#uncommon theriotype

[strange-nd-creature]

Therians who have ever had a pet of a same/similar species, what’s it like? Do you feel like you can bond with them in a special way? Or do you feel jealous of them sometimes? I’m interested in hearing experiences abt this

[koirankusema666]

Image credit - Small-spotted Genet

I've discovered this new kintype after some various shifts and researching, and it's kind of a big deal because it seems more of an universal kintype for the whole system instead of just an alter-specific one.

As a shapeshifter, it can sometimes be frustrating not to have a solid form to identify as. As cool as it is to change shape frequently, and even though there's nothing wrong with being fluid, it can become rather disorienting and lacking in a foundation creates some issues. For us it was hard to figure out but eventually the whole body and mind seemed to agree that this animal is something we all identify as strongly as a collective. I don't know if this makes sense, but I've heard of shapeshifters "choosing" a base form, and so, I choose the small spotted genet. Perhaps it will some day change, but this feels right, this feels safe and it brings me a lot of joy to shift into a genet. Not only do I look like this even when my identities blur, the lifestyle of the animal matches with mine as well. This doesn't take any of my other identities away however; Piski is still just as much a vulture, Edward is still a dog and so on.

I'm kind of curious to know about other uncommon theriotypes now. I wish there was some kind of a community for us uncommon and rare animals!

[treepangolin]

African Black Bellied Pangolin/Long Tailed Pangolin

[pics not mine]

[crazy-iwascrazyonce1]

Blacktipsharktherian/Whitetipsharktherian

Black tip reef shark therian flag/ White tip reef/oceanic shark therian flag. A flag for black tip reef shark therians and white tip reef/oceanic therians!

[frameacloud]

"Can a therian have a theriotype that is an insect, monkey, fish, [insert other rarely claimed theriotype]?"

"There remain some therians, even sites or boards, that believe only certain types of animals can be theriotypes while other animals are excluded. However, a wide variety of animal types have been represented in the online community [...] There appears no restriction on the capacity for a person to end up being probably any type of animal [...] We currently do not know the bounds and limitations by which the internal self, identity, soul, or psychology can subjectively manifest within an individual. And there is thus the potential that there are people (whether or not they ever enter the online therian or otherkin communities) who have animal, plant, other organism, etc. internal aspects equivalent to that of therians and otherkin but of creatures or organisms many therian/’kin may not expect or even want to accept are such internally. Skepticism can be understandable, but it’s important to be respectful to others even amongst skepticism and to realize that we are far from honestly having all of the 'facts' about being therian and otherkin."

- Excerpt from "Question and Answer," an article by Sonne, written in 2008 and 2009. You can read the whole article on Project Shift, a website that collected articles about therianthropy.

[bumpytoad]

Identifying as Alterhuman doesn't necessarily mean the same thing as identifying as non-human. It's an alternative way of experiencing humanity, and/or having experiences that transcend or go beyond the typically recognized human construct or stereotype of experience. This could be due to neurodivergence, plurality, feeling more connected to primal human traits, etc.

Regarding having a nonhuman identity, it's very much possible to feel nonhuman by nature and on a psychological and/or spiritual level regardless of whether one also identifies as Therian, Otherkin, or any other specific nonhuman identity. One can also have a highly complex and multifaceted experience of oneself and one's identity and identity expression, or one can simply feel nonhuman. One doesn't necessarily specifically have to have any Theriotypes or Kintypes at all to identify as nonhuman. One can feel nonhuman fundamentally and either connect this feeling with being a specific species or entity or not. It's also possible for someone to just feel like...themselves, not a certain other species, but also not exactly human.

It's very much possible to identify as or with concepts, objects, archetypes, certain phenomena, etc., and not only as or with certain species or entities. It's very much possible to feel strongly like the personification or embodiment of something. I can also see how a connection to an object could be so deep that it becomes part of you in some inextricable way.

