Varijikocalman

A male Varijikocalman walking on a mountain path

### Colors

Dark green with a flat, dark brown-light tan-black-dark gray lattice pattern on their pack with multicolored facial markings

### Species List

* Varijikocalman Odalus
* Varijikocalman Treagof

The ***Varijikocalman*** was first seen in the 3.0.0 upcoming update (Season 3). It is featured in small mountain villages in the East Himalayas and The Spatterhorn. They are considered to be endangered by the guidebook due to their limited habitat, but they are commonly found in multiple places in The Spatterhorn.

## Etymololgy

Its name derives from the Haymbard Kammenujelk. It technically means "Jiko's False Difference" or "Jiko's Suspicious Difference." It was named by Valker Jiko, who obviously named it after himself. He was a mountain-exploring survivor who lived around 1121 ANW. He discovered all kinds of new life, the Varijikocalman being only one of them. It was named so due to its habit of hiding away in its mountain den, then poking its head out to check if the coast is clear. If not, it'll hunker back down in its den again. Back in 1121, this seemed suspicious as thought it were trying to hide or protect something from the encounterer when in reality, it's just scared and deems its den a place of safety. It was different because the mountain being explored, The Spatterhorn, was home mainly to ziptics, not crozies, and he noticed this odd outcast, and named it so.

## Life

The Varijikocalman is an odd sight. It looks as though it got a makeover in tribal face paint, when the head markings are really just to attract mates. They can blush different colors as an aphrodisiac, but it requires flushing blood to the head rather than the tail, the sturdy Varijikocalman's defence, making them extremely vulnerable during impression. At the end, so much blood, strain, and energy will have been expended, they often pass out, and subconsciously mate, which is an extremely odd sight.

After this process, a 1.5-month gestation period will ensue until a baby Varijikocalman is born. It is one of few crozy species observed to never have twins or anything of the sort. Some gene guarantees that any pregnant Varijikocalman will only produce 1 offspring per mate. The birth usually occurs in the summer, given late spring is Varijikocalman mating season.

When born, baby Varijikocalmans, named "Jikalmies (singular Jikalmy)" will remain under the mother's tender care until they turn 14 or so. At which point, the mother will either die or leave or have to focus all attention on a new Jikalmy. The 14 year old Varijikocalman is not old enough to mate, it can only develop mating responses after it turns 19, so for a 5-year period, it seems youngsters are left to fend for themselves. However, by this time most Jikalmies will have learnt tricks from their mothers on how to avoid predators and catch food. One thing they do not learn, however, is to make their own den.

The den is extremely important to a Varijikocalman. By instinct, it provides their refuge. It also provides a place to sleep and nurture young and stay safe. When a new Jikalmy is born, there will have been a pre-made den by this "teenage" Jikalmy before it mated. How did they figure out to make a den? Well, they know by instinct they need a den, and they know what a den is, so they try their hardest to make a den. And, a den is different across species, so for no further trouble, a Varijikocalman den looks something like this: (Due to the fact I have noy yet created a Varijikocalman den image yet, I will have to explain) The den is a side-hole burrowed under a rock overhang or just the upper parts of the mountain in general. It is made by digging up snow around the den, and kicking it through the rock to dislodge it and create a small cavern. The cavern's size ranges a *lot*. Some are extremely cramped while others are mansions, and as you may expect, your den's size has a huge role on the mate you choose. Now, both males and females have dens, and whoever actually uses the den is almost as random as which gender is born.

How can kicking snow into a rock make it dislodge? Rocks are pretty tough! Also, how did they figure out to do this? Well, since they know what a den should look like, they know that there is dislodged rock around it, and usually places with dislodged rock are dens. So, having a place with loose rock should make it easy to get a den from there. It's easier than most, but the process of dislodging the rock is exhausting, ranging from 15 hours-4 days on average. But, when its done, you will have a nice, extremely uncomfortable place to sleep. Yay!

Both males and females in this genus are surprisngly equal, both are raised equally, are abandoned at the same age, make dens, and wander around their mountain looking for another mate during May. Unlike with most animals, territorial concept is really low among the Varijikocalman. They only ever fight with their tails over their small dens and mates. Wandering onto another inhabited mountain would come at no cost. Once a mate is found, the plans are made.

Being raised is again equal among both genders. The mother will nurture the Jikalmy and take it on walks for exercise and learning. The father will take the baby out for fighting and prey-catching. Never has a Varijikocalman of any gender been observed giving lessons on how to make a den. This is a problem

As mentioned at the beginning of the article, Varijikocalman are listed as endangered. Many strave trying to dislodge rocks, or die because they cannot make, find, or know how to make a den. This is a serious problem, and not much can be done about it. A Jikalmy will only learn from its parents, a strong genetic connection disallows it to learn from anybody else. They likely evolved this way as a defense mechanism, but it is proving to be not working so well if the mother or father or both (Oh No!) are unable or are bad at teaching.

Overall, the Varijikocalman have never been a "Least Concern." They've always been considered endangered because of this listing being so ever-present. Their low population is starting to be taken as a sign that they just don't number much, and may be switched to "Least Concern" in the future.

## In-Game

In-Game, the Varijikocalman is often called a "Vary" as a nickname, mostly because it's shorter. They eat the Common Mountain Shrew as well as the Alpine Gray Shrew. They also eat Fireweed, Alpine Lillies, and Sherpabrush. They are very picky in that sense, having only a few options to choose from. Luckily, those are abundant options! The Varijikocalman is a Tier 2 Animal and is not extremely disease-prone. Looting them for cells is not advised as they are mostly Actin protein cells or DNA.

It is a cheap strategy build because it isn't very prime, especially for its habitat.

## Fast Facts

1. ↑ New Proposed Tiering System from Season 3 update