Great Girros Ecology

In-Game Information
''A monster that scavenges for meals dropped from the Coral Highlands. It acts as the alpha leader of a Girros pack, and sports giant fangs that paralyze its prey.''

Taxonomy
Girros are large lizards that scuttle through the Rotten Vale in packs led by the Great Girros, who is the largest and fiercest of the group.
 * Order:
 * Suborder:
 * Infraorder:
 * Superfamily: Fanged Wyvern
 * Family: Girros

Habitat Range
So far, Great Girros and their packs can only be found dining on the hundreds of monster carcasses in the Rotten Vale.

Ecological Niche
Girros are relatively low in the food chain of the Rotten Vale. They spend their time guiding their packs through the windiest and most remote parts of the area in order to find choice corpses that haven't already been claimed by the apex of that region, Odogaron. However, a Great Girros and its pack are now slouches when it comes to combat, and whilst they could never kill the fearsome Odogaron, they have been known to paralyse it with their venom before fleeing into the safety of the shadows.

The elder dragon Vaal Hazak is known to draw sustenance from the rotting bodies of effluvium covered Girros, so the pack will avoid the monster at all costs.

Biological Adaptations
All Girros posses smooth overlapping scales for minimising the area that parasites and other creatures could grab onto. Their main weapon is their paralytic venom that can disable any attackers long enough for the Girros to flee. This venom is delivered through their fangs. The Great Girros boasts much larger fangs than its brethren, as well as a greater mastery over its' venom, being able to spit a glob of the stuff at unwary hunters. It also has a hood on its neck made of overlapping smaller hoods. This is flared out when the Girros is angry or threatened, as well as when it uses its haunting raspy call to summon more Girros to its' side. Their legs are not positioned under them but splayed out to the sides of their body. This gives the Girros a low-slung swaying walk.

Behaviour
Girros are fairly aggressive, a trait evolved to ensure that they protect what corpses they find from other scavengers. They will attack hunters and other monsters when they appear, but are quick to flee if the battle turns in their opponents favour. When not hunting, the Girros will gather in nests with easily defendable entrances like caves or the ribcage of a long dead Elder Dragon. Here they will mill around, resting and guarding each other. The Great Girros is guarded by its fellows as it sleeps. This kindness is shown because the Great Girros is usually the one that brings food to his pack. Mating habits are unknown, but they could have something to do with displays of the male's hood. This is just speculation, as Great Girros can be unpredictable towards ecologists sent to the vale.