DOD Bestiary: Jaeger

Common Name: Jaeger
Pronounced: (Yay-ger)
Classification: Torgosaurus jaegeri (Jaeger’s Vulture-reptile)
SGOC Rank: Fauna

Length: 3 feet
Height: 1.3 feet at the hips
Weight: 8 lbs.
Diet: Omnivore
Social Structure: Flock (10-100+ members)
Home Planet: Earth
Distribution: Europe (exported worldwide)
IUCN Status: Least Concern

Description:

The jaeger is a tiny species of theropod dinosaur that is native to Europe but has since been exported worldwide. These animals are modern-day compsognathids, a group of small theropods that first appeared during the Jurassic period, and they have stayed remarkably conservative in their anatomy.

Jaegers are covered in short mottled plumage but bald on the face, hands, and feet, a useful arrangement for probing deep into carcasses. The animal’s plumage conceals its short but powerful arms, which sport enlarged thumb claws that can deliver a painful strike if the jaeger feels threatened. Jaegers travel in large flocks and will consume any animal smaller than they are, although they are best known for scavenging on dead animals. They are flexible breeders and can give birth year-round, often laying clutches of eggs in and around large carcasses.

Jaegers are unique among dinosaurs because there is no such thing as a “male” jaeger. All jaegers are obligate parthenogens and can reproduce without male intervention. Clutches always consist of numbers which are divisible by eight, because each group of eight chicks is the result of a single egg which underwent fission; what starts out as four eggs inside the mother’s belly turns into thirty-two chicks in the nest. Jaegers can reproduce within a week of hatching but rarely live more than three months, during which time a mother can give birth to more than four thousand offspring.

Jaegers are timid and can be easily tamed when raised from the egg. They’re commonly kept in large homes and businesses to clear out vermin and organic garbage; like cats, indoor jaegers require litterbox training and will climb around on furniture when their owner isn’t looking. Spaying pet jaegers is required by law in most countries and, strangely, seems to extend their lifespans greatly. These little dinosaurs are extremely common in and around SGO rendering plants, where they are housed in chicken coops and often establish stable breeding populations without human intervention. Feral jaeger populations can now be found all over post-Cycle Earth.