A Plea For The Weewoo

     Originally hailing from Krawk Island, these piracy-inclined inhabitants found that the Weewoo had great use on their ships. Weewoos can fly for miles, circumnavigating almost half the globe. With a strong homing instinct, they can also find their way back to a predetermined location or their bonded owner, the latter being exceptionally useful for seafaring pets.

     Of course, many believe the original Brown Weewoos are plain and even ‘ugly’, with their earth-tone feathers. This led to the breeding of Weewoo to create new colours and types. Maraquan Weewoos gained the ability to breathe underwater; Plushie Weewoos are soft and gained a place of popularity with children. Even Dr. Sloth experimented with Weewoos, creating the mutant Weewoo colour in hopes of using them to distribute letters and propaganda on Neopia, even if they weren’t as usable on Kreludor or the Space Station.

     The love Neopians used to have for Weewoos, however, has faded in the past few years. The myriads of colours we bread into Weewoos have all been brushed aside in favour of the ‘pure’ White Weewoos, favoured because of its association with writers and the Neopian Times.

     The true shame of the Weewoo, however, is that their colours have been created by us. While they have always been plain brown, all the other colours you can paint them in the Petpet puddle have been created by Neopians (and Dr. Sloth). Historically, the grey colour found in Pirate Weewoos was created first since pirates were the first pets to utilise this magnificent avian, but white was quickly added to the colour pool as an option for rich Neopians. Today, there are twenty-three different colour options, not counting the original Brown Weewoos.

     If you look closely at a Brown Weewoo, as well, you can see natural colour variation in the feathers, including the way that the light reflects off of them and makes them seem almost iridescent. This, too, comes from artificial selection of the Weewoo; Neopians found feathers of different shades more attractive than the flat brown that Weewoos originally were.

     It used to be every faerie in Faerieland had a Faerie Weewoo to carry her letters; that it was a crime for a pirate to lack a Pirate Weewoo; that children were given Plushie Weewoos as first pets; and that Snow Weewoos could be found perched on the shoulders of their snowy owners in Happy Valley. The question is, then: what changed? What made Neopia turn away from the Weewoo?

     The answer to this is changing technology and magic. As we improved our capabilities, a messenger bird became less practical than, say, a two-way mirror to talk through. Weewoos carrying letters became a thing for romantic courtship between wealthy Neopians and royalty, and White Weewoos were the bird of choice.

     In addition, Brown Weewoos were never popular, and as the colours of Petpet paint brushes became more expensive, Weewoos became more and more uninteresting. After all, why have a Weewoo when you could have a gallant Gruslen, an affectionate Angelpuss, a daring Doglefox, or a noble Noil? All of these pets are considered cuter or more beautiful than a Weewoo, with no associations of being ‘pests’, on top of being more affordable.

     However, a Weewoo’s intelligence is on par with any of the more popular Petpets, and they in fact routinely score similarly to Petpets like Crokabek, Delfin, Hermiteese, Piraket, Geb, and Tasu.

     Part of this intelligence shows in the Weewoos homing abilities. Once it learns a place is ‘home’, it will always return and can be sent anywhere in the world. This home can even be mobile, like a ship or a caravan, and if a pet bonds with their Weewoo the Weewoo will always come back to them. This is what makes White Weewoo so great at delivering the Neopian Times, the very newspaper you’re reading; they can be assigned routes to go straight to people’s doors, and then return back to the aviary they were raised in.

     They’re extremely adaptable, as well, so if someone moves or if something happens, they can go to new areas. This is part of how they can navigate to travelling homes. They have a strong ability to recognise objects, and so if they know a ship is home, or they need to return to a specific Neopet, they’ll be able to do it regardless of other obstacles. Their object recognition, in fact, extends to them being able to recognise works of art. A Weewoo could even be trained to fetch items for you, just like a Doglefox!

     Weewoos are also quite affectionate. They’re social creatures who enjoy interacting with each other and with other Petpets. Any Neopian who has a Weewoo has a loyal friend for life, and they will likely get along with other Petpets in the home.

     This is reflected in the way that Weewoos interact with each other, too. They travel in flocks. While there is a hierarchy, there’s also egalitarian relationships–that is, relationships of equals–between them in the flocks too. They are often affectionate with each other, and each Weewoo helps warn other Weewoos around them of anything they need to watch out for. Of course, they can be quite possessive or territorial of food or of preferred perching or roosting sights, but when food is scarce and the world is dangerous, this is a matter of protection. Weewoos safely in a home don’t possess this territorial aspect as nearly intensely as feral ones, although they can still be trained as guards to protect your home from intruders.

     An interesting thing about Weewoo is that, unlike most Petpets, you can take a Weewoo from the wild and train it and turn it into a docile Petpet. This is because they were domesticated for so long that any Weewoo still around is descended from Weewoos that were used as companions. A Weewoo is never truly ‘wild’, only feral and trying to survive from being abandoned by the Neopians that once loved them.

     Weewoos are exceptionally intelligent, affectionate and social, and overall excellent Petpets. So the next time you’re considering a companion, perhaps consider the humble Weewoo.