Koross

Koross are faculative bipeds, possessing two arms and two legs as well as a prehensile tail.

Koross are asexual and require no partner to reproduce. When a Koross dies its young begin to grow within the decomposing body.

Koross have three growth stages. They begin life about half the size of a human. When they are born from the body of their fallen parent they are immediately able to walk and communicate with each other. By 100 years of age they enter their second growth stage in which they begin to develop rapidly. By 200 years of age a Koross can be as large as 30 meters. If a Koross makes it to 300 years or more they have to move into the ocean to support their massive weight. At this stage they move so slowly that it is almost imperceptible. They have also developed such a thick skin at this point that they have no true predators.

Most Koross begin life in or near the ocean, wherever their parent died. When they are young they will often seek out mountain ranges or large forests to live in. By the time they enter their third growth stage they usually maintain their own biome on their back.

Koross consume massive amounts of food when they are young and are constantly eating. A newly born Koross can consume an acre of forest in a week if it is especially hungry. As they mature Koross move more slowly to conserve energy and begin eating less. By the time they enter the ocean they mostly subsist off of massive quantities of small fish.

The average Koross has the intelligence of a great ape, being capable from a young age to learn to understand language and even learn rudimentary sign language.

If a Koross roots itself to the ground for some time it can sense vibrations in the earth up to a mile away, with sensitivity enough to notice a human walking at a calm pace.

When Koross get big enough they begin to develop their own biome on their back which can be home to thousands of animal species depending on the size of the Koross.