The "Big Six" animal requests -difficult choices as the wraps up
- Thread starter jcp011c
- Start date
1. Tree Kangaroo - Maybe not essential for the worldwide roster, but it is for New Guinea’s roster (assuming we’re discussing Goodfellow’s or Matschie’s) and is very common is Australian zoos as well. A personal favorite too and it’d be my first choice if we only got one of these. Arboreal animals are very fun to build for plus it’s arguably the most unique looking and the hardest for modders to make.
2. Baboon - Iconic and a very common primate. Just a good addition and arguably the most essential out of all of the options.
3. Coati - A small carnivore that isn’t a cat or canid, an arboreal species (again, fun to build for), and Latin American rep. One of the best additions we could get.
Thoughts on the others:
Walrus - Iconic, but not as useful as those first three. I’d love to have it in game but I can’t say that the roster is missing anything without it. I think It’d be a great headliner to sell a DLC in a potential sequel though, as it’s one of the few non-fully aquatic ABC species left that’s very familiar to non-zoo nerds.
Secretary bird - Was tempted to put it in as it’s the only bird here, but it’s a similar case to the walrus where it’s iconic, but just isn’t as useful as the others. I’d much rather have the far more common (and South American!) red-legged seriema, or the far more versatile grey-crowned crane.
Musk Ox - A very interesting animal, but it’s nowhere near essential and I just think every other option here is far more beneficial to the overall roster (and more fun to build for). If we didn’t get so many ungulates in 2023 I might be more open to it, but for now it’s definitely my least favorite out of all of these.
2. Baboon - Iconic and a very common primate. Just a good addition and arguably the most essential out of all of the options.
3. Coati - A small carnivore that isn’t a cat or canid, an arboreal species (again, fun to build for), and Latin American rep. One of the best additions we could get.
Thoughts on the others:
Walrus - Iconic, but not as useful as those first three. I’d love to have it in game but I can’t say that the roster is missing anything without it. I think It’d be a great headliner to sell a DLC in a potential sequel though, as it’s one of the few non-fully aquatic ABC species left that’s very familiar to non-zoo nerds.
Secretary bird - Was tempted to put it in as it’s the only bird here, but it’s a similar case to the walrus where it’s iconic, but just isn’t as useful as the others. I’d much rather have the far more common (and South American!) red-legged seriema, or the far more versatile grey-crowned crane.
Musk Ox - A very interesting animal, but it’s nowhere near essential and I just think every other option here is far more beneficial to the overall roster (and more fun to build for). If we didn’t get so many ungulates in 2023 I might be more open to it, but for now it’s definitely my least favorite out of all of these.
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Ok now let's talk TRUE ESSENTIAL final six:
- A duck: Mandarín Duck
- A pelican species: Brown pelican
- A rabbit/Hare: Arctic hare
- A new world monkey: Black howler monkey
- A tropical habitat bird: Grey crowned crane
- One more SA species: Southamerican coati/Greater rhea/Patagonian mara/Scarlet ibis/Roseate spoonbill
I’m so sorry but that’s not how you spell baboon at all lol
Seriously though I doubt we get both a pelican and a duck, so I would combine those into just “waterfowl” and I don’t really think we need a bunny, imo this should be the top 6 essentials:
- Baboon Species
- New World Primate
- African Habitat bird
- Waterfowl (Pelican or Duck)
- A South American animal (Coati, Rhea, Ocelot, Spec. Bear, Mara, etc)
- A Petting Zoo animal (dwarf goat, Guinea pigs, rabbits, etc)
But if you combine both under waterfowl you have to choose only one i think both are important.
I didn't consider a petting zoo animal important a except the rabbits.
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I just don't think that we'll get both if the next pack is the last, I agree they're both important.
1. Aye-aye: A nocturnal lemur with a unique strange look. Not the most common, but they can be found in some zoos. I would love to see their hand animation. They are very good for an example for saving endangered animals.
2. Coati species: Really common carnivores in zoos and wildlife parks. Also a cute and favourited ones by guests. They are more social then racoons and also used in many zoos as zooeducation animals.
3. Goodfellow tree kangaroo: A really unique and pretty marsupial species what I really missed from the oceania pack.
4. Toucans (Toco or keel-billed): A unique sout-american bird with a large beak. Also they are common in logos. After the macaws probably the most well known south american birds.
