Australia Roster Appreciation Post

For very, very, very long we have all been complaining about the lack of australian animals in PZ.

After the australian pack, we still couldn't build a realistic australian area thanks to the lack of "basic" common australian zoo animals.

We got the Platypus and Wombat, both highly specialized and rare in zoos, so the problem persisted.

And now, with the Emu and Wallaby, we finally have a realistic, useable roster of australian animals, with enough variety to not have the same selection in every zoo!

So I wanted to celebrate with a post!

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I think the rooster really is quite good now.

But I still hope to see the Echidna, the Kiwi and the Tree Kangaroo. The first I have recently Seen at Frankfurt Zoo, Germany. They are really a funny looking animal. Frankfurt Zoo also has Kiwis but unfortunately they are normally not shown. I have not seen Tree Kangaroos until now but they will come hopefully soon to my local Zoo at Stuttgart. They also look very special. And I forgot to mention the Tasmanian Devil. I think it is self explaining and it is the biggest carnivorian marsupial.
 
I couldn't be happier. It was reaching the point where I was starting to worry we'd never see the emu or the wallaby, and then we go and get them both in the same pack. Australia is finally actually usable. The odd choice that was the dingo, and the overly specialized, rare (outside of their native range, at least) choices of the koala, platypus, and wombat finally have the necessary framework to not stick out like sore thumbs.

I'd still like to take Oceanian things a bit further - Matschie's tree kangaroo is my #2 overall, and I'd love to see the short-beaked echidna and kiwi and Tasmanian devil and black swan as well, plus there's some solid lizard and "lizard" choices left both for exhibits and habitats... to say nothing of aviary birds. But for now, I'm finally happy with what we can do with Australia.
 
I couldn't be happier. It was reaching the point where I was starting to worry we'd never see the emu or the wallaby, and then we go and get them both in the same pack. Australia is finally actually usable. The odd choice that was the dingo, and the overly specialized, rare (outside of their native range, at least) choices of the koala, platypus, and wombat finally have the necessary framework to not stick out like sore thumbs.

I'd still like to take Oceanian things a bit further - Matschie's tree kangaroo is my #2 overall, and I'd love to see the short-beaked echidna and kiwi and Tasmanian devil and black swan as well, plus there's some solid lizard and "lizard" choices left both for exhibits and habitats... to say nothing of aviary birds. But for now, I'm finally happy with what we can do with Australia.
Yup. The emu and wallaby make all the rare previous animals a lot more useable and appealing to me as a player.

They retroactively enhance previous packs.
 
Right now I'd say that our Australian roster is pretty good, and much, much better than it was at launch. Now I really just want the Tasmanian Devil, Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo, and North Island Brown Kiwi, and then I would consider the roster perfect.
 
The Australia roster is really good compared to say last year which needed dire additions to even consider making an Australia themed area never mind an entire zoo. I'm not too fussed about the kiwi really so the Tasmanian devil, some tree kangaroo, and short beaked echidna would make the Oceania roster shine. I've gotten over the dingo disappointment now we have ample animals to work hoping the next year can tie up Oceania in some way
 
The Australia roster is really good compared to say last year which needed dire additions to even consider making an Australia themed area never mind an entire zoo. I'm not too fussed about the kiwi really so the Tasmanian devil, some tree kangaroo, and short beaked echidna would make the Oceania roster shine. I've gotten over the dingo disappointment now we have ample animals to work hoping the next year can tie up Oceania in some way
The Dingo is actually realky good in retrospect now that we have a more comprehensive roster.
 
Yes, I'm very happy with how things are going with Australia and Oceania overall, but we're not quite "there" yet.

I remember thinking of my want for an Australian pack (after we saw we'd get 4+1+scenery packs). My hopes were a Kangaroo and Koala (necessities and imperative to have at least one otherwise why bother), Dingo and Wombat. The Cassowary was my next choice...so out of that I came out incredibly well, and especially after this year. Counting the King Penguin we have 10 Oceanian Habitat animals - obviously sticking to mostly regions the first two years meant that animals not included in a pack would be waiting quite some time for inclusion, but with 4 habitat animals this year we've come a long way and are "almost" the point that we can have a respective representation of Oceania.

