Talioang

Talioang (known to humans as Sturmbeests) are massive animals native to the moon of Pandora.

Overview
Sturmbeests are herd animals. They are extremely social and highly protective of their young. They are also territorial and will mass for attack against any would be predator. When the predator is too large or in too great a number, they will stampede, often breaking off into smaller packs for evasion.

The male (or bull) is about 15 percent larger than the female, has a bigger ridge bone on its back, and also has a dramatic top horn that is used for defense against and contest with other bulls.

Their brain-mass-to-body ratio is low and the creatures are slow to react and slow to stop reacting. The young, old, and lame are prey to the largest or fiercest predators, such as Viperwolf packs, a Thanator, and occasionally a Great Leonopteryx.

Biology & Behaviour
Massive buffalo like head each with six legs and indigo and orange coloring. Its skull features a single large bony hornlike extrusion above the eyes. Extrusions are reddish or orange, with striated slashes of blue. Sturmbeests are land animals that feed on grass, shrubs, and various fungi. Hornlike jaw extension acts as plow for digging up roots, grubs and other subsurface food.

Trivia

 * Killing a Sturmbeest was a rite of passage of the Na'vi in project 880 script.


 * The Na'vi, while mounted on Ikran, would use spears tipped with the heads of domesticated Slingers. Hitting a small gap in armor between the front shoulders with this spear would score a kill.


 * Jake (josh in the script) misses his target but retrieves his spear and jams it into the chest of a stampeding Sturmbesst to earn his place amongst the people.


 * The Sturmbeest is one of the main sources of animal products for the Na'vi.