5. Rabbits or hare species (european hare, european rabbit, black-tailed jackrabbit, artick hare): we dont really have a good rabbit or hare animations and this guys at least their domesticated forms can be found in many zoos. Also they are famous from many fairytales and folk tales and cartoons.
6. Shoebill stork: Just look at that bird.
2. Coati species: Really common carnivores in zoos and wildlife parks. Also a cute and favourited ones by guests. They are more social then racoons and also used in many zoos as zooeducation animals.
3. Goodfellow tree kangaroo: A really unique and pretty marsupial species what I really missed from the oceania pack.
4. Toucans (Toco or keel-billed): A unique sout-american bird with a large beak. Also they are common in logos. After the macaws probably the most well known south american birds.
5. Rabbits or hare species (european hare, european rabbit, black-tailed jackrabbit, artick hare): we dont really have a good rabbit or hare animations and this guys at least their domesticated forms can be found in many zoos. Also they are famous from many fairytales and folk tales and cartoons.
6. Shoebill stork: Just look at that bird.
my big six
ROCK HYRAX
DODO
INDIAN CRESTED PORCUPINE
LAWN GNOME
CARTOON IMAGE OF A MACAW
AUTHOR THE AARDVARK
ok but for real
Mid to Large South American Monkey: we need at least one south American monkey to help make our SA roster realistic with 2 other animals. I prefer the Spider Monkey but the Howler Monkey is also good.
Baboon: we need African Monkie
SA Bird: we need birb. an Ibis, rhea, or Spoonbill would be best but a sunbittern, southern screamer, blue-billed curassow, etc would also work.
Coatimundi: a much-needed SA carnivore, I guess a Tamandua or Ocelot could work to, but it's not preferred.
African Bird: Sectary bird is an option that I want but a guineafowl, crowned crane, and/or African Hornbill would be better.
ROCK HYRAX
DODO
INDIAN CRESTED PORCUPINE
LAWN GNOME
CARTOON IMAGE OF A MACAW
AUTHOR THE AARDVARK
ok but for real
Mid to Large South American Monkey: we need at least one south American monkey to help make our SA roster realistic with 2 other animals. I prefer the Spider Monkey but the Howler Monkey is also good.
Baboon: we need African Monkie
SA Bird: we need birb. an Ibis, rhea, or Spoonbill would be best but a sunbittern, southern screamer, blue-billed curassow, etc would also work.
Coatimundi: a much-needed SA carnivore, I guess a Tamandua or Ocelot could work to, but it's not preferred.
African Bird: Sectary bird is an option that I want but a guineafowl, crowned crane, and/or African Hornbill would be better.
Good thing this one is already ingame.
CARTOON IMAGE OF A MACAW WITH A CIGAR. also, where is it.
"Common"
Out of that select handful, I would go:
- Secretarybird
- White-nosed coati
- Matschie's tree-kangaroo
- Secretarybird
- Grévy's zebra
- Greater rhea
- East African grey crowned-crane
- Any of the two ground-hornbill species
- Red-legged seriema
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"More common" red-legged seriema? Are you meaning in zoos or in the wild? I've personally only seen both species once in my years of zoo birding. They each fill the same ecological niche in their respective continents (just one is more closely related to hawks and eagles, while the other is more closely related to falcons). The secretarybird is also an endangered species and more of a conservation concern than the red-legged seriema. Between the two, people will know the secretarybird as the bird who "stomps on the grave of snakes" and the few people who know about the seriemas will know it as the closest living relative to the extinct terror birds. Both species would be a welcome addition to the game and I personally love both. I do agree that there needs to be more South America representation.
I do agree that the East African grey crowned-crane would be either iconic and welcome addition to the game.
Red Legged Seriema : 132 holdings
Secretary Bird: 56 holdings
Thank you zootierliste to give me numbers in less then a minute to show that yes in fact the seriena is more then twice as commonly kept in zoos then the secretary bird
*EAZA Zoos
No, Zootierliste updated.*EAZA Zoos
All zoos that are in some way registerd.
