The many flavors of fur

There are many different types of furries, whether we talk about the different types of animals or characteristics that people use for their fursonas, we find an interesting amount of diversity and very intriguing reasons for peoples choices.

We'll start by talking about the fursona, an combination of the word fur and persona, these are the characters that the people of the furry fandom create to project themselves into the community at large.
As for the usage of a fursona, the essay “You Take My Paw and I'll Take Your Hand: An Exploration of the Furry Community.” covers the what the term is used for within the furry community.
"I asked the furries I interviewed their opinion on fursonas and how they felt they others utilized fursonas as part of their interactions with the furry community and they had these observations to share. Abe said: “…it always seemed to me that your fursona is your alter ego. It’s how you connect with the world. It’s the way that you see yourself.”

While there is no set standard for what a furry would need to put into their fursona, most furry's use them to exemplify a specific characteristic that they either have or wish they have, for example a person may choose a canine species because they value loyalty, or a feline to symbolize their independence, but the animals, that they choose are chosen solely because of the traits that are specific to the animal's species, the furry who's making their fursona could have other reasons to choose a different animal, this could stem from a "spirit" animal or a personal preference.

Another quote from the essay, that fits in with this topic is, from a person named John, who was interviewed, "To some people, a fursona is an animistic version of themselves. To others a fursona could be who they want to be. To some people a fursona could just be a character they wanted to have and have to real relationship with the character… My fursona is a mix of who I am mixed with who I want to be. His appearance goes along with my interests and personality."

Questions to the reader,

What would you design and use a character as a personal alter-ego?
Why would someone within the furry fandom have a fursona besides the art that is offered within the community?