Mochive (tɛˈʃɛrak)

Danjar mochives are much smaller and stockier than the breeds found on other continents. They have a strong, arched neck, with four sturdy legs and excellent feet, attached to a compact and muscular body and a tubular tail that is about half the length of their body.
Mochives have exceptionally good hearing. Their ears can rotate which allows them to hear all around without having to move the head.
They have large lateral eyes, with thick eyelashes. They can see in full colour and have excellent day and night vision.
Like all mochives, they have short fur in their body and back legs, and longer and shaggier in their front legs, shoulders and head.
During the colder months, Danjar mochives retreat to the hills surrounding the central mountain range. To withstand the usually freezing temperatures they grow a longer thicker coat in their bodies, which they shed at the beginning of the warmer months as they return to the grasslands for the birthing season.

Antlers

Both females and males grow antlers. In foals, they are covered in a soft skin called velvet which falls off when they reach their maturity.
Fully grown, the antlers could measure between 70cm to 120cm in total length. Mochives usually have between 4 to 6 tines on each antler.

Mating and birthing happen during the summer months.
Since the arrival of the navastis to Danjar it has been observed that, as it happened in other places, some wild pregnant mochives stay near domesticated herds during gestation for protection against predators, and once the foal is born they will return to their original herds.

Domesticated mochives have a life expectancy between 45 to 50 years. Wild ones may live less than that due to predators, or disease.

In the wild mochives live in small herds (30/40 between adults and foals) led by the strongest females. Males live with their mothers until they reach adulthood at 5 years old when the velvet in their antlers falls off, at which point they will go in search of other young males to make their own herds.
Older male mochive, or sick ones, will join the large female herds as they aren't fit enough to keep up with the younger males wandering. As their strength dwindles, they stay in the outskirts of the herds, ready to distract, or even attack, predators that get too near them.

When not in breeding season, wild mochive can be found around the many hills, and steep mountainsides in Danjar.
During the warmer months, they will descend to the rich grasslands and river valleys.

Mochives are herbivores. Due to living in a wide variety of climates, they have adapted to feed on practically any kind of plant.
A regular mochive needs between 7 to 11 kilograms of food per day and, under normal use, drink 38 to 45 litres of water.

The relationship between navastis and the mochive began a bit rocky. At first, they attempted to hunt them, but quickly realised the meat was extremely hard to eat.
After it became their mount, navastis began to use them for many different tasks, from riding to field work.
A common product among mochi towns is made of cut antlers. Domesticated mochives have their antlers trimmed (sometimes even styled) and in many cases, the discarded antlers are made into small souvenirs.