THE MEEROOS AT DARK MOON

Yes, there are now meeroos at Dark Moon. I swore I would never introduce breedables to my Second Life, but guess what? The meerroos introduced themselves to me. Just as Dark Moon is an ancient ecosystem endemic to SL, so too are meeroos the very first indigenous animal species. Consequently, it is not at all surprising that many have migrated to Dark Moon.

 

 The meeroos seem to prefer the highlands, we have found. So it is there that my research team set up a garden in which to study this lifeform. At first we suspected that the meeroos would run off into the hills, but lo~ they do indeed like the berries we have been providing.

Also brought to my attention, by the research team, was the existence of wild meeroos that only very occasionally would peer into the garden enviornment, as if to see what our now tamed meeroos were up too. We thought they might begin to steal food, but that turned out not to be the case. If anything, the wild meeroos have lured at least one of our research subjects out to the wild.

There is a folk story among the breeding community. Once I got ahold of this story, I was quick to share it with both my research team, and these highly intelligent animals. What follows is one version of the legend:

Once upon a time there was a little autumn coated meeroo who had very low regard (as you most likely know, SL breeders have become competitive and rank their meeroos in regard). This little autumn felt unloved and abandoned. Adding insult to injury (or so she thought at the time), the little autumn coat was released to the wild! Now many captive meeroos have heard rumors that the wild is a very unpleasant place, that "Out There" they will starve, that no one will pet them and they will have NO regard at all! So needless to say, the little autumn coat was terrified to find herself out on her own.

 The little autumn wandered forlornly through the forests and down the paths she found feeling very dejected. But suddenly, upon coming around a bend, the little autumn coat met a unicorn. She was quite surprised by the unicorn greeting her too! The unicorn could see the little autumn was terrified and quickly reassured her. He told her how there was not only a whole community of released meeroos like herself, but that the wild meeroos still lived in the hills, and that these wild ones graciously accepted ferrals into their midst. Not only that, but the unicorn pointed the way to one encampment he knew of.

The little autumn coat followed the unicorn's instructions and soon found herself entering a large glade in the forest...AND IT WAS FULL OF MEEROOS! Some bounded up to her curiously and welcomed her! The whole glade was ringed with wild berry bushes and all the meeroos there were eating and dancing and breeding! Basically having a very good time!

Soon the little autumn coat was befriended by a gang of other autumn coats (and one ursine) who began to explore the wild together. In fact, it was this very gang that discovered an new berry more delicious than any other berry, more delicious than any berries they had ever been fed in captivity! So our little released autumn coat lived happily ever after.

Now it is my policy to read this story to my captive meeroos, and my research team and I often give them the option to be released. We carefully instruct them that the helpful unicorn lives just south of the garden, through the fairy arches . . . however, we don't really tell them about that special wild berry, because we are afriad they might all leave then, and who would we study?