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Hoddel eggs are slimy to the touch and emit a repugnant odor that can cause anyone to retch near its vicinity. Its disgusting stench, secreted by its dark-green glands which give the egg its slimy sheen, is a defensive mechanism to ward off would-be predators.
Hoddel eggs can be found strewn around the deeper, muddier areas of Ark's swamp banks. It has been thought by the Science and Research Center in Ark City that the warm conditions of muds, due to its close proximity to hot springs, help keep Hoddel eggs nurtured and incubated, which is vital in sustaining Hoddel eggs until the creature is fully developed inside. Due to the rarity of Hoddel eggs and the existing SAR Center monitoring and research of the creatures, attempts to steal known Hoddel eggs from the Wetlands are met with severe penalties.
Many Arkians had believed the Hoddel to be a myth, due to its lack of presence in the Wetlands. Coupled with the Hoddel's prone disappearances during the colder seasons (the reason now cited as hibernation by the SAR Center) and the rare sightings, many which are unsubstantiated and circumstantial, it wouldn't be a stretch to declare the Hoddel's existence as false. The rarely reported sightings of Hoddels describe a shape like a stunted lion with a strong stench, and requests for the elaboration of the face, body parts and color usually results in the observer to embarrassingly admit that anything further than its shape was obscured by the misty swamps.
It was only by sheer luck that two Ark scientists had discovered two Hoddel eggs near the shallow swamp banks instead of the deeper and warmer environments Hoddel eggs would usually be laid in. Upon bringing the creature to the SAR Center, they could confirm a new species' existence, and corroborated with evidence from reported Hoddel sightings, coupled with analysis of the egg's embryo state and re-imaging of the embryo when fully-grown, the SAR Center scientists could confirm that this creature was indeed the myth preceding it.
Despite little knowledge of Hoddels in the SAR Center, it is understood that Hoddels congregate in swamps, that they are carnivores due to their fangs, bite force, theorized diet and fearsome appearance, and that they hunt alone due to the many lone Hoddel sightings. Reconstructed images of Hoddels show they have a red shaggy mane (though the use of it is still unknown), distinctive dark-green spots (thought of as glands), and an appearance that resembles a cross between a gator and a lion.
The Science and Research Center has found that the odor the Hoddel emits can be changed and adjusted by the creature itself. The research determining how it does so is still in development, however, it is believed that there is a connection to temperature.