[Tade0]

> Unfortunately the rac breed is not very healthy and usually does not live more than five to seven years.

That's a gross misunderstanding of the topic! A Rac's natural lifespan is easily in the twenties, it's just that they're a display of status and virility, so those 5-7 years are actually the time after the original owner sells of the Rac to the less fortunate.

It's quite the irony. An animal held at such high esteem, but only as long as its young and fit, even though its ability to serve its purpose does not diminish significantly after the aforementioned time.

EDIT: regarding lifespan: I have a Japanese Crowned Rac which fell seriously ill at the age of 15 - mostly due to the first owner's mishandling. I can't bring myself to euthanise it though, as in its time it has been a loyal steed.

[taneq]

In fact you can, somewhat gruesomely, keep a rac alive long after it would normally perish by grafting body parts from other deceased racs onto it. There are even stories of necromancy whereby a rac thought long dead and buried could be exhumed and revived by feeding it fresh yrettab and cleaning its nostrils with a squirt of the potent restorative, 04dw.