Fauna: Pandora's Wildlife

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Toruk


• The Great Leonopteryx (Toruk in Na'vi language) is an airborne predator native to Pandora. The fierce beauty and nobility of the leonopteryx gave the species a place in central Na'vi lore and culture. It is celebrated in dance, song, and with elaborate totems that symbolizes both the fear and respect accorded to the creature. The leonopteryx is considered crucial to the Na'vi sense of destiny and interconnectedness. Prior to the events of the film, it had only been tamed five times, and legend has it that the riders (Toruk Makto) brought peace among the Pandoran tribes. The Great Leonopteryx and the Banshee was designed with bright colors. Page based the colors on Earth's birds, poison dart frogs, and Monarch butterflies, though he altered the patterns so they would not obviously come from Earth's animals.

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• The Mountain Banshee (Ikran in Na'vi language) is an airborne predator who lives in mountainous territory on Pandora. Na'vi warriors attempt to bond with a Banshee, a dangerous and required rite of passage. A Banshee bonds to a Na'vi warrior for life. Page spent the most time designing the Banshee for the film so it would be convincing when it flew or perched. The designer said, "The hardest thing of all was having a Na'vi on top of it and flying it. You had to backwards engineer it. It was like designing and engineering an aircraft." Barlowe, who contributed to the Banshee's design, was influenced by manta rays and skates as well as relatively little-known pterosaurs and plesiosaurs that had "many, unique aerodynamic and hydrodynamic" characteristics. Like the color scheme for the Great Leonopteryx, color schemes based on Earth animals were used for various Banshees, though Page was inspired by Art Nouveau prints to warp the schemes so they would not look familiar to film audiences.

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• The Direhorse is (Pa'li in Na'vi language) a six-legged horse-like creature. The Direhose was conceived and designed by Cameron and Stan Winston Studios. Cameron described the creature as a "six-legged alien Clydesdale with moth-like antennae".

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• The Hammerhead Titanothere (Angtsìk in Na'vi language) is a large herbivore with a head shaped like a hammer. The creature, which resembles a rhinoceros, is angered easily.

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• The Thanator (Palulukan in Na'vi language) is a large land predator. Cameron personally designed the creature. Its appearance is similar to a panther; Cameron describes the Thanator as "a panther from hell". The director explained how the Thanator is the most fearsome creature on Pandora, "The Thanator could eat a T-Rex and have the Alien Queen for dessert."

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• The Viperwolf (Nantang in Na'vi language) is a six-legged nocturnal carnivore. Cameron described the Viperwolves, "[They are] hairless with shiny skin that looks like overlapped armor. Most disturbing are its paws, which are like leathery hands."

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• The Hexapede (Yerik in Na'vi language) are deer-like creatures

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• The Hellfire Wasp is shaped much like a typical Earth wasp, but is similar in size to a sparrow. Although usually observed flying alone, swarms nearly the size of a robodozer have been sighted.
It has an accurate organic targeting system that uses an olfactory organ to detect the biochemistry of any nearby creature. If it senses danger, its flight becomes agitated and erratic, and it will usually attack. If stung by this dual-stinger insect, the RDA personnel are commonly placed on medical leave. Although rarely lethal to humans, it is believed that an attack from a swarm of Hellfire Wasps would ultimately result in fatality.

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• Fan lizards are known for the large retractable disk on their back. This disk has a structure similar to that of the Da Vinci Helicopter. This appendage is bioluminescent and used for flight as well as to ward off any attackers with the brilliant light display and sudden increase in size. Note that when the Fan Lizard uses the appendage, the movement causes the body to spin with it.

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• An Avatar (Na'vi name: unil-tìran-tokx translates "dream walk body") is a human mind transferred into a genetically engineered body of a human/Na'vi hybrid. Humans use this method because they cannot live on Pandora without breathing gear, because the atmosphere is toxic, containing lethal levels of ammonia, methane and chlorine. The Consortium is trying to bridge the cultural gap with the aboriginal population, which has been difficult to communicate and negotiate with. The Na'vi refer to them as "Dream Walkers" or "Demons in a false body".

They have recently started a program called AVATAR where scientists take DNA from a Na'vi, and from a selected human volunteer. On Earth, in company genetics labs, they create an in-vitro embryo, which is a genetic composite of the alien and human donor.

The recombinant embryo is grown in-vitro during the flight to Pandora, which takes 3 years (ship-time/ 5 years Earth time). In that time it reaches near adult size, since the locals mature fast.

When it is "born" (or more properly decanted) as a post-adolescent, it looks like a Na'vi, and can live comfortably on Pandora, but it has enough human neurophysiology to be used as an Avatar, or surrogate body. The human volunteer then becomes a Controller. Using Psionic Link technology, the human controller can remotely control the avatar body out in the wilds of Pandora. The controller receives all sensory input, and provides all motor control to the body.

Essentially, the controller lives through the avatar, and is completely unaware of his own body while linked. Each avatar is genetically keyed to its respective human controller. By communicating with the locals through these avatars, which are less alien to them, the RDA has had some success teaching them English and basic skills.

