Name: Malthus

Origin: Thomas Robert Malthus, British economist who wrote "An Essay on the Principle of Population" (1798), arguing that population tends to increase faster than food supply, with inevitably disastrous results

Nickname: Sinahlay (two-fog)

Breed: Wild rabbit

Age: 6 yrs. (will live to be about 11)

Parents: Unknown

Sibling(s): Cadmus (in progress); the rest were taken to Efrafa; Cadmus is Malthus's brother and only real friend in life, though he can be a pain at times

Eye color: Medium brown

Voice: Humphrey Bogart (Rick in the 1942 classic, Casablanca; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfxJCdBFuLk)

Mate: None

Friend(s): Cadmus (his brother and only real friend)

Likes: Life by himself (for the most part), feeling the sun on his fur when he's outside

Dislikes: Being blind, being called Sinahlay, being tricked, being snuck up on,

Personality: He is whole-hearted and loyal, as well as highly intelligent, easy-going, and independent. Despite being completely blind, he adapts well to new situations. Also he is resolute, resilient, reposeful, insistent, and insightful, but can be reserved at times. His parents raised him to be mistrustful of strangers, and he doesn't talk to anyone until he trusts them completely.

History: He and his brother Cadmus were born in Nutley Copse. Their parents were a couple of prisoner rabbits who had successfully escaped from Efrafa. As their litter grew up, it quickly became apparent that Malthus was blind, completely blind in both eyes. Life was difficult for Malthus, not being able to see. His siblings often played tricks on him, like getting in his path, calling him names, laughing at him if he bumped into something, stuff like that. Sneaking up on him, however, was out of the question. Since he had no sight, his hearing and sense of smell were better than a normal, sighted rabbit, so he would know if someone were sneaking up on him.

When Malthus and his siblings were a few months old, an Efrafan patrol found their parents, and brought them and the rest of their litter to Efrafa. Malthus and Cadmus had been lucky enough to avoid being captured by the patrol, as they'd been taught to hide if an Efrafan patrol came near, and these two hid under a bush, Cadmus helping his blind brother Malthus make it to safety; this particular patrol had taken them by surprise, however. The two brothers were so scared and frightened as their parents and the rest of their siblings were taken away. Since Malthus couldn't see what was happening, he was even more terrified than his brother. Soon their emotional scars healed, and not much longer after, they parted ways to find their own ways in life.

Malthus started a warren on Cottington's Hill when he was almost 2 years old. It didn't last long, though. After about two years the warren failed and most of the members died from starvation. Their number had grown over those two years (population overload) but it was too much for their territory to handle, plus there wasn't enough food for all of them. After most of the warren's members died, Malthus's followers lost faith in him, and left the warren. They blamed Malthus for their deaths, as they didn't realize it was their own doing and that Malthus was not to blame at all. Haunted by guilt, failure, and bad memories, Malthus soon left the warren, and settled on Great Litchfield Down, not far from Watership. Word of him and the failed warren spread quickly, and Malthus found himself an outcast among his own kind; no other rabbit (except his brother Cadmus) wanted anything to do with him.

Malthus lives by himself, and doesn't want to belong to another warren.

Future: He'll never find a mate, but one of the survivors from the former Cottington's Hill Warren will return and befriend him, after having had some time to think, and realizing it wasn't Malthus's fault the warren failed. As for his parents and the rest of his siblings, they never see each other again.

Relation to WsD: Born in Nutley Copse, parents and most of his siblings were captured by an Efrafan patrol; lives close to Watership Down

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