More Herbivores?

After a recent conversation on the chatbox, I got to wondering... Why are there so few herbivores? I know the whole vore thing, but it makes it hard to not make a character that only feeds on sentients. Everything that lives in my character's hunting grounds is either to small for Ruby, much bigger than Ruby, or too ornery for Ruby to even dare approach. What I'm saying it... the base of the food chain has been extremely neglected. How can so few herbivores support such a variety of predators? It's really bothersome, and I can't shake it x.x
Even if we resort to large rodents and rabbits, I just need something more to work with, and I'm sure at least someone can agree with me.


tl;dr version: Help me come up with more plant-eaters.

because everybody eats each other. I think of it like a circle.

Idariks

An Idariks is a large bird like creature. It can be found in Elifga Valley, the Direwind Hills, the Fairy Kingdom, Forest of Whispers, Bulvon Wood, Tolmeshal Forest and many areas of Deeper Felarya. It is a large bird with a rounded body and two large wings. However, despite these, it has evolved as a flightless bird. The Idariks range in size from that of a large pig up to that of a large cow. However, they are not dangerous to same size creatures They have a short head with a long beak for snatching insects out of hard to reach places. They also have, unlike most birds, four legs on it's rotund body. It can flap for a short while and, while being flightless, actually spends a good deal of it's time in trees, hopping from branches and gripping them with it's strong flexible claws. When it does walk on the ground it ends up looking fairly ridiculous, wobbling around on four legs. It is a favored food of predators and are easy to catch if one hunts during the middle of the day - Idariks are fairly lazy and good at hiding, sleeping away their mornings and afternoons. While they have good eyesight, they have fairly poor hearing and instinct and can be snuck up on.

I think a few herbivores have been suggested in New Ideas discussions.

One of the problems with the herbivores is that, for the most part, they're being made to fill in a niche and only filling in a niche. The Predators that're being made usually at least have something they do that makes them interesting, draws attention, etcetera. Herbivores "Here is a cow-duck. It eats grass. It is often used for dinner to creatures below 20' in height".

As such, I'd suggest creating your own. We have a few herbivores on the Wiki (EX: What Anna hunts), but not too many. Do we have some sort of scavenging fruit eater yet? Eats up fallen fruit and the scraps a more omnivorous giant predator drops?

Troll, I'd think being an insectivore would would as predation, but it could work o__o

Hmm, not sure. It is fairly hard to come up with interesting herbivores, but... well, I spent a while typing these up, so I'll add them to the post.

Hoozec

Height: 8 feet.

Threat: Low

Hoozec is a creature that resembles a large, green moose. It lives around the Elifga Valley, Deeper Felarya, and in the forests surrounding Frost Peak. It has antlers like that of a typical moose, except rather than the single, many-pointed horns, they also have two long, curved horns similar to that of a bull that curve downward and point forward. They are relatively harmless, eating only plants and berries, but if anything were to anger one of these animals, it would not hesitate to charge, and Hoozec are heavy, muscular creatures. It's horns aren't that hard, however, and can be easily snapped off by a giant predator.


Saslenoth

Height: 12 feet head-to-bottom.

Threat: Minimal

Saslenoth can be found in many forests in Felarya, including Chidokai Forest, the Forest of Whispers, and Deeper Felarya. They could be best described as six-legged three-toed sloths. They spend most of their days hanging from trees, moving as slow as a sloth could move, eating leaves and bark from the trees they inhabit, and the moss and fungus that seems to grow in their fur. Their slow speed make them easy targets for hungry predators, but it's usually a test of strength to withstand their foul stench.

Vacavid

Height: 4 feet

Threat: Minimal, Moderate when in a group

A small, green and brown bovine creature that is found in scattered herds in the milder regions of Felarya such as the Elifga Valley. It normally feeds on grass and shrubs, but may, once and a while, scavenge a carcass. They run about as fast as a human, and are a bit strong, but a single Vacavid is rather harmless. If you anger an entire herd, however, brace yourself for the pain. Giant predators very much enjoy eating these tiny cows.

