The Magical Creature Handbook

Catoblepas

Artist Unknown

CATOBLEPAS
(kat-ou-belle-phas)

Historical Context:

The catoblepas originates from Ethiopia, but is considered to be part of Greek Mythology. This is because the catoblepas can be identified through other names like the catoblepones and katobleps (which are heavily Greek). But the name 'catoblepas' comes from Ethiopia.

Height: ≈ five foot
Weight: ≈ 5,000 kilograms
Life span: ≈ thirty to forty years
Attack: 10 // catoblepas' are very quiet creatures
Armour: 65 // they're armoured with thick skin and sometimes have scaly armour around the neck or entire body
Defence: 85 // horns, strength, tail and a poisonous breath
Stealth: 10 // these large creatures are heavy and unaware of their surroundings
Diet: herbivore // a diet of mainly grass
Habitat: woodlands and large open plains

Artist Unknown

Sex:
A female catoblepas is known as a heifer, and a male is known as a bull. Within this breed, there is no dominant sex. The bulls may seem more aggressive but the heifer can be just as hostile. The offspring of a catoblepas is identified as a calf.

Appearance:
They have the structure of a common cow, bone structure and horns. A catoblepas' appearance changes slightly between each breed, just like a cow can change between a friesian cow differs from a jersey cow. Not only does their coat change within colours, patterns and thickness, but armour and other parts of the body. Most catoblepas have long necks, some longer than others, that hold their heavy heads. If a catoblepas is ever seen, it's head is usually low in the grass around it, this is because the head of a catoblepas is one of the heaviest parts of the body and the neck is not strong enough to fully support its weight.
Horns on the catoblepas can vary from the top of their head, inside their mouth (known as tusks) or both. Heifers will usually be armoured with tusks and horns, whilst the bulls will have either one but much larger.
Tails can vary between a tumble of stringy hair, a boulder or a scorpion like tip, the tail varies on the breed. Whatever the tail is, it can harm more than a fly. The stringy hair like tail has the habit of choking any predator that try's to attack from behind, the boulder like tail can smash any bone to a splinter and the scorpion tail contains poison. Some breeds of a catoblepas are armoured with tiny scales over their body, this is because their skin is weaker and less thick compared to the others that only have shaggy fur that covers them.

Mating:
Like said earlier, catoblepas are much like the human common cow, meaning they don't have much of a brain. To them, it does not matter who they mate with or when, so those who own catoblepas' have to seperate the bulls and heifers when the heifer goes on heat otherwise there will be a spring load of calves before the end of the month. The catoblepas does not desire to mate after having up to five calves, therefore leaving them at a good middle age when they stop reproducing. This is why there are many catoblepas found in the wild, but thankfully there are larger predators that learn how to get past a catoblepas' defences and keep the population of them at bay.

Artist Unknown

Hunting:
A catoblepas does not hunt because of their herbivore diets, if anything, the one thing they hunt are wild berries and other fruits unknown to humankind. But the catoblepas has many predators, large and small, that hunt on it. It's main and known predators are the larger breeds of hellhounds, dragons, ahools and others. When a catoblepas has been killed and most of the meat has been torn away, smaller creatures like faeries and grillandras will feast on the carcass.

Temperament:
It can be said that a catoblepas is a calm and quiet creature, when left alone. But if the creature is under attack or its offspring is, they become very vicious. Using their tails, horns and tusks to cause harm and sometimes kill. But a catoblepas has a little brain and leaves them harmless as longs as they feel safe.

Rarity:
A catoblepas has two major magic tricks; stone cold stare and poisonous breath. Every bread of catoblepas is equipped with a toxic mouth that has the ability to kill off any disease or dangerous bug that they may swallow, leaving them basically immune unless injected by poison where the skin is less protected. This makes not only its saliva and breath poisonous but it's intestines and stomach too, full of enough toxic acid that it will leave a hand skinless. The other party trick is its eye. Only one bread of catoblepas has the ability to turn a creature to stone if looked in the eye. To avoid this awful way to die, one must make sure not to look and attack when the creature is unaware, but be wary of the other defences. This breed is known as the yarken breed, this breed can be told apart but the extra long neck, little protection around the body and sometimes will have steam coming from its eyes.

Artist Unknown