The rabaroo is a rare[1] animal that inhabits the Earth Kingdom.[2]
History[]
While staying in Ba Sing Se, Avatar Aang found a zoo and saw a rabaroo in a cage. As Aang was unsure of what the creature was, Kenji, the zookeeper, explained that he would prefer to get the rabaroo an open area for it to hop around in. Aang decided to recreate the zoo in the Agrarian Zone and released the animals. The rabaroo found the cabbage merchant's cabbages and began eating them, much to the man's annoyance. However, Aang managed to lure the rabaroo in to the newly constructed zoo and its own pen. The rabaroo subsequently drank from its pool of water and stared at Aang and Kenji, as three baby rabaroos revealed themselves in its pouch, before hopping away.[2]
Anatomy[]
As youngsters, their teeth are not yet fully developed and the baby rabaroos find safety in their mother's pouch.
The rabaroo has the face and long, floppy ears of a rabbit, as well as the body and particularly large hind legs of a kangaroo, including a pouch in the case of a female. It stands nearly as tall as a grown man. The rabaroo's head, including ears and neck, is brown, although its muzzle is a light beige; its upper torso, forelimbs, belly, and underside of the tail are also beige, while its hands, hind legs, and tail are brown. Baby rabaroos have a chunky, potato-like body shaped similar to that of baby rabbits.
Behavior[]
After being released into the streets of Ba Sing Se, a rabaroo ate cabbages from the cabbage merchant's cart.
According to the Ba Sing Se zookeeper, Kenji, the rabaroo enjoys hopping in large fields. It also appears to have a taste for cabbage. The female of the species carries her young in her pouch until they are ready to survive on their own. One such rabaroo in the zoo had three joeys.[2]
Connection[]
The rabaroo resembles a cross between a rabbit and a kangaroo; sporting the head, ears, and teeth of a rabbit with the body of a kangaroo or a wallaby. Their offspring are raised in the same method as the kangaroo with the young remaining in the mother's pouch. Much like the rabbit, they tend to have multiple births. Both rabbits and kangaroos hop on their hind feet.
Trivia[]
- Seventy years after the Hundred Year War, an all-female pro-bending team named itself the Red Sands Rabaroos.[3]
- In Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Art of the Animated Series, this animal is spelled as "rabbiroo", however, the first book of The Legend of Korra — The Art of the Animated Series has used the spelling "rabaroo"; either spelling is acceptable.
- While Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino thought the rabaroo and its baby were "kind of cute", designer Jae Woo Kim was freaked out by the animal.[4]
- According to Michael Dante DiMartino, the rabaroo was among the creative team's favorite hybrid animals by the time of The Legend of Korra's Book One: Air. Accordingly, they named a pro-bending team, the Red Sands Rabaroos, after the animal.[5]
References[]
- ↑ From older Avatar: The Last Airbender official site, originally on Nick.com. Encyclopedia now broken, archived at The Lost Lore of Avatar Aang - Creature: Rabbiroo.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Estoesta, Joann, Wahlander, Lisa, Huebner, Andrew, Scheppke, Gary, MacMullan, Lauren, Mattila, Katie, Ridge, Justin, Volpe, Giancarlo (writers) & Spaulding, Ethan (director). (September 29, 2006). "The Tales of Ba Sing Se". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2. Episode 15. Nickelodeon.
- ↑ DiMartino, Michael Dante, Konietzko, Bryan (writers) & Dos Santos, Joaquim, Ryu, Ki Hyun (directors). (May 5, 2012). "The Spirit of Competition". The Legend of Korra. Book One: Air. Episode 5. Nickelodeon.
- ↑ Avatar: The Last Airbender—The Art of the Animated Series, page 81.
- ↑ The Legend of Korra—The Art of the Animated Series, Book One: Air, page 80.