Ershu (ehr-shoo)

Ershu

Ershues were flying rabbits not capable of flight like birds. They were able to glide from great heights using a membrane stretching from the wrist to the ankle and control their descent with their bushy tails. Studies suggested the ershu might be capable of speech. They were able to learn and demonstrated a particular gift for memory. Their blood was a common ingredient in most poison antidotes. Drinking their blood would temporarily provide relief for migraines. Wild ershues weren’t considered dangerous. They were easily trained. Because of the health properties of their blood it was widely believed they might be immune to diseases like rabies.

Gliding was an energetically efficient way to progress from one tree to another while foraging, as opposed to climbing down trees and maneuvering on the ground floor or executing dangerous leaps in the air. By gliding at high speeds, ershus could rummage through a greater area of forest more quickly. Ershus glided long distances by increasing their aerial speed and increasing their lift.  If a dangerous situation arose on a specific tree, ershus could glide to another, and thereby typically escape the previous danger. While leaps at high speeds were important to escape danger, the high-force impact of landing on a new tree could be detrimental to an ershu’s health. Yet the gliding mechanism of ershus involved structures and techniques during flight that allow for great stability and control. If a leap was miscalculated, an ershu easily steered back onto the original course by using its gliding ability. An ershu also created a large glide angle when approaching its target tree, decreasing its velocity due to an increase in air resistance and allowing all four limbs to absorb the impact of the target.