ommanyte:Red/Blue Dex Entry: A Pokémon that has been overhunted almost to extinction. It can ferry p
ommanyte:Red/Blue Dex Entry: A Pokémon that has been overhunted almost to extinction. It can ferry people across the waterOR/AS Dex Entry: People have driven Lapras almost to the point of extinction. In the evenings, this Pokémon is said to sing plaintively as it seeks what few others of its kind still remain.The first and most recent dex entries for Lapras. Its one of my favourite pokemon, but I’ve always found it poignant how it seems to represent dwindling populations of real world cetaceans (whales and dolphins) that have too been hunted to near extinction in the recent past, despite being gentle and intelligent creatures. Anyway, I’d thought I’d do a lil’ biological overview of them (which is in no way canon, just something I wrote based on irl cetaceans and fossil plesiosaurs!) Lapras are large marine reptilian pokemon, found in polar and sub-polar waters. They are endothermic (warm blooded) with a thick layer of fat for insulation. They feed primarily on fish pokemon, such as remoraid, but also forage on the seafloor for benthic pokemon, such as Krabby, or Shellder. They possess a single horn on their head, used to form and sustain air holes under layers of sea ice. They are extremely long lived pokemon, and adults often have dense encrustations of a small binacle subspecies, only found on Lapras. They are highly intelligent, and have a sophisticated communication with conspecifics (other Lapras) via singing. Lapras travel to warmer, temperate waters to breed and rear young, for example they can be spotted off the coast ot Kalos in the Azure bay. Males sing endlessly during this period in order to compete for females. The calves are born via vivipary (live birth) and are reared in the shallow warm waters until they are mature enough to travel back to colder waters, where food is more abundant. Calves stay in the protection of their mothers for years. Females travel in pods of closely related mothers, aunts, sisters, daughters and grandmothers, whereas males lead a more solitary lifestyle. Unfortunately, due to their gentle nature, and valuable oils and fats, these Pokemon have been hunted to near extinction, and are classified as a highly endangered species. -- source link