Some known differences between the Avatars and real Na'vi is that the Na'vi have 4 digits (three fingers and a thumb) on their hands whereas the Avatars (due to their human DNA) have 5. They also have eyebrows, which the Na'vi lack. The Avatars also display slightly more human-like body structures than the Na'vi. This is especially noticeable when comparing the build of Jake Sully to that of the male Na'vi of the Omaticaya Clan: Jake's body structure is noticeably sturdier than that of the more willowy Na'vi. Additionally the eyes of an Avatar are usually smaller and more human like in contrast to the large, lemur-like eyes of the Na'vi.

It is possible, using the unique biology of Pandora and guided by the Na'vi, for a human to transfer their concious mind permanently to that of the Avatar body. It is first attempted to try and save Grace Augustine's life, but the transfer fails due to her injuries. It is next attempted on Jake Sully, after he has lead the Na'vi to victory against the RDA and driven them (with some exceptions) off Pandora. The movie concludes with his human body being exposed to the planets atmosphere, and his Avatar body opening it's eyes, suggesting that the transformation had succeeded.

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• The Forest Banshee's (Na'vi Name: Ikranay) natural habitat is the Rainforest in both the upper and lower canopies as well as rookeries spread throughout cliffs and mesas of the mountainous regions of Pandora. The forest banshee has obsidian like teeth with a total of four wings (2 aft) and bones comprised of biologically produced carbon fiber composite much like its larger cousin, the Mountain Banshee. The Forest Banshee is an aerial carnivorous predator, usually feeding on smaller rainforest creatures such as the Stingbat and the Prolemuris

The Forest Banshee, although smaller than the Mountain Banshee, is still a feared predator but it lacks the size to support a Na'vi rider. Forest banshees usually hunt alone, but can migrate in large flocks spread out in a wide, loose pattern (reasoning for this behaviour is not readily understood). Like a terran reef shark, the Forest Banshee may size up potential large prey, but seldom attacks anything close to its size, preferring smaller forest animals. A banshee will make an exception however, in the case of self-defense or when it finds large prey in distress. Furthermore, like terran reef sharks, banshees will congregate to feed, and if necessary will fight one another for their portion of food. The creature shares the same basic anatomical advantages as the Mountain Banshee: strong carbon fiber bones; specialized flight muscles and a stiff torso to support its wings; they can make subtle adjustments to their flight attitude and speed with an articulated tail top which can flare or remain tucked for aerodynamics

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• Humans (also called Sky People by the Na'vi), are sentient, bipedal primates species native to Earth. Humans have highly developed brains, similar to the Na'vi, although it is less complex, anatomically speaking. They have created very advanced technology over the centuries, and have recently begun exploring and harvesting the resources of the moon Pandora. Since humans cannot breathe the atmosphere of Pandora, they must rely on Exopacks to be on the moon. Only recently did the Avatar Program allow humans to transfer their minds into the clone Human/Na'vi hybrid, with the avatar, the minds of those thus transferred, can live comfortably on Pandora.

The Resources Development Administration is the largest single non-governmental organization in human existence. The RDA is currently on Pandora in an effort to extract the highly valuable mineral known as Unobtainium. The security forces on Pandora under the command of Colonel Quaritch maintains order as well as protection against the wildlife on Pandora. Though their force is large, in comparison to the Na'vi, it is quite small.

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• Medusas (Na'vi name: Fpxafaw) are large jellyfish-like creatures that live in the skies of Pandora.

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• The Na'vi are a race of sentient extraterrestrial humanoids who inhabit the lush jungle moon of Pandora. Humans are known to refer to them as "Blues", "Savages", "the locals" or "the natives". Parker Selfridge at one point in the movie refers to them as "blue monkeys".

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• The Prolemuris is a chattering, non-aggressive tree dweller that prefers the relative safety of the canopy to the dangers of the rainforest floor. The prolemuris has lateral membranes that grow out of its sides and between its lower arm and thigh. When it leaps from tree to tree, the wind catches in the flaps and slows the animal's rate of fall. This allows the animal to fall for more than twelve meters without risk or injury. They have hollow bones, and the density of their musculature and flesh is also porous, which makes them much lighter than they appear (even the largest weigh less than six kilograms). Prolemuris are creatures similar to apes on Earth.


The prolemuris can use its four arms to move through the trees faster than an average man can run. It has near-perfect balance and its superb depth perception allows it to leap from branch to branch while selecting just the right handhold out of the forest mosaic (in this it resembles the Na'vi, who can also move through the rainforest canopy with tremendous agility).

Its ears are erect flaps that can move independently of one another in order to track sounds precisely. Its toes are webbed and have a vestigial thumb that helps the animal cling to branches. Its arms bifurcate below the humerus.
It can reach up to 1 meter in height and is an arboreal herbivore, but it is known to eat insects on occasion. It has large eyes giving it binocular vision, an apelike skull with a short snout, Small nostrils and jaw, needle sharp teeth adapted to cut through tough Pandoran flora. It also possesses membranous wing flaps. Its predators include banshees (Forest and Mountain Banshees) and viperwolves.