaw have now moved farther back to attach to the fat hump. The muscles moving back Shirgioolgen to have a longer and more flexible neck. The fat stored in the hump allows for long journeys across the cold deserts of Central Asia. 

Their coat has a tan coloration. Shirgioolgen's coats grow denser during the cold winters of the deserts and steppes. The coat differs between genders, males have short, red manes along with longer tusks to distinguish themselves from females. The tusks of the Shirgioolgen are thicker and shorter than those of their ancestors to help them maneuver easier while eating. Their blunt tusks are used to bash holes into the small cacti that grow in the Central Asian deserts. Opening up cacti allows them to negate getting stabbed by the spines as well as giving them easier access to water.

A Shirgioolgen's diet mostly consists of succulents, desert-dwelling shrubs and trees, and grasses. They pick the edible parts off with their trunk and shake the sand and dirt off of them. Their nose contains lots of thick hairs to filter out dust, dirt, and sand. The nostrils of the Shirgioolgen can shut so that sand doesn't get in the nose while picking grass. Similarly, their eyelashes face downwards to keep the dust and sand out. During the hot summers, the trunk is swelled with blood as a form of thermoregulation, they also thermoregulate by sweating from their feet. Their feet are padded to protect them from the hot sands and keep their footing on the shifting sands. The padding also helps Shirgioolgen stand on the snow and keep their feet from getting cold.

Behavior

Shirgioolgen are social creatures, herds usually consist of 10-15 individuals. The majority of the herd will be women and children with one male in charge. Sometimes rival males will try and challenge the patriarch for his place as leader of the herd, the loser will be exiled and try and find another herd. Females give birth to at least one calf, which drinks a fatty milk from one of the mother's two nipples. 

Shirgioolgen are fairly intelligent and sanitary creatures. They will take dust baths in order to clean out their fur and dig holes in the sand to defecate and urinate in. During their long journeys, Shirgioolgen will remember what routes they took and where to find food and water.