I can check which animals bolivien zoos keep in their petting zoos and no one can stop me
Wow, that's really cool. Just a Shame that Invertebrates are probably still missing
Correct but hey we can look uo zoos in South america and Africa now, 2 continent we truly had next to no sources till now, so its still a great improvement
The most useful habitat birds we could get imo are these:
1. Rhea genus: greater rhea being the one with the widest distribution, but rheas in general being an important and iconic species from SA. It is also the only last big ratite left. It is very versatile in terms of habitat (grasslands, deserts, wetlands, alpine) and relations with other animals, as it can be easily used for mixed exhibits with things like capybara, tapirs, anteaters, patagonian mara, etc which makes them very common in zoos as well.
2. Grey crowned crane: not only is a very iconic african bird, that can also be put in almost any mixed african enclosure or aviaries, but it also has conservation value being endangered. Also common in zoos.
3. Any duck: i prefer mandarin ducks for being very ornamental and unique among ducks but also very widespread around the world while at the same time representing east asia. But really we just need at least one duck to fill in ponds and mixed wetlands or tropical exhibits. Mallard is probably the prototype duck, very common everywhere both in the wild and in captivity so might be the prefered choice for most. White face whistling duck has the advantage of being found both in Africa and SA which increases it's value and use. Muscovy duck would be great just because would work as 1. SA rep 2. Domestic duck.
4. Any pelican: objectively the great white is the best choice here because of it's wide distribution, but personally i rather get a brown pelican species, bumping up the caribbean a bit more while serving as LATAM rep once more. But a pelican is a must have, specially now after the swan rig. Is one of the few ABC animals left that the wider audience is very familair with for how iconic they are. And they are aslo common in zoos.
5. Galliforms: i think there are three basic options here: 1. a pheasant for Asia 2. a guineafowl for Africa 3. the turkey for NA. All of them very representative of their regions and commons in captivitiy. Pheasants of any kind would add a lot of colour to our Asian sections, with the golden pheasant being the most iconic of them probaly common both the zoos and farms, great for Chinese gardens walkthroughs or mixed asian forest enclosures/aviaries and such. The guineafowls for savanah exhibits mixed in with monkeys or ungulates would be fun. The turkey is one of the last icons of NA not ingame alongside with the ABB and the bald eagle. Being the latter not possible nor expected at the moment the turkey is a great option for a NA bird. I would add the cappercaillie to this list as once again an iconic bird for Europe (although the swan was really the main one) but might be a bit of a obscure choice for most non-european people. Still very wanted from my part.
6. A stork: Europeans want the white stork and i get it as it is such as pelicans and ducks, a bird archetype that is ingrained in popular culture around the world. Yet a marabou stork or saddle billed stork would do wonders for filling the blank space in the roster that are the ground dwelling african savanah birds. They are also common in zoos in mixed exhibtis and look rather unique. Regardless a stork is needed.
7. An ibis: scarlet ibis is probably the most versatile and demanded of the bunch and my prefered choice. Is small but colorfull, distributed across South and Central America, great for mixed aviaries and tropical houses and common in captivity. That said the northern bald ibis is a very unique looking bird that holds great conservation value and would something that is not an ungulate to North Africa.
8. Roseate spoonbill: another unique group of birds not represented in the game that would work great as habitat species in PZ and offers an alternative to the flamingo. It's range covers from southern US to Argentina so once again it would give us a panamerican species that would work great for both NA and SA based zoos. Also good for mixed species enclosures and aviaries. And i prefer it over the American flamingo.
9. A heron: any would do. Maybe is not a zoo animal per se most of the time being just a wild resident of zoo lakes and ponds, although some more flamboyant species sure are part of collections officially. Great white herons, or little egrets are probably some of the most common birds in wild and we could use them for open grasslands and wetlands enclosures. Grey herons are cool and common in Eurasia and Africa and bit more visually interesting so it has my vote to represent the group.
10 The burrowing owl: once again a panamerican species the ranges from Patagonia to the US. Like the name suggests would be our second burrowing bird, only this time representing a new group that we might not get in other way: the owls. Repeating myself for like the fourth time, owls are alongside pelicans, ducks, storks, etc. a very popular well known group of birds with tons of cultural relevance. Maybe the burrowing owls are not the most well known among the owls but they are funny, goofy, cute and extremely entertainign and they would fit nicely as habitat animals in PZ. And i'm sure they would be very loved by most playeres.
