Triiurchin
A Triiurchin enjoying some Bottyum Fruit.

Triiurchins, are small spiny animals unique to Wukrii and are one of the more common animals seen on the islands. Their most distinguishing features are their thick and spiny brown quills that cover them from their backs, to the tops of their large bushy tails. Triiurchins are usually brown with a light brown under belly. They make their homes in trees and tree hollows where you can find either a family of Triiurchin living together or individually.

Most of their diet consists of mostly fruits, berries, fungi, tree sap, seeds, green vegetation and nuts they find in trees or scavenged from the forest floors. They have an insatiable appetite relative to their size and can be found feeding throughout the day, giving them a very natural pudgy and plump looking body shape. The added fat they gain from eating also helps reinforce their bodies with an added layer of cushion around their body. This protects them if they just so happen to fall from a tree. It also gives them a nice round body to curl up into a tight ball shape and roll around when on ground to escape harm.

This additional fat makes them quite bouncy and resilient when in ball form, and when combined with their spiked spines, they can utilize this defensive posture to protect themselves against predators. When they feel threatened, surprised, or agitated, their spines will stand straight up, making any attack they use, from a tail swipe to a spin dash, very painful. Because of this, its best approach a Triiurchin with caution, as some can be quite territorial and won’t hesitate to strike out you.

As cute as they look, many see them as pests, especially the many farmers in Wukrii. Triiurchin infestations of fruit trees are all too common, where they often strip bear fruit trees and berry bushes of their yield. There’ve been reports of territorial Triiurchins attacking farmers that get too close to trees they occupy or fruit harvesters getting struck on the head from a falling curled up Triiurchin. Luckily, there have been effective methods developed to remove Triiurchins humanely, one of the most common ways are employing domesticated Fruinecs to track them down and chase them away from the farmer’s fruit trees. A Fruinecs natural abilities make them the perfect partner for fruit growers when dealing with invasive Triiurchins.