Orapur

Height: 4 feet

Threat: Low

A large, long-tailed rabbit that is common in almost all wooded areas in Felarya. They normally have brown fur and especially long ears. They run extremely fast, and can jump at extreme lengths. They can eat almost any plant they encounter, usually munching on fruits and roots. They reproduce relatively fast, but it seems to be balanced out by the rate at which predators feast on them.

Great work on those !
Well like Malahite pointed, I think it's normal to have more dangerous creatures listed since they are more striking and important to know. But I do agree that herbivores are severely under-represented.
I epsecially liked the Saslenoth and Idariks

Brontodon

Height: 35ft/11.5m at the shoulder

Threat: Low to Moderate

Description: The Brontodon is a heavily built, six legged herbivore that lives in the Tolmeshal forest and the drier parts of the chidokai foerest. It is highly social, and typically wanders the forest in small groups of 15 to 20 indviduals. It has a heavily armored head which is topped with a rounded, battering-ram like horn, and has two stubby tusks on its lower jaw which are used for digging up roots and tubers. It's vision is relatively poor compared to it's hearing and sense of smell, making it relatively easy to provoke. When this occurs, a solitary brontodon will charge and attempt to ram the percieved threat. If in a group, however, the adults will form a defensive ring around the calves and hold their ground. It is a very powerful animal, easily able to plow it's way through the thick underbrush that can be found in the jungle, and it's powerful jaws and large, tough teeth-which are tough enough to be used to hammer a nail into a block of wood-enable it to eat woody vegetation that most other animals cannot. The neck and throat of an adult brontodon are also heavily armored. Like many large earth animals, it is fond of taking mud baths to cool down and for relief from biting flies and the like. On Felarya, this also has the advanage of making them more unappetizing to giant predators. Incapable of climbing, it is purely a resident of the forest floor, although in rare casses it may be able to access the tree limbs due to a downed tree.

Giganototherium

Height: 60ft at the base of the neck when upright.

Threat: Very Low

The living embodiement of the term "gentle giant", the giganototherium is a massive, medium necked herbivore which lives in the tolemshal and Chidokai forests as well as the forest of whsipers. It has powerful limbs ending in sharp claws, but it uses these for climbing trees instead of hunting for food. The exception to this is when it's offspring are threatened; in this instance, a giganototherium will attempt to disembowel the attacker. Giganototheriums are usually solitary, altough they do form family groups conisting of two adults and their offspring. They feed on tree leaves and fruit, annd use their necks and claws to help them reach out-of-the-way morsels. Thick skin on their hands and feet protect them from thorns that may be found on the trees they climb. Jungle communities are not over fond of this herbivore: its size means that it's on the menu of hydra tree, and all it takes is one gigantotherium to sate a hydra tree for a week. However, they can be tamed when young, although it does take a great deal of effort and a great deal of experience to pull this off successfully.

Furred Parrot

Height: 20ft from head to feet.

Threat: Very Low to minimal

This unusual creature is found in the forest of whispers and the western part of the Tolmeshal forest. Interestingly, the furred parrot is not actually a parrot at all; rather, it is a kind of mammal. It's name comes from it's ability to "parrot" the sounds it hears with near perfect accuracy. This is it's primary defense mechanism-when danger approaches, it hides and mimics the sounds of a pack of kensha beasts or another large dangerous predator. Should this fail, it then attempts to escape by flight. It has bat-like wings, which are covered in colorful patterns. It's body proper is a rather drab shade of brown. It actually does have a somewhat parrot-like head, due mostly to it's vertically thick snout. It's long tail helps it to steer while in flight. When on the ground, it hops along rather like an oversized sparrow. Its meat has a somewhat sweet taste, due to it's diet of ripe and overipe fruit and nectar.