1. Rhea genus: greater rhea being the one with the widest distribution, but rheas in general being an important and iconic species from SA. It is also the only last big ratite left. It is very versatile in terms of habitat (grasslands, deserts, wetlands, alpine) and relations with other animals, as it can be easily used for mixed exhibits with things like capybara, tapirs, anteaters, patagonian mara, etc which makes them very common in zoos as well.
2. Grey crowned crane: not only is a very iconic african bird, that can also be put in almost any mixed african enclosure or aviaries, but it also has conservation value being endangered. Also common in zoos.
3. Any duck: i prefer mandarin ducks for being very ornamental and unique among ducks but also very widespread around the world while at the same time representing east asia. But really we just need at least one duck to fill in ponds and mixed wetlands or tropical exhibits. Mallard is probably the prototype duck, very common everywhere both in the wild and in captivity so might be the prefered choice for most. White face whistling duck has the advantage of being found both in Africa and SA which increases it's value and use. Muscovy duck would be great just because would work as 1. SA rep 2. Domestic duck.
4. Any pelican: objectively the great white is the best choice here because of it's wide distribution, but personally i rather get a brown pelican species, bumping up the caribbean a bit more while serving as LATAM rep once more. But a pelican is a must have, specially now after the swan rig. Is one of the few ABC animals left that the wider audience is very familair with for how iconic they are. And they are aslo common in zoos.
5. Galliforms: i think there are three basic options here: 1. a pheasant for Asia 2. a guineafowl for Africa 3. the turkey for NA. All of them very representative of their regions and commons in captivitiy. Pheasants of any kind would add a lot of colour to our Asian sections, with the golden pheasant being the most iconic of them probaly common both the zoos and farms, great for Chinese gardens walkthroughs or mixed asian forest enclosures/aviaries and such. The guineafowls for savanah exhibits mixed in with monkeys or ungulates would be fun. The turkey is one of the last icons of NA not ingame alongside with the ABB and the bald eagle. Being the latter not possible nor expected at the moment the turkey is a great option for a NA bird. I would add the cappercaillie to this list as once again an iconic bird for Europe (although the swan was really the main one) but might be a bit of a obscure choice for most non-european people. Still very wanted from my part.
6. A stork: Europeans want the white stork and i get it as it is such as pelicans and ducks, a bird archetype that is ingrained in popular culture around the world. Yet a marabou stork or saddle billed stork would do wonders for filling the blank space in the roster that are the ground dwelling african savanah birds. They are also common in zoos in mixed exhibtis and look rather unique. Regardless a stork is needed.
7. An ibis: scarlet ibis is probably the most versatile and demanded of the bunch and my prefered choice. Is small but colorfull, distributed across South and Central America, great for mixed aviaries and tropical houses and common in captivity. That said the northern bald ibis is a very unique looking bird that holds great conservation value and would something that is not an ungulate to North Africa.
8. Roseate spoonbill: another unique group of birds not represented in the game that would work great as habitat species in PZ and offers an alternative to the flamingo. It's range covers from southern US to Argentina so once again it would give us a panamerican species that would work great for both NA and SA based zoos. Also good for mixed species enclosures and aviaries. And i prefer it over the American flamingo.
9. A heron: any would do. Maybe is not a zoo animal per se most of the time being just a wild resident of zoo lakes and ponds, although some more flamboyant species sure are part of collections officially. Great white herons, or little egrets are probably some of the most common birds in wild and we could use them for open grasslands and wetlands enclosures. Grey herons are cool and common in Eurasia and Africa and bit more visually interesting so it has my vote to represent the group.
10 The burrowing owl: once again a panamerican species the ranges from Patagonia to the US. Like the name suggests would be our second burrowing bird, only this time representing a new group that we might not get in other way: the owls. Repeating myself for like the fourth time, owls are alongside pelicans, ducks, storks, etc. a very popular well known group of birds with tons of cultural relevance. Maybe the burrowing owls are not the most well known among the owls but they are funny, goofy, cute and extremely entertainign and they would fit nicely as habitat animals in PZ. And i'm sure they would be very loved by most playeres.