In the wilderness desert plains and small mountains of Elom, the ranphyx stand at the top of the food chain. Although the Elomin civilization claims good portions of land for mining and limited agriculture, vast tracts of unsettled wilderness remain: it is here that the ranphyx (plural and singular) thrive.
Elomin avoid uninhabited places for a reason; ranphyx are splendid ambushers and trackers, and anyone crossing their path is fair game. Nomadic packs wander the open lands, digging burrows or finding caves when shelter is needed.
Ranphyx prefer living prey, but have no compunctions about grazing or scavenging if the need arises. Though not sentient in the accepted sense, these hunters have an established social order and a fairly complex language of barks, growls, purrs and cries. They gather in packs of between 10 to 15 adults, although mountain packs are slightly smaller. Cubs are born in litters of two after gestating for roughly six standard months.
Young ranphyx grow slowly for wild animals, reaching adulthood in about four standard years. During this time, the growing cub learns hunting, tracking, communication and survival skills from the other members of the pack. The entire pack, from the mothers to the leader, or kzenka, of the pack, teach the cubs these necessary things.
The position of kzenka changes every five years or so. Each ranphyx pack, regardless of location, instinctively knows when this time has come. The largest within the pack fight for the privilege to lead, and the strongest, regardless of gender, becomes kzenka. These fights are rarely to the death, though many ranphyx die of their injuries. This leadership ritual, and the hardships of the hunt, keep the pack population low.
Though they are fearsome hunters, ranphyx sledom venture close to Elomin settlements, and then only at night. In some cases, small Elomin communities have made a kind of peace with local ranphyx packs; local mythology often tells of strong bonds between ranphyx and Elomin. Despite these tales, ranphyx seldom take well to domestication. Some Elomin females have ranphyx companions they can call on in need; these individuals are attributed with supernatural powers and are looked on by other Elomin with a combination of fear and respect. These ranphyx seem to share territory with their "mistresses" as partners rather than as pets.
A ranphyx's forked tail is an enigma; many xenobiologists theorize that the tail helps shed excess heat. The Elomin claim that the color of the tail changes with the animal's emotional state - from dark green anger to a dull red for contentment. Ranphyx fur is often tawny, but varies from place to place. Many packs share spotted or mottled coats, while other packs are off-white or dark gray. | 
