Herbivores
Herbivores are oval in shape, varying in colour from mid-blue to purple, with a large black oval eye-like marking on the frontal region. Herbivores grow to a maximum of 25-40 pixels in length. They can be found anywhere within the environment.
They consume plants, tending to gather in large herds or flocks near their food source. They have a relatively high metabolic rate, and need to feed frequently in order to mitigate the continuous loss of energy to the environment.
When a food source runs out, herbivores can be observed migrating en masse, at a rapid pace, to pastures new. The original herd often splits into two or more, each herd migrating to a different fresh food source. Many individuals starve on these long journeys.
Herbivores are hunted by predators, of whom they are always aware, even when the nearest predator is not hungry.
They exhibit panicked behaviour if they are surrounded, or if they are separated from the nearest food source by a predator.They are also hunted by omnivores of whom they show no awareness.
Herbivores are unable to differentiate between plentiful food supplies and more meagre offerings. They will always attempt to reach the nearest food, even if their path is blocked by a predator.
New herbivores are always born next to their parent, generally staying within their native herd throughout their life. Reproductive maturity depends on a nutritious diet rather than age, so that reproduction is possible at the age of one second if the herbivore has just eaten a particularly nutritious plant.
They continue reproducing asexually throughout their life as long as their total population does not exceed a certain level and as long as they have a plentiful supply of food. Owing to the young age of reproductive maturity and the limits on population, herbivores show a marked population cycle, with entire generations growing old and dying together, leaving only a few young individuals to replenish the population.
Herbivores which do not get eaten die of old age or starvation.