Peterilly grove
Anatomy
Welcome to the peterilly grove, source for all information on the open peterilly species, made by Hiilumaru.
Basics
Peterillies are small mammals in the family eupluridae, related to fossa and mongooses. They're known for their resemblance to rabbits, and for a very long time, they were believed to be escaped domestic rabbits, as they are hard to distinguish from a domestic rabbit at a glance, earning them the nickname "petty" to mirror the bunny nickname given to their likeness. Despite their resemblance, though, they're omnivores, and a lot of their food comes in the form of fish, birds, and small mammals - including, even specifically, rabbits.
Petties are about the size of larger rabbit breeds, and though they look like them at a glance, their bodies are very different. They are known for their forward-facing eyes, a trait all predatory animals share, but one that can be very unsettling when the observer thinks that they're looking at a rabbit. They also have slightly more distinct noses, larger tails and paw pads that rabbits lack; they also have a very different physical structure, and as a result, they walk instead of hopping, with a few rare exceptions. They have sharp teeth, but their middle incisors for grooming, marking territory and fighting, and are positioned slightly in front of the rest, allowing them to stick out very slightly, like a much smaller imitation of rabbits' buck teeth.
Diet
Peterillies are hunter/scavengers. They prefer to hunt, and are very good at it, being very agile and intelligent. They can climb trees, often raiding bird nests, and are capable enough swimmers to catch fish. They're good ambush predators, and will hunt most smaller animals, from squirrels to small sheep. However, they have a unique means of hunting that they will use both as a defense mechanism and a means of getting prey.
Peterillies take advantage of their resemblance to rabbits. By looking at things sideways, and hopping instead of walking, they can effectively fool many animals - including real rabbits - into thinking that they're a prey animal. They are often seen among colonies of real rabbits, using them as a cover. They use this tactic to not only get closer to rabbits, which are a main staple of their diet, and much larger prey such as deer and sheep that are used to seeing rabbits and won't be on alert near them.
They will also eat fruits, berries, flowers and root vegetables. They have a preference for things with strong flavors, often decimating nasturtiums, hot peppers, chives and radishes from gardens. They will eat insects as well, having been observed breaking down beehives for the honey and bees or eating cicadas off of trees during cicada season. Due to their love for strong flavors, they're also very fond of people food, and will also use their rabbit imitation to steal food from humans. They've been known to enjoy salty meat snacks or candy.
Habitat
Petties tend to live in forested areas, but can live in many climates. Their coats are very insulating, allowing them refuge from the cold through keeping body heat in and the heat by keeping external heat out. They tend to avoid large open areas, like tundra and prairie, preferring forests with dense ground cover or low, cluttered tree cover. They aren't afraid of humans, and will often bump right up against the edges of human settlements, but they don't stray far from the forests and will only venture a short distance into cities that border the forest.
The forests that they live in tend to have patches with some kind of anomalous properties. They can often be described as feeling like some kind of fae realm, with abnormal plant life, strange weather, and odd qualities of light and sound, to name a few of the many strange effects that peterilly territories tend to have. It's unknown whether the petties live here because of the effects or the effects are caused by the petties. However, they seem very well adapted to these unusual groves of forest and fare better than most other animals, where wildlife is also affected by the environmental oddities.
Though they prefer to live in these odd parts of the forest, they tend to migrate around the connected forest and can be found in ordinary forest as well.
Health
Petties are known for being longer lived than many wild animals. While rabbits only live for a few years in the wild, but a decade or so in captivity, petties frequently live up to ten years in the wild and up to thirty in captivity. They're very hardy and will migrate to new areas if food begins to run short, so it's uncommon to find an unhealthy colony; they will even split into smaller colonies and disperse if needed to make sure that none will starve.
Reproduction
Very much unlike rabbits, peterillies don't reproduce that often. They're capable of having a litter of 3-6 kits twice yearly, but often will choose not to once a colony has reached a comfortable capacity; in this event, small groups of mated pairs will often venture out on their own to find new territory a month or so before breeding season.
Genetically, they function like slightly more unpredictable domestic rabbits; their coloration typically follows the same breeding rules as rabbits, however, "wildcard" genes are fairly common and colors can skip several generations, resulting in a wide variety of colors even within a population that isn't particularly genetically varied. The larger a population is, though, the more likely it is to find very uniquely patterned petties.
Colors
The limitations of peterilly colors only apply to "realistic" petties. Anthro or aesthetic designs can have any design scheme.
Behavior
General
Peterillies tend to have curious, restless dispositions. They live in colonies, building underground, arboreal or cave dens in small town-like arrangements called communes. They aren't skittish, and rarely run from animals or people, but are very aware of their surroundings. They travel in small groups most of the time, and will venture away from the dens in search of food, materials for building or even simply to explore and look for interesting things; Petties like manmade objects, especially shiny things, and will decorate their dens and communes with them They've been known to socialize with humans or domestic animals, going so far as to play with dogs or children and tolerating touching and petting.
Gathering
When looking for food or interesting items, peterillies will follow the trails of other animals, making it easier to navigate. They will also walk along hiking trails, park paths, and streams. They won't mark their territories with their teeth, but instead use their front teeth to leave notches in the growth to mark a path with something interesting. They have very good mental maps, and will often explore just to expand them.
They frequently collect vegetation to store in their dens, such as root vegetables and seeds, and have even been known to intentionally wet seeds before they put them away so that they will sprout. They will also bury fruit near frequent nesting areas during times when hunting is good and leave it, resulting in more fruit trees growing around their dens. They will also do this with things they take from gardens, though they've been observed burying the wrong parts of the plant if it's one that they're unfamiliar with.
Petties will not only look for materials like bedding and food, but also items to decorate with. They like to decorate their dens with things like flowers, stones, bones and even human garbage; They will visit human areas and look for things to take, with a definite preference in color and texture. Common items taken are bits of fabric, fluorescent marking ribbon, shiny food wrappers, toys and yard decorations. They seem to prefer manmade items for decoration, but will accept things like feathers and flowers for putting inside their burrows. It's believed that this is because of the fragility of the item, as they tend to put sturdier items like shiny food wrappers and bits of vivid plastic outside.