It's possible for those in a system to feel Alterhuman because being plural is considered to be outside of the social construct of what it means to be "human," as well as the fact that some systems may contain nonhuman alters. It's also possible for one to feel Alterhuman on a deep level while having Kithtypes but not any specific Kintypes. Being Kith itself is a fundamental Alterhuman identity in its own right.

One can feel deeply nonhuman on some intangible level, either wholly or partially, or feel Alterhuman, and not involve any additional labels. It's all valid.

Some may feel as though they were always meant to be a certain very specific species in both mind and bodily form, or else one can feel as though they were meant to be more anthropomorphic. One can have multiple types and feel like their types are all separate or one can feel like a hybrid or chimera or simultaneously separate and hybridized, or one can feel like all of their types are connected through symbiotic relationships, or else one can simply be without types or have types that are fluid. One can have "unusual" types and rare types.

Being Alterhuman and/or nonhuman can mean different things for different individuals, though ultimately this experience is essential to who one is and this identity and the ways one might express it should thus be honored and respected.

[kinning-in-the-dark]

Giant Anteater Therian Things

Ants on a log FUCK YEAH

The autism t-rex pose with your hands

Wanting those claw rings

F R U I T

Wanting a big fluffy tail to wear but having a hard time finding one online

Raisins and cranberries

Wiggling your nose

Loving scented things (since anteaters have a very powerful sense of smell!)

[the-mycelium-system]

I put this in the tags but it’s important to note actually. Doing physical activities as an outlet for ones therianthropy isn’t exclusive to quads. It shouldn’t just mean running & jumping. For me, a red panda, it feels the best to climb trees.

There’s ways to connect with your theriotype even when it’s less common.

I’d imagine for some aquatic species it’d be swimming. Pools, rivers, lakes, beaches, depending what & where you are. Maybe for some birds, while it’s nowhere near as fulfilling as flying, I know- maybe find a good (safe) high place to perch, bonus for wind. Burrow animals, I’d explore your local nature for safe tunnels or look into whole tunnel systems nearby, or just any safe underground structure to enter.

Quads ain’t the only way. I encourage you to explore your own path

Reminder for any other physically disabled therians-

Main therian content posted online (mainly tiktok) is quads & while that’s one way people connect with their animal nature, it’s not the only way or the “right” way at all. It’s not something all of us can do & not something all of us are interested in.

This is just a reminder it doesn’t make your experience any less than other therians, I’m here with ya. I hope you can find & pursue whatever feels just right for you

[saltywatercrocodile]

wooo more uncommon theriotype therians on Tumblr!!!

I'm an opossum :3

Hi!! :} I've never met an opossum before, nice to meet you!

[taxidermycanine]

shoutout to chronically ill therians who can't do a lot of things that other critters can even though they're the same creature.

shoutout to fat therians who struggle to do quads.

shoutout to mute therians who can't bark, meow, whinny, growl, yip or make any other sound to do with who they are.

shoutout to deaf therians with theriotypes that are known for their amazing hearing.

shoutout to aquatic therians that can't swim, whether it be due to a fear, disability, or anything else.

shoutout to therians that don't quite know which animal they are yet, it's okay. you have all the time in the world.

shoutout to therians who don't have friends or a pack to rely on. you'll find your folks.

shoutout to therians who aren't white and feel isolated in the community because of that.

shoutout to therians who don't have the time or resources to fully be themselves yet.

shoutout therians who struggle to accept themselves as their type just because they're not a "popular" animal to see around.

shoutout to therians who are the complete opposite to that last part, no matter how common or uncommon your type is, it's still okay. you're still you and that is lovely.

shoutout to ALL therians. you are all important and wonderful, if you don't believe it then i sure do. i love you all.

