Culcarnix

This large, ground-dwelling rodent is found on the Talath Harroch, the plain south of Mirkwood. They are reported to be totally harmless, an opinion which owes much to the lack of farmsteads in the Talath Harroch. Culcarnix can devastate a farm field. Nevertheless, they are totally unaggressive toward other living beings.

Tailless and blunt-nosed, culcarnix live in burrows beneath the earth, and can occasionally be seen standing on the mounds of earth by the entrances to their burrows, sniffing the air for any scent of approaching enemies. They have thick, red-brown fur that has at various times been much in demand by furriers. The Easterlings, for instance, raised them in great numbers for their hides. Thus, they have become scarce in areas where there is widespread settlement.