Ambize (ahm-biez)

Ambize were large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as “sea bunyips.” They measured up to 4.0m (13.1 ft) long, weighed as much as 590kg (1,300 lbs), and had paddle-like flippers. Like merfolk, they were able to live in both fresh and salt water environments. As herbivores, they dined on over 60 different plants. Using their upper lip, and adult would commonly eat up to 10% – 15% of their body weight per day. Consuming such an amount required the ambize to graze for up to seven hours a day. They often grazed on water plants in tropical seas for food, and were introduced to areas of high algae content in the hopes they will clean the water. Ambize generally swam about 5 – 8 km per hour (3 – 5 mph) and slightly faster for short periods. Merpeople traditionally used them for meat, so there weren’t many left in the wild by the end of the world. Unfairly believed to be dull creatures, ambize were actually capable of understanding simple tasks and showed signs of associative learning. They also had good long term memory and cognitive ability.