Ep. 5--The Beaked People

Well, this episode adds quite a bit of knowledge to Amzot's fauna. We learn that there are at least two sentient (or in the case of the Monkey People) semi-sentient beings on the planet.

First, I think this lets us expand on the history of Zandor and his family. We've been theorizing he's a geneticist who brought the creatures he created to Amzot to give them purpose in defending the planet. We already know they have to defend it against frequent off-planet raiders who want to mine the energy rocks.

But now I think we can theorize that this wasn't the only problem plaguing Amzot. I think the Parrot people have a very war-like culture that was enslaving a large part of the planet. When the Herculoids arrived, they freed the slaves and contained the Parrot People to a very small area. This episode is the Parrot People's attempt to kill Zandor and regain their past glory.

The Parrot People are obviously sentient with a language and some technology--they depend on large clubs for weapons, but do have some understanding of textiles, since they wear clothes. They probably want slaves to work in their factories and free up more warriors for use in conquering other areas. I'm placing their home in a hilly area just because that feels right to me.

The Monkey People, on the other hand, are herbivores/insectivores who are semi-sentient, with a very primitive language and no technology. They are very strong--one of them carries Zandor even though the human is bigger than he is. But they are (unlike their cousins in Oz) shy and unaggressive, making them easy prey for the Parrot People before the Herculoids showed up. I think the Monkey People had been reduced to largely a slave race before Zandor freed them.

A small detail we get is that one of the food sources for humans is a coconut-like fruit that Dorno (if I understood him) calls a Kona nut. Also, we know from Zandor's description of the Monkey People diet that Amzot's jungle includes snails, grubs and ants. I assume these are normal size ants--not the big ones we'll meet in a future episode.

We have to totally guess at directions in this episode. I'm placing the Monkey people in the jungle to the south of the Herculoid's home, with the Dark River flowing out of the south side of that jungle. Since Dorno didn't initially expect to find the Parrot People there when he arrived, I think their home is farther south still.

A--Desert (mesas, cliffs, occasional flora including Iron Trees)

B-Jungle (various flora, including Rubber Vines & Kona-nuts. Also, ants, grubs & snails)

C-Canopy Trees

1. Dark River--flows south from jungle, with a 300-foot high waterfall known as The Bottomless Waterfall located not far out of the jungle. 

2. Monkey-People--strong but shy & unaggressive flying monkeys. They are semi-sentient, with a very primitive language and loose tribal structure. They eat plants, insects and small mollusks.

3. Hill area that is home to the Parrot People. They are avian humanoids with a warlike, aggressive culture that once enslaved the Monkey People. They are omnivorous & have a sophicticated language and some technology, allowing them to make clothes and fashion wooden clubs. They are largely contained to the hill area due to their fear of the Herculoids. 

Iron Trees--Large (50 foot or higher) trees that sparsely populate the desert area. These trees have very deep roots to access underground water sources. Their name derives from their extremely tough outer bark, which can withstand violent impacts without showing any damage. Zandor's shield is made from Iron Tree bark.

Rubber Vines--Thick, pliable vines that grow down from the limbs of certain tall trees. They anchor themselves in the ground to search for additional water. Zandor has learned to use the vines as personal catapults to vacillitate rapid travel through the jungle.

Canopy Trees—Large trees whose thick, tough foliage form a sort-of ledge half-way up the trunk, with more foliage forming a roof. Zandor and his family make a home in one of these trees.

Kona Nuts--a tasty fruit found in the jungles of Amzot. In size, shape and taste, it is nearly identical to Earth's coconut.