. "Thorn Beasts are used as food by the Covenant, and Jiralhanae in particular. They appear to be docile herd animals, and may have been domesticated for consumption. Their neck and head contain high concentrations of neurotoxins, likely a defensive adaptation against predators that go for the head or neck to kill. While they are found on planets other than Doisac, their popularity among Jiralhanae may show that they inhabit a variety of worlds, perhaps transplanted there by the Forerunners' after the Halo Array activated. Thorn Beasts were originally meant to appear in Halo: Combat Evolved, but were cut from the final game. They were also originally meant to appear in Halo Wars. The game developers stated that they would have reacted to units and battles around them. In the videos however, they merely ran away from units, not battles; if there was a bombing next to it, it wouldn't have flinched. However, since the videos were made as the game was still in development, this lack of a reaction may have been changed for a more real gaming experience if the creature would have made the final cut. Its first canonical appearance was in Halo: Contact Harvest, where it is consumed by a Jiralhanae pack. In the novel, it is described that Thorn Beast is served back up showing its five spikes and its legs splayed though the head and neck is cut off (due to the high amount of neurotoxins)."@en . "Thorn Beasts are used as food by the Covenant, and Jiralhanae in particular. They appear to be docile herd animals, and may have been domesticated for consumption. Their neck and head contain high concentrations of neurotoxins, likely a defensive adaptation against predators that go for the head or neck to kill. While they are found on planets other than Doisac, their popularity among Jiralhanae may show that they inhabit a variety of worlds, perhaps transplanted there by the Forerunners' after the Halo Array activated."@en . . . . "Thorn Beast"@en . . .