Waterdeer

The waterdeer is a semi-aquatic social animal in Meridia.

Description
The waterdeer is a large, plesiosaur-like reptile with a four flippers and a long neck, a tough shell on its back, and a pair of antlers on its head. It has ears, eyes, and nostrills on the top of its head, allowing it to see, hear, and smell its surroundings while the rest of its body remains submerged. Its mouth is beaked and toothless, similar to a turtle's.

The coastal waterdeer has bright colours, ranging from blue to green to purple and yellow. Some individuals feature thin white or yellow stripes. Its antlers look like corals.

The fresh waterdeer has darker colours, mainly dark green and brown, to better suit its surroundings. Its body is also smaller than its saltwater cousin, and its antlers look more like tree branches.

Behaviour
The coastal waterdeer is a migratory social animal, travelling along the coastline with pods of 6-20 individuals, only to return to the nesting grounds to lay eggs. Though it spends a lot of time in the water, they have been seen sleeping, sunbathing, and even feeding on beaches. It is a herbivore and enjoys a wide variety of plants, both on land and in water. Their long necks help them reach seaweed and other aquatic foliage on the seafloor and leaves on tree tops. It communicates with other members of its species by high-pitched sounds, just like whales.

It is a calm and peaceful animal, not batting an eye on any human or other sentient race who come near it if unprovoked. Some indivuals have even been reported to tolerate being touched gently.

The fresh waterdeer is more solitary. If it does live in a group, the group usually does not exceed 8 individuals. It is also more shy and would mostly flee and/or hide upon seeing a human. It is unknown whether it communicates in the same ways as its coastal relatives.

Habitat
As its name suggests, coastal waterdeer live in coasts, namely the tropical ones of Aleria. Fresh waterdeer live around Aleria's lakes and rivers.