Furry characters

One of the few defining features of the Furry fandom is that most people adopt an animal persona. For some, the animal is one that they have a deep spiritual connection with. For others, it's just an animal that they like, or think is cool. As usual, I'm somewhere in the middle.

Anyway, for most, it's basically an avatar. Others like to get into the character of their persona, in a manner of light roleplay.

So, that said, what's my Furry persona? Well, currently, I have a few, who all confusingly go by the name of Hawthorn because I'm terrible at choosing new names. (It took me days to decide on Hawthorn; I only decided in the end because otherwise I'd miss all the chat.)

The owl

The owl is a Spotted eagle owl (Bubo africanus). As far as eagle owls go, it's quite small (which is to say it's about medium-sized). I've been roleplaying him on Avians.net IRC since early 2002.

I've always been intrigued by owls ever since I first saw footage of one in flight. It amazed me that something that shape could fly at all.

I chose this particular species of owl because I'm attracted to smaller animals (for some reason smallness is an appealing trait to me), and because I fell in love with those piercing yellow eyes.

The rabbit

The rabbit is an ordinary wild European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). I forget when I adopted this character, but it was probably around mid-2002, when I got somewhat overexcited at seeing the Watership Down film for the first time. I can't quite explain my fascination with rabbits - while I am a very rational and naturalistic person, my connection to rabbits has an almost spiritual feel to it, in that I regard them in a way I don't regard most other animals. Is it their beauty, or their abilities?

While the owl was my first form, and the one in which I appear among birds, the rabbit is more like my natural persona. He appears in both non-morphic and anthropomorphic forms, depending on where I am.

The penguin

I've acquired a love for penguins of late. It occurs to me that both of my most loved birds have an upright stance, so it is possible that I may be attracted to them because they look more anthropomorphic than most birds... but like owls, penguins hold a fascination in their form for me.

While on land everyone knows how comical they are, in water they become animals of exquisite beauty. They are the dolphins of the bird world. For some reason their inability to fly in air doesn't bother me, for they now fly in water in a way few other birds can.

Currently this character is a rockhopper penguin. He was originally a king penguin, because the lovely colours of that species attracted me, but I wanted the more classic rounded shape.

Why 'Hawthorn'?

Hawthorn was the name I chose for my owl character on my entrance into the Furry fandom. Why? Well, there are several reasons:

• Being a fan of Watership Down, Duncton Wood and the like (and indeed, of nature), I prefer the scheme of naming animals after natural things. In Watership Down, the buck rabbits are named after plants. William Horwood also adopts this scheme for naming moles in Duncton Wood, although there are several exceptions (some moles are named after birds, for example, which is really cool).
• It sounds owlish. No, really.
• As trees go, it's relatively small.
• It's a British native.

Lapine name

When I adopted the rabbit persona too, I didn't think up a new name. After all, Hawthorn is pretty much a perfect name for a rabbit. However, the rabbit can also be called by his Lapine name of "Thraytar" (pronounced 'thry-tar'), which is a direct translation of Hawthorn. To learn more about the Lapine language, visit Loganberry's site.