Arctic Brontodon

Height: 40ft

Threat: Low to Moderate

This relative of the brontodon is overall rather similair to it's jungle dwelling cousin in terms of social life and behvaior. The major differences are in it's moprhology. While the most obvious difference is it's fur, there are other important, but subtle differences. First, unlike it's jungle dwelling cousin the arctic brontodon has a long, sharp horn on it's head rather than a dull, rounded battering ram-like horn and it's tusks are longer and stronger than its jungle counterpart's. Second, the artic brontodon is a noticeably larger animal which travels in smaller groups of ten-15 indviduals plus offspring, and is far more aggresive. Its jaws and teeth are weaker, however, and cannot exert the same force that the jungle brontodon's can. This is likely due to the fact that it feeds mostly on lichens, mosses, leafy shrubs and tubers rather than the woody vegetation that the jungle variety perfers to feed on. Unlike the jungle variety, it also has a long tail. This animal is found primarily in the Imoreith tundra, although herds may venture outside of this region during the winter while looking for food. It has two coats; a mottled brown summer coat, and a white winter coat.

Swamp pig

Height:10-15 ft athe the shoulder

Length: 30 foot from the head to the base of the tail; the tail can add an extra twenty to thirty feet.

Threat: Very Low to Minimal

While not actually a pig, this strange, social reptile earned it's name for the sounds it makes, which sound remarkably similair to those made by a pig. It is found in the Chidokai forest and the Soral swamps, where it feeds on roots, aquatic vegetation, grubs, and soft plants. It is aided in this by two tusks which jut forward from it's lower jaw, which help it to dig food out of the ground. Its has a relatively flat, rounded face unlike the pointed snout of a lizard. It is relatively defenseless-it's main defense is actually distraction. The tail is brightly colored with reds and yellows, but generally kept hidden under the surface of the water. When attacked, however, it runs and raises it's tail out of the water. When grabbed this tail is grabbed, it can be released like that of a skink or other lizard, and the predator is left with a flopping, struggling tail while the swamp pig makes a clean escape into deeper water or denser foliage. On a related note, the other reason for their name is because they really do taste like pork.

Some really nice ideas here ! Very inventive and orginal

For now I would like to add the Furred parrots, the Idariks and the Saslenoth if their authors agree with the disclaimer ^_^

As always, the answer is yes.

I fully agree :3

*Uses a Phoenix Down on the thread*

I had an idea that entered my mind, but I finally feel motivated to post it.

Tapitapi

7 feet high

A large tapir that can be found in and around the Fairy Kingdom. It resembles a tapir with multicolored patterns on its skin. It usually feeds on vegetation and is very harmless to humans. However, it seems to have a strange ability. Whenever it is nearby, those who are asleep seem to have the inability to dream. This has incorrectly labeled the tapitapi as a 'dream eater,' and is usually considered a bad omen.

Crap, I meant to inb4 Drowzee but I forgot to >.o

I'm laughing so hard I can't type!

Horned hamster

Size: 1 inch tall at the shoulder
Threat: Minimal

Horned hamsters look like the more mundane dwarf guinea pig (hamster is a misnomer), except for a peculiarity. They've got a large pair of ringed horns curving backwards, and another pair of twisted horns on the back of their heads. The horned hamster uses those horns to give itself a very rough feel while going down the throat, thus dissuading would-be predators from swallowing them whole and alive, and to make themselves more appealing mates. If fighting for a mate, horned hamsters also use those horns to compare strengths, bashing one another on the side, or ramming themselves frontally.

Despite they're rodents, horned hamsters behave more like herd animals, grazing under the sun and drinking water in streams and rivers rather than stuffing their pouches and digging burrows. They're assisted in their survival by the unbelievable speed with which they run.

Wayze

Size: 3 feet at the shoulder
Threat: Very low

Wayzes are a small omnivore from Deeper Felarya. Looking like a cross between a beaver and an aardvark, wayzes usually eat plants and fruits, though they hunt during the noon if they meet something smaller than itself. Their hunting method is very bizarre: inhaling with their powerful snouts, they vacuum small objects in. A throat similar to that of a human, capable of either swallowing or breathing but not both, allows them to transfer their catches from their airways to their oesophagus, and to breathe through their mouths while their snouts are blocked.

Despite their bizarre hunting methods, the vacuuming motion doesn't usually serve to feed them more than insects from small swarms on its own. In general, they chase their food while vacuuming it, using their snout solely to slow it down, and then gobble it up with their mouth.