Assorted Sketches Of The Ryerunner, An Ostrich-sized Herbivore That Lives On The Wheat-covered Planet

Assorted sketches of the ryerunner, an ostrich-sized herbivore that lives on the wheat-covered planet Alicanto. Its frilled eyestalks fold over its head, forming a sort of natural balaclava that shields its eyes and upper nostrils in the strong winds. When extended, the underside is a bright, iridescent white; the sudden flash of a ryerunner's frill can be disorientating to practically anything with eyes in the dull sepia landscape.

Though they, as obligate herbivores, have little interest in eating other animals, ryerunners engage in a particularly gruesome form of kleptoparasitism: using their long front claw, they will cleanly "dissect" other plant-eating animals for their stomach contents (and another other occasional treats, such as gestating eggs or large internal parasites). By seeking out this partially digested food, they are able to add significant variation to their diet and include vegetation they would otherwise not be able to access. Attacks on carnivores are rarer, though still not especially uncommon. Herds of ryerunner will sometimes curiously follow animals, nutritional value or no, for up to several hours - both at ground level and by climbing to the surface of the wheat to stalk from above - before killing and carefully "dismantling" said animal as a group, a play behavior that reinforces social bonds and strengthens valuable hunting skills.