[canineadversary]

i want to hear about ur guys’ uncommon or unique theriotypes,, i love hearing about the ones i dont see very often or ever

i think my most uncommon one is that i’m a lizard cladotherian :3

[abyssal-werewolf]

I get what you mean and totally agree with the idea, but I think the "common" and "uncommon" language isn't the problem, but how we treat the individual. of course every individual is special on their own and going "oh another fox therian how BORING" is completely shitty. but it is a fact that wolves, dogs, foxes and cats are way more common among therians than insects, fish and rodents. that should not influence how individuals are treated or put on a podest or whatever, of course not! But I think describing theriotypes as common or uncommon is in the first place just that - a description.

Can we PLEASE stop using the terms "rare theriotype" or "common theriotype" it's completely useless and it also probably makes other therians with common theriotypes feel bad. It's like "oh my gosh look a beaver therian!" And then there's "oh..a fox therian. Cool." WE'RE ALL SPECIAL AND RARE IN OUR OWN WAYS! and no matter what. We're all non-humans together.

[little-basilsprout]

I would love to hear about everyone’s “uncommon” kin/theriotypes!

A rare species? An uncommon breed? A super niche cryptid? I want to hear alllll about it!

[dire-wolf-days]

Sending love to the therian who isn’t active in the community. You are still wonderful and appreciated.

Sending love to the therian who is active in the community. I hear you and you bring me hope.

Sending love to the therian who can’t do quadrobics for whatever reason. You are a valid and valued member of this community.

Sending love to the therian who does do quadrobics. You impress me every day.

Sending love to the therian with an uncommon theriotype. You are more than every second guess. You contain multitudes.

Sending love to the therian with a common theriotype. You are more than one in a million. You contain multitudes.

Sending love to the therian with many theriotypes. Don’t let anyone invalidate your experience.

Sending love to the therian with (one or) a small number of theriotypes. You are wonderful.

Sending love to the therian with a supportive irl community. I’m so glad others get to see how wonderful you are.

Sending love to the therian without a supportive irl community. We are here. We are here for you and we love you.

Sending love to the therian without gear. You’re blinding me with your awesomeness.

Sending love to the therian with gear. You’re blinding me with your awesomeness.

Sending love to the therian who has it all figured out. I am in awe of the being you have become.

Sending love to the therian who isn’t quite sure yet who they are, I see you.

And I love you all <3

[canidbld]

Dear Wolf Therians...

(Aka, a domestic dog rambles about packs)

Content warnings: none

Word count: 2k

— Day 3 of Sol's Writing Challange

I want to start off this post by saying that I'm pretty confident I'm not a wolf therian. During my awakening, I automatically assumed a potential wolf theriotype (which seems to not be an uncommon experience) I actually tried to think and picture myself as a wolf, just to try out the identity but there was something that didn't feel right and it was sort of difficult to understand why. Maybe it was the large size of a wolf not matching with how I felt my canineness should look like, or maybe it was more of a personality/mental thing.

Either way, I kept trying to work it out in my brain and read the works and experiences of wolf therians. When wolf therians spoke about being a wolf, there was a lot of mention of feeling wild and untamed with an instinctual yearning to be free. They spoke commonly about how disconnected they felt from humans and that they were actually pretty wary of them and felt uncomfortable in humam focused environments, and that's when it clicked and why I was not a full wolf because I felt pretty comfortable with humans and I didn't feel this inner call for the wilds. I was actually pretty chill hanging out and around man-made settlements and cities (which were a wolf therians' worst nightmare, according to a few essays). Basically, I felt pretty domestic.

So then I just assumed I might have been a wolfdog. I went from thinking I could have been a high content wolfdog to a mid content to a low content, but even then, that didn't feel right. I read an article that discussed the differences in wolves and stray dogs that actually really illuminated my perspective on canines as a whole. Wolves were monogamous, primarily carnivorous, and apex predators and functioned under a family hierarchy. The stray dogs in the article were scavengers, eating what they could find on the outskirts of human settlements and didn't have to abide by strict seasons to have pups nor did they feel the need to form packs unless they thought it was necessary. All in all, dogs had a lot more variety in expression and were more loose on the "rules" of being a canine compared to wolves.

