National Honeybee Day + New Animal!

Hey Jammers! DoomyPanda here, back with another belated post. This one's all about the new update that came to Jamaa on Thursday– that I missed, because I was too busy being lazy.

I hope not all of you know about the update. If all of you did, then what would the point of making this post? I'm gonna pretend there are a whole bunch of you who have no idea that GIRAFFES ARE NOW NONMEMBER.

How unexpected was that!?!?!

I presume they're available in the Diamond Shop now, as I saw quite a group of them inside.

Also in the Diamond Shop is a "new" accessory: a Head Feather with One Extra Feather.

You wouldn't think that One Extra Feather would be the difference between being nonmember and being SUPER EXCLUSIVE TO ONLY MEMBERS, but it is.

Ah well, I guess the regular Head Feather is nonmember.

I wonder if the reason why the two-feather Head Feather was focused on in the Jamaa Journal had something to do with Headdresses being discontinued? That's old news, I know, but maybe the reason why these special Head Feathers are only there for two weeks is that AJHQ wants to replace Headdresses with them in demand. 

I dunno how successful that'll be if it's true. They may also have made a page in the Jamaa Journal because they don't want people to confuse the Head Feather with these Head Feathers. Then again, why make them in the first place? They're practically the same.

After being too lazy to post for so long, I forgot how much fun it was overanalyzing AJ items.

Happy National Honeybee Day, everyone! Today's the day where we all the opportunity to talk about bee facts, think about ways to make bees happier, and have bee-themed parties in dens.

Here's something on the topic of bees: in front of my town's recycling center, there is a massive bush of some kind of purple flower. I went there a couple of weeks ago to find literally hundreds of different kinds of bees collecting nectar from the purple flowers. It was so cool! :D

Here are some fun facts about bees and honey that I know:

•  When you buy honey in the supermarket, there's a big chance that there's not just honey in there! Pure honey is rather expensive, so manufacturers usually add other kinds of syrups and sugars to a small amount of pure honey to take up space and save money. This is called honey laundering. 

•  Honeybees are becoming endangered in the countryside while doing better in more urban areas. This is because wide scale farming is more common in rural areas, and use of hurtful pesticides is a common practice for big farms. It's been shown that certain pesticides used on vegetables and fruits get into a bee's body through the nectar their flowers produce. They inhibit a male bee's ability to reproduce, so populations shrink and can't be replenished. It's really sad.

•  Bees communicate with each other through dance! 

•  A major predator of the Japanese honeybee is the Japanese giant hornet. However, the bees have developed an ingenious way to defend themselves! When a hornet approaches the nest, the bees allow it to come in. Once it does, they form a tight ball around the hornet and angrily make a kind of convection oven by vibrating their wings to generate heat and direct that heat to the center of the ball, which becomes lethal for the hornet.

And now, back to Animal Jam...

Last year's group adventure Battle for the Beacon has returned! In my opinion, the best kind of adventures are the original ones that have more storyline and are typically more difficult than "do this... get items" like these new seasonal group adventures are. However, Battle for the Beacon is pretty ok. 

You can trade your pets now! How interesting, and kinda weird. Anyone can just get any pet, so why would you want someone else's? Hmm...

So this woodcarving represents a place where the rumored new animal is to be found... 

Hmmm.... maybe it's.... MADAGASCAR???!?!?!?

If you flip over Madagascar on the map, it looks just like the woodcarving! I believe this is likely because there are many animals that only exist in Madagascar, so that would easily narrow things down. 

If the woodcarving represents Madagascar, who would be some likely candidates to become new AJ animals?

Let's see...

Could it be the well-known ring-tailed lemur? 

Could it be the sifaka, a large lemur who moves by dancing across the ground? 

Or, could it be the rare and misunderstood aye-aye, who uses their long fingers to eat insects hidden deep within tree bark?

There are so many beautiful animals in Madagascar, but as for Jamaa's new animal, my bet's on the ring-tailed lemur. They're the most well-known, after all, and AJHQ wants to release an animal that will be popular among kids.

What do you guys think?

In other news, Arctic Foxes have left the building, but Rhinos are soon to return!

AJHQ has made a new room in Sarepia Forest exclusively for 2D adventures. I dunno why they wouldn't just put them in the base camp like all the others, but I guess they have some reason. :\

At first I was a little afraid that this new command post would take up a lot of room in Sarepia, but thankfully it's just a little doorway on the top level:

Phew!

Maybe it's just the fact that I'm nonmember, but I'm not too wild about these new 2D adventures. I've watched a few walkthroughs on the internet and they seem pretty basic in comparison to something like Greely's Inferno, or even Meet Cosmo. I've also heard that they're pretty laggy. I dunno, what do you guys think?

And finally, this update's Jamaa Journal closes with an advertisement for the new toys.

Over on the Daily Explorer, there's a new Diamond Challenge. This one's special because it involves making a new Jam-a-gram that has a chance of becoming official!!!

There will be 3 winners, and all entries are due on AUGUST 21st at 9 PM, Animal Jam time! 

I don't have any use for diamonds, but I am SO excited to enter! However, this requires you to use the Art Studio. I'm better with colored pencils than a mouse, but I'll do my best! :)

That's all for now, Jammers. See you in Jamaa, and check back tomorrow!