Who could the carving be depicting? What kind of creature?
The thing about this creature that makes it so hard to identify is that both sides of it could be its face.
In the picture on the cover of the Jamaa Journal, it looks like it could very well be some sort of rhino. However, when you see it "in person", it looks like a very big seal with a strange tail.
From my research, I can't find any prehistoric animal that looks remotely like this.
So... my conclusion?
If this is a hint for a new animal, that animal will look nothing like this statue. I will go on further and say that this statue as it is right now is incomplete.
I wonder. In the middle of Balloosh lies an ancient Heartstone. Heartstones, for those of you who don't know yet, are special stones that exist to represent each species in Jamaa. I'm not sure yet if this ancient statue will become a new animal, but it is more than likely that the animal in the statue is represented by this Heartstone.
Before I go, there is one more thing I would like to talk about. It is not pleasant, but it is more important than ever.
Many of you are probably aware of the passing of Sudan, the last male Northern White Rhino, a species of which there are only two other individuals left... both female. He died of old age on March 19th, 2018.
Northern White Rhinos have effectively become extinct.
The main reason for this extinction is poaching. Why do some people kill rare and beautiful animals when it is so important they stay alive? Mostly, it is to sell their body parts on the black market. Some people believe that a rhino's horn can act as medicine, when in reality, it is no more medicinal than eating your own fingernails. (Rhino horns are made of keratin, the same material as your nails).
Still, rhino horns are sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars to people who see them as a symbol of status and wealth. Imagine buying and eating a giant mass of fingernails just to prove how rich you are... ugh.
But there is another, deadlier enemy that played a major role in the extinction of the Northern White Rhino. And this is an enemy that continues to takes millions of lives every day.
Habitat destruction.
Beautiful living creatures are exploited and killed for profit. Trees, plants, frogs, birds, leopards, orangutans, wolves, coyotes, and billions of unknown animals who are extinct before we can even glimpse them for the first time.
This is death at such a large scale that it is difficult to feel anything about. Because it's hard to know what to do.
I could easily spout off a few charities that you could give to so you could feel good about yourself, but it's hard to know where the money you give to a charity actually goes.
Habitat destruction is almost always orchestrated by people who want a lot of money. Corporations that are powerful and messed up.
But... there is something you can do. Many things, actually, but I'll tell you a simple one that has a direct impact.
Every time you buy anything, you are basically donating money to keep a company going. The more people want a certain product, the more of that product will be made. This is called supply-on-demand.
Nearly every big company in the world makes their products by destroying the environment. Destroying habitat for animals like the white rhino.
Do you see what I'm getting at?
This is a small start, but deciding to not buy products that contain ingredients that are particularly harmful to the environment (like palm oil), removes much of your contribution to habitat destruction.
Like it or not, most everyone hurts the environment every day without meaning to. Humans are hands down the most destructive animals on the planet.
But doing what you can to help is not a matter of being a "good" or "bad" person, but simply doing what you can to do the least possible damage.
Looking at the massive destruction inflicted upon the Earth by powerful companies, our contribution to that seems miniscule. But it does add up. And it does make a difference.
You cannot have many without one.
Rest in peace, Sudan the white rhino. I wish that humans could have understood that you and your species were worth more than all the money in the world.
~DoomyPanda
