4 ms·
In Lord of the Rings, humans, elves, and orcs can all interbreed, so they are all the same species.
by mrob 4y ago
In Lord of the Rings, humans, elves, and orcs can all interbreed, so they are all the same species.
- runarberg 4y agoDifferent species can also interbreed in the natural world. E.g. wolves and coyotes regularly produce fertile offspring (most often via dogs since wolves and coyotes mate at different times), grizzle bear and polar bear likewise (will happen more often as polar bears migrate south from the melting ice caps). Even humans interbred in the history of our species with different species of humans (most notably Neanderthals). I think the both terms are correct, but I like races better because species also includes every lifeform which can never be characters, like ravens, wargs or even tobacco plants.
- b112 4y agoJust like donkeys and horses then?
- mrob 4y agoDonkeys and horses produce infertile mules. Elves and humans produce fertile offspring. Aragorn has elvish ancestors.
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- robonerd 4y ago> Donkeys and horses produce infertile mules. Usually.
- samatman 4y agoIn the Dark Sun setting from AD&D, the offspring of humans and dwarves are also infertile. Also called muls, which isn't the most creative move but hey. I don't recall there being any children of dwarves and men in the Tolkien legendarium, though I've not read it all by any means. Given how common "interfertile but with sterile offspring" is between related species in nature, it's relatively rare in games and fantasy settings.