Species Name: Zinks

Habitat: Tundra, frozen plains and forests.

Classification: Non-Sentient Mammalian Animal.

Appearance: Zinks are small 1ft long creatures. They typically have 6 fur covered legs ending in wide flat footpads designed to keep them stable in soft snow, each footpad has retractable claws. They have a large bushy tail that is in fact a large fat deposit, the tail can be up to 1ft in length but is typically only 6 inches long and as wide as the Zink. The tail is kept on the ground, the natural sweeping walk of the Zink causes the tail to erase the Zinks footprints as it moves.
The Zink have a thin layering of snow-white fur on their blubbery bodies. Their bellies have pink and yellow spots that darken as they near mating season. Their heads are rounded and sit on the front of their body. They have very small ears (they have poor hearing) a small (but powerful) button nose, large eyes with a clear nictitating membrane that lets them see in bad snowstorms or while digging. They have a flat mouth with sharp teeth useful for chewing through tough berries, roots, and leaves. Zink males have small tusks that can grow either upwards like a warthogs, or downwards Zink are purely herbivores eating almost any plant matter found in frozen landscapes.

The females have a highly sought after natural perfume they emit during mating season to attract males. The perfume is unique in that it is a concentrated scent of whichever flower the females have been consuming most. The scent can change over the course of mating season but it will always smell only like one flower, never a combination.

The males communicate using a call that sounds like a Human baby crying they can communicate over 200 distinct topics this way by modulating duration, volume, and pitch. Females sound like different baby animals crying, they can communicate over 500 distinct topics by changing the animal cry as well as modulating pitch, duration, and volume.
The Zink average lifespan is approximately 15 years in the wild, 3 weeks in captivity alone or together with other Zink.

Behavior: The Zink live in large family groups numbering from as little as 20 to as many as 150 individuals. Each individual will live in their own burrow, but each burrow is connected to all others by a warren of passages through snow and frozen dirt. The Zink rarely move from their homes, but if they must travel to farther parts of their vast territories they will dig new tunnels in the snow. Zink always remember where their tunnels are even after years.
Zink require little food during the harsher months as they can naturally slow or speed up their own metabolism. During the more active months or times of stress they may increase their metabolism and their rate of movement, this requires them to eat more food. They will often bring nuts and certain seeds into their burrows for later consumption during the harsh months.

Zink mate in temporary pairings. Despite beings mammals they lay eggs. They may lay as many as 10 eggs. Each egg will have a large amount of insulating fat within the shell. The mating pairs will work co-operatively to keep turning and warming the eggs or gathering food, one always stays with the eggs. If one Zink dies the other will remain with the eggs tending them until they hatch or the parent starves. When the eggs hatch the mating pair will separate, the entire clan of Zink will care for the children; all mothers will provide milk for any Zink children nearby. Other than during mating and egg hatching Zink are very social with one another, sharing food, passages, and the care and protection of children.

Zink are also very passive around similarly sized creatures that share their habitat, they will defend their stored food, but they may share their tunnels, and allow competitors to eat the same plants. The Zink however do not like larger creatures entering their habitat.

If they feel a creature has invaded their territory too far they will gather together into a large group and secretly hunt the creature. If they discover it is an herbivore they will immediately attack it. If it is a predator the Zink will send a lone member out to an ambush point, the other Zink will dig secret holes and lay in wait and climb nearby trees to wait, the lone Zink will then cry loudly like a lonely baby to attract the predator.

The Zink will then suddenly swarm their prey, they will leap onto it, bite, scratch, stab, or slash it, and then they will leap away before it may retaliate. The Zink will continue to attack the creature until many of them have been killed (which is rare), until the creature retreats from their territory (which is difficult), or until it is dead. The Zink will never eat the dead animal. They will roll in the nearby snow to remove any blood that sticks to their fur.
Most creatures stay away from Zink killed animals, though birds and small enough carnivores will eventually consume it.

Zink will often send scouts through their territory in regular intervals to seek food and intruders. They will climb trees or rocks to get a good view of the land, or they may use their bottom legs and tail to stand higher. Zink will sometimes stand on one another's shoulders for an even greater view.
The Zink have only a few predators, their frozen location and aggressive nature when in large groups keeps them safe for the most part.

No Zink ever captured has lived for more than a few weeks.

Zink are often hunted (carefully) for the perfume of females (10000 of which can make almost 1 ounce of usable perfume, unprocessed) and for the males unique white and belly speckled fur.