There seems to be this general idea that animals very similar to animals already in the game are not really that welcome - that they're "clones" or wasted spots. There's a few animal types that I would say that it's the exact opposite, namely those that are in the title of this thread. There's others as well I'm sure, but I'm using these 3 as examples.
The idea that we should end up with 1 each of some of the more iconic zoo/wildlife animals, at least from an official content source is a bit disappointing for me. I personally feel like we should get 2 each, where applicable. Think about it - we have 2 Elephants, 2 Rhinos, 2 Hippos (in sense), 2 Tigers, 2 Chimpanzees...these are the more iconic notable animals in wildlife sanctuaries and zoos. But some we still have just 1 of. Having a even just a second species/subspecies choice would give us more variety to our zoos. The differences in visuals may not be quite as obvious from afar, but up close, and educational content wise it would give variety. Having 3, from official content, may be overdoing in, but in the cases of these more iconic animals, having 1 is not enough, IMO.
I especially feel like the Giraffe needs this more than any other at this point. They are among the top echelons of animals that people think of when they think of zoos and sanctuaries. Right up there with Elephants. The Lions probably even more so, but there's the issue of species/subspecies classification. To be honest, I don't care if it's another sub-sub species, I'd like another Lion. A different Flamingo would probably give us another continent of representation for them which is also great. Zebras may not quite be in the top levels as these other animals, but I think they're still common and iconic enough they'd deserve to get 2.
I wouldn't be opposed to another Orangutan, another Ostrich (Somali Ostrich is the "non-common" Ostrich), another Peafowl or another Gorilla (subspecies), but they're not my personal priority. Still, they belong up here with the "great zoo name" species.
We also already have a second wolf, a second brown bear, and a second Hyena. We even have a second otter and second penguin. To that end, I'd probably also want to see a second kangaroo, they're just as iconic and notable as a penguin or otter.
For me personally, the only "big name" animal that would only fit for having 1 representative is the Giant Panda. There is a subspecies but it's extremely rare and I'm not even sure is kept in any zoos.
So basically, to me...the big names, and what we have, either full different species or sub species wise, are :
Rhino - 2 species
Tiger - 2 Species
Elephant - 2 Species
Hippo - 2 species
Chimpanzee - 2 species
Wolf - 2 species
Brown Bear - 2 species
Penguin - 2 species
Hyena - 2 species
Lion - 1 species
Giraffe - 1 species
Zebra -1 species
Ostrich - 1 species
Gorilla 1 species
Peafowl - 1 species
Flamingo 1 species
Orangutan - 1 species
Giant Panda - 1 species
Not quite as high up on the "big name list" but adding anyways:
Otter - 2 species
Tortoise - 2 species
Kangaroo - 1 species
Crocodile -1 species
I'd love to have 2 of each of the above species, except for the Giant Panda. I don't need 3 of any of them, but 2 would be great. That's a total of 10 "clone type" species/subspecies.
Thoughts, feedback and additions to the list of more iconic zoo animals? The list I've put down, especially the first part, is in my mind what are the pretty much agreed upon more popular, marketed animals within zoos, but that's just from my perspective. I'd love to hear other perspectives.
This is my priority list for future types of the animals you have there. The game should provide subspecies and species that different players are familiar with to make their dream zoos more authentic to their identities.
Tiger: Sumatran Tiger and perhaps Malayan Tiger
Rhinoceros: Black Rhinoceros
Elephant: Sumatran or Sri Lankan Elephant, perhaps African Forest Elephant (there are few in captivity)
Chimpanzee: Central Chimpanzee
Wolf: Red Wolf, Mexican Wolf
Brown Bear: Eurasian Brown Bear or Kodiak Bear
Penguin (many): Gentoo, Little, Southern Rockhopper, Chinstrap, Emperor and Humboldt
Lion: East African and Asiatic
Giraffe: Masai and Rothschild
Zebra: Different versions of Plains Zebra such as Burchell's and Grant's (which we already have), the Grevy's Zebra and Mountain Zebra
Ostrich: Somali Ostrich and Masai Ostrich
Gorilla: Don't know if we need one, as there is really only the Eastern Lowland Gorilla in captivity other than the Western which we already have, Mountain Gorillas are not in captivity.
Peafowl: Green Peafowl
Flamingo: I would go for the American, Lesser and Chilean Flamingos as well as the Greater which we have
Orangutan: Sumatran definitely
Otter: North American River Otter and Sea Otter
Tortoise: There are many such as African Spurred, Leopard, Radiated, Elongated, Red Footed, Indian Star and Ploughshare
Kangaroo: Western Grey Kangaroo
Crocodile: Many more, Nile Crocodile, American Crocodile, Cuban Crocodile, Freshwater Crocodile, Dwarf Crocodile, Slender Snouted Crocodile, Orinoco Crocodile, there are several
A few of my own:
Red Panda: Himalayan/white faced Red Panda
Wombat: Southern Hairy Nosed Wombat
Wallaby: Yellow Footed Rock Wallaby and Swamp Wallaby
Leopard: Sri Lankan and African, maybe Persian too
Tapir: South American Tapir
Lemur: Collared, Crowned, Mongoose Lemurs, Coquerel's Sifaka, Brown Lemur and Aye-Aye
Seal: Harbour Seal, Walrus, New Zealand Fur Seal and Australian Sea Lion, perhaps Brown Fur Seal and Northern Elephant Seal as well
Capuchin Monkey: Tufted Capuchin
Pangolin: Sunda Pangolin
Sheep: Bighorn, Aoudad, Himalayan Tahr and Markhor
Fruit Bat: Indian, Malayan and Straw Coloured
Lynx: Canada Lynx
Deer: Chital, White Tailed and Sambar
Black Bear: American Black Bear
Monitors: Perentie, Lace Monitor and Asian Water Monitor
Macaque: Rhesus and Crab-Eating
Armadillo: Brazilian Three Banded Armadillo
Antelope: Blackbuck, Greater Kudu, Klipspringer, Bontebok, Impala, Common Eland, Addax, Gerenuk, Saiga, Blue Duiker, Kirk's Dik-Dik, Nilgai, Giant Eland, Sitatunga, Yellow Backed Duiker, Soemmerring's Gazelle and Dama Gazelle
Fox: Bat Eared Fox
Gibbon: Lar Gibbon, Silvery Gibbon and White Cheeked
Crane: Demoiselle, Wattled, White Naped, Blue and Grey Crowned Crane