Eventually I just realized and came to terms that I was just a domestic German Shepherd (and a proud one at that!) with an emotional and aesthetic attachment to wolves that had no impact on my identity and how I identified no matter how cool I thought wolves and wolf therians were.

So, yeah, I'm pretty confident that I'm not a wolf therian.

But I loved reading about the experiences of wolf therians and what being a wolf meant to them and how they expressed that but I was mostly invested in how their wolfness interacted within themselves and other aspects of themselves. What was the culture of wolf therians? How did they describe wolfhood? What facets of themselves did they relate with other wolf therians?

The writings of wolf therians helped me create a foundation of how I understood caninehood so I could build up my own understanding using their experiences as a framework.

But one of the things I really was interested in is how a wolf therian felt about packs.

A wolf therian I follow (@words-of-wolf) wrote a piece about their experience with wolfhood (and how they felt it was different to the way other wolf therians talked about their wolfness), and it actually inspired this whole tangent about packs in general. One of my favorite quotes from the post was:

"But I will say that all of my deepest, most vivid, and most impactful memories... they're not of the hunt. They're not about territory or conflict or hunger. What I remember most richly is the love I felt for my pack. It's a feeling I can't quite find it in me to explain; sometimes I wonder if the reason I identify as loveless in this life, is simply because no love I've ever felt as a human could compare to what I felt as a wolf."

The feeling I got reading this was profund and sobering. I didn't relate to it on a deep level, but I was enamored by how they described what being in a pack really felt like and how the pack is what defined their wolfness and not so much being perceived or perceiving specific behaviors as violent.

I watched a documentary about a therian pack just recently actually and it carried a similar level of awe within me when I watched how close these therians were with others. They cuddled and played together, exhibited both dominant and submissive behaviors in a playful manner and had sleepovers and bonded with each other over a bonfire and it was nice to watch the way they loved being a pack together.

Wolves in the wild need packs. It's something that is so important to their survival and evolution and identity as a whole. They are social animals. The bond between wolves in a wolf pack is so solid and intertwinied with being a wolf that its pretty much what defines a wolf in pop media (for the most part) The wolf pack structure and culture also has been studied intensely for years. It's been observed and analyzed, hypothesized, and debunked.

What was thought to be the truth of how a wolf pack worked was actually revealed to be an inaccurate representation by the same man who created the now debunked alpha/beta/omega theory since the old study was done on captive wolves. Said man, named David Mech, corrected himself and said that wolf packs in the wild functioned very much as family units, with the father and mother at the head of the pack and then their first litter as their subordinates and their latest litter as the bottom of the pack. Makes sense. That's how families work mostly in human society.

But then what does this study say about wolf therians (and therians in general) and the way they feel about packs?

When reading about their experiences, some share this sentiment of feeling utterly alone. This loneliness was, for the most part, super intense, almost depressing sometimes when I read certain posts. Especially when the wolf therians I was reading about didn't seem to know any other therian in general, let alone a wolf one plus they had an almost instinctual aversion to humans. It was something I sympathized with. These were essays that read like lonely howls calling for non-existent pack mates in my head.

But those were specifically wolf therians who didn't have a pack, I did also read posts and essays of wolf therians who were and have been in packs (in their current lives) before, relaying their experiences that ranged from enjoyment and curiosity to horror and abuse mostly, from what I've read, due to these packs adopting the alpha/beta/omega model and trying to mimic this with other therians. Now there has been tons of discussion on how the alpha/omega model in packs leads often to power abuse and there has been valid criticism against the use of it in therian packs but there's also been equal amounts of therians who actually like the alpha system implemented in their own packs due to the euphoria it gives them as a wolf.

