C-97 Regent

Submission for the 2017 Creature Cabal

Unlike most submissions, this feature is not a bloodthirsty carnivore, but rather a docile plant-eater.
The desert planet of C-97 is unforgiving, and the few herbivores here need to get the most out of any plants they come across. This only gets worse if your species descended from specialized nectar-feeders, even more so if you don't have any eyes. However, nature found a way with the bizarre Regent.
Standing roughly twelve feet high at the top of the torso, the Regent only walks on two stocky legs, meaning it doesn't have the long-distance travel advantage of other migratory animals. Instead, it stays in the same general area for most of the year (and, inherently, most of its life.) They rarely ever live in watery areas, meaning conventional plants are hard to come by. The Regent, however, isn't a grazer but a browser. Its tendrils sweep the ground in search of roots and tubers (or, if those are in short supply, the odd carcass.) Once it digs those up, it uses its proboscis, now hardened with a tough shell of keratin, to drink the juices for energy. Due to its sedentary lifestyle, it doesn't need many to survive from day-to-day. This naturally puts it in constant danger, not just from starvation but also from predators.
But this herbivore isn't entirely defenseless- it isn't called the regent for show...

Rendered in Photoshop