Seawhers|

[Lyrikitty]

Seawhers - air-breathing predators, seawhers are probably the most intelligent of the native inhabitants of Pern's ocean. Although some species are smaller than dolphins, these tend to be shy and are rarely seen by humans. The larger species are better known and are Pern's equivalent to the Terran orca -- if somewhat less friendly. Those of the oceans travel in large pods, hunting bigmouths and dimglows, although they have been known to "finish off" boats and ships damaged in storms and will willingly eat any human or dolphins foolish or unlucky enough to get too close. However, they will not approach undamaged vessels, preferring to keep their distance. Seawhers can be highly protective of other pod members; hunting seawhers from dragons is not an option as a dragon in the water would be seen as fair game...Seawhers are streamlined creatures with a powerful vertically flattened tail that is used for propulsion. The rear limbs are reduced to solid stabilizers; the middle limbs are adapted as large steering fins while the front limbs are much reduced to small flaps in front of the main fins, and are used only in mating. A series of dorsal ridges run along the back, with one elongated to a triangular fin at the midpoint. Female seawhers give birth to live young, usually two at a time, and the whole pod is involved in raising the young.