Keep in mind, the study that first introduced the alpha theory about wolf packs, while inaccurate to wolves in the wild, was still something captive wolves (essentially strangers) exhibited and I think that's important to note. I remember reading (or maybe watched a video) that mentioned how human society naturally has a hierarchical structure bringing up examples like work environments (bosses, managers, employers) and even schools (teachers, principals, students) and so packs that use the alpha model weren't necessarily a bad thing and actually made sense under these contexts.

I think the problem was because some of these therian packs were created haphazardly and were open to therians who were mostly strangers to each other and the alpha model didn't really give the neccesery room for these packs to bond with each other that much, something that had also been pointed out by other therians. Their solution was to be more picky on who you make a pack with. They said that packs should ideally be created with close friends and loved ones or even family.

It was interesting to read the different pack experiences, especially from a domestic dog point of view. Just as a canine, I also do sympathize with pack culture in general and while some domestic dogs don't really have a connection to the pack concept as much as wolves (save for specific breeds like the husky), I still think a lot about packs and how I'd function in one when I realized that I have been apart of packs, that I am currently in two packs; one with my boyfriend and one with my blood family.

And I do actually see them as my packmates, especially my boyfriend. I feel a loyalty to him and my family, I feel the need to defend them, protect them, and support them, not from a human perspective but entirely as a canine. My family pack can be dysfunctional sometimes, but my dogged loyalty means I'll always be there to support them despite the dominance problems. And it's funny to think about how I was "technically" born into a family unit and then when I grew older, I dispersed and found a mate to make my own pack with just like wolves do in the wild.

Therian packs, I feel like, have been a staple in the therian community probably since the first howl (not fact checked) due to how much the community traditionally has had such a heavy canine/wolf lean and focus (which is something modern therianthropy is improving on by being more inclusive to a variety of species) but I wish there were more resources that talk about packs and pack safety and what others thought of them, what their dream pack is and if they would abide by a heirachy or if they'd go off vibes or if they wanted a big pack that was friendly or something smaller thats a little more exclusive. What type of beings would they want in the pack? What type of behaviors would they exhibit in a pack? What name would your pack have? Would you consider your family or friends as a pack even if they're not therians themselves?

I wish even more for resources and essays about packs that aren't just canine centered like herds and flocks. How would therians run one? Would they be a leader or something more passive?

I know that this sort of veers on the edges of roleplay just a little but it geniuenly is a fun mental exercise for me. I like thinking about these questions because it does make me feel like a canine.

For me, I'm already pretty much living with my ideal pack with my boyfriend, even if it's just the two of us (plus our cats), which is what I prefer. I like how small and exclusive it is, and there's not really problems with dominance, considering we feel both pretty equal in terms of power in our pack. There's no name yet. It's just pure vibes right now, but that's okay, i feel loved and protected in this pack, and I love and protect my pack back. I have so much time to consider what a pack means to me as a dog.

And while I may not feel this deep connection to pack culture the way a wolf therian would, I still hold a similar essence of loyalty and love towards those who I cherish as a canine.

My fascination with pack society and culture is probably something I got from my German Shepherd theriotype. The concept of loyalty, protection, love, and family definitely appeals to it. Regardless, I just love reading and learning about it from academic studies to introspective essays, really, just all kinds of records that talk about packs. It truly feels like I'm searching for a meaning here and even writing this entire post barely scrapes the surface of what I truly want to say about packs, mostly due to me getting tired and my lack of vocabulary and ability to explain things better.

Just think packs are cool and see wolf therians as cool older siblings.

Kind regards,

Sol, a German Shepherd.

@/words-of-wolfs post about wolfhood

The study of the differences between wolves and dogs

[dumbwolfdog]

Making, yet again, another mutual search post.

Follow me if you('re):

- a physical therian

- isofic

- transspecies

- neurodivergent

- LGBTQ+

- have an uncommon theriotype

- a cladotherian

- have trauma from memories

- struggle with biid

I would love to be mutuals with you. :--)

(For reference though, I'm 16. A lot of 18+ accounts interacted with my last one, lol)