That last bit is key to this as others have mentioned. Australia is excellently represented. The Tasmanian Devil is as favorite to include, but honestly with the animals we have as of the Grasslands pack, we can make a fairly complete section for Australia. I'd like a Grey Kangaroo as well just for some variation (and they're also in my local zoo) but otherwise any other purely Australian animals would be appreciated but for me not needed.

What's not represented well is Non-Australian Oceania. The Saltwater Crocodile, Cassowary and King Penguin (I think I have their range right) are all partly in Non-Australian Oceania, but there's still more needed, even if it doesn't balance out to what Australia has. At minimum, a Kiwi and a Tree Kangroo. I'd also love to see the Little Blue Penguin.

So for me overall, 3 more necessary animals - the Tasmanian Devil, Tree Kangaroo, and Kiwi - and 2 more that I'd greatly appreciate with the Grey Kangaroo and Little Blue Penguin. Any other animals like a second wombat, the Quokka, the Numbat or a second Wallaby are not very likely, but I certainly wouldn't object to their inclusion, especially a second wombat.

But still...we have come a long, long way since launch and really only have a little bit further to go.
 
I’m just so happy with how much the roster has grown over the past year - as recently as late last year I was wondering if we were even going to get any more Australian animals, and now we’re at the point where Oceania as a whole is almost well represented! Here’s hoping that 2023 can help push South America down the same path, with a few more choice additions from Oceania along the way of course - I feel something devilish is just around the corner.

Once the devil is added (and hopefully an echidna too somewhere down the line, which is the next most needed species for Australia itself) I’ll finally be able to build a native wildlife park that isn’t depressingly empty, which is something I’ve been wanting to do ever since the game was announced.
 
I can only agree with what was already said. The two animals that were the most crucial for me are the Emu and Wallaby, as these two are the most common Oceanian representatives in the zoos I am familiar with. I am glad we got some specialized ones like the Wombat and Platypus too. There are still some great animals that would be neat to have, and I think we will still see at least the Tasmanian Devil.

South America also got a nice boost this year, even though in this case, we are still missing the most crucial ones (monkeys), but I hope it can follow the Oceania into the "nicely represented" category next year.
 
Certainly Australia is now very well-represented, I think. For me, the main necessary species now would be the black swan - probably one of the most commonly-kept waterfowl in zoos, they are also a quite common fourth component to the kangaroo/wallaby/emu mix that is often found in zoos. They can live in walkthrough enclosures or be kept free-ranging, so have a lot of versatility.

The echidna and Tasmanian devil would both be 'nice to haves' but for me they aren't absolutely vital. Otherwise, I'd prefer to see the rest of Oceania get a bit more representation, like New Guinea (tree kangaroo definitely, preferably the Victoria crowned pigeon as well, and possibly the dusky pademelon and crocodile monitor), New Zealand (kiwi) and other smaller islands (like Fiji, New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands - mostly would be represented by exhibit animals, although the kagu could work for New Caledonia).
 
3 more animals (the Tasmanian devil, a tree kangaroo and a kiwi) and Oceania will finally be complete. Quite a ways we have come. I mean the dlc this year practically doubled the number of animals we have for the region.
It won’t be complete. I know I have said this elsewhere but it really bothers me when people say anywhere will be “complete”.

I would like to see at least numbat, quoll, tuatara, brolga, little blue penguin, echidna, Australian pelican, black swan, quokka, various ducks and geese, freshwater crocodile… the list goes on.

Another point I would like to raise is that for me, we don’t have a suitable map for the kind of Australian zoo I would like to make and at the risk of sounding like a stuck record, the ability to choose our own biome palate would remedy this.

We also lack suitable foliage, especially for New Zealand.
 
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