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The Umoja is the 999th creature to appear on Ark.
Picking up the fluffy brown egg, you expected to be greeted to a very soft and fuzzy texture. Instead your hands met the cold feeling of fresh wet paint. Whoops...
The beautiful markings on Umoja eggs are painted on by the parents not too long after being laid as part of an important tradition. As the egg gets closer to hatching, the symbols added on become more and more complex in nature. They're thought to be some kind of countdown to hatching day for the expecting parents.
The Umoja is a self-determined and very gentle giant. Strong familial bonds seem to be very important to them, as it's extremely rare to see a lonesome Umoja away from its family group. Fully grown Umojas stand close by their offspring as the hatchlings frolic in the deep snow, making sure they're safe at all times. When approached by curious humans, the greeting call the adults let out sounds vaguely like "Habari Gani", a Swahili phrase meaning "How are you?"
Normally they are a fairly elusive species in the icy depths of the Coldworld, but during the first day of Kwanzaa the Umojas begin to roam the island of Ark. On this day, the frontmost black branch on their candle-like antlers is mysteriously lit with a flame that never ceases to burn. These roaming family groups can be observed gathering food in rather large quantities throughout the week—they seem to favour fruits and vegetables of all kinds, as well as corn and grains.
At the end of the week, on the final night of Kwanzaa, every travelling group makes their way back to the Coldworld to share their gatherings with the Umoja community, in order to create an exceptionally large feast as part of a festival. During this festive celebration filled with dancing and joy, one can observe the Umojas painting each other's thick brown fur with all sorts of colourful symbols—whilst the exact meanings of each symbol are currently unknown, it's assumed that they have high importance within the species' culture.
On the beginning of each day, a new antler branch is lit by a strange magic. As the clock strikes midnight at the end of Kwanzaa, the flames will suddenly fizzle out.