Thursday, March 29, 2012

Creature Corner - Griffons

Today I'm posting about one of mankind's most implacable foes - the Griffon.

Griffons are large, fierce-looking creatures. Their front half resembles an eagle with large swooping wings that are capable of lifting them along with prey up off the ground. Their back half and tail resemble that of a lion.

They have upright pointed ears, cruel, hooked beaks, and bright glowing eyes.

There are two varities of Griffons: Northern griffon and Indian griffon.

Griffons are well known for their speed, strength, sharp vision, and keen hearing.

The first recorded encounter of a griffon happened in 3000BCE in Egypt.

These odd creatures make their homes high in the mountains, and along rock overhangs. Since they are not fond of heat, the females often build their nests inside a cool cave. These nests are often found laced with gold, emeralds, precious stones and stolen jewelry.

Griffons are monogamous, they mate for life. If one partner dies, the other will never re-mate. Offspring remain with parents for three years. During this time their parents forage food for them. A griffon's preference in prey is a horse, which they can lift with ease, rider and all. Because of their curved claws, they easily pierce, pick up, and fly off with their prey.

Source: Fabulous Creatures and Other Magical Beings

Thanks so much for stopping by!

~Ann Cory

2 comments:

Savannah Chase said...

A creature we don't read a lot about in books...Very cool and interesting..Another great post Ann.

Liv Rancourt said...

The whole idea of mating for life seems like something that would lend itself to a romance novel nicely. Cool post...