I realize this is a late response, but if you take the whole of the himalayas (low and high) you can also add bengal tigers, asian Elephants and asian black bear (just pretend Formosan is himalayan specie). That's how I did it in my zoo.
What do you want to do in Planet Zoo
- Thread starter KönigDerKaffeebohnen
- Start date
I realize this is a late response, but if you take the whole of the himalayas (low and high) you can also add bengal tigers, asian Elephants and asian black bear (just pretend Formosan is himalayan specie). That's how I did it in my zoo.
What will be in the paradise pavilion?
So i am planning on having it in 2 sections, split up like this photo
Took some time to plan out my current Project.
This park was always supposed to be a very lowkey place set in germany, only displaying local and semi local species aswell as the odd invasive species here and there. Very much insired of my local zoo, just now placed in the mountainous black forest.
But while building i was trying to come up with a more fleshed out backstory or lore, which actually is pretty fun and really helps with inspiration. So over time i got this idea of this park just naturally evolving around a hiking trail. There is gonna be a smallish castle ruin beside the park that previously was the main reason this hiking trail came to be, and since this got a pretty popular tourist destination in the area some the buildings in close proximity got slowly incorporated into the thing to take advantage of the visitors.
Then i imagine they build an enclosure for deer to have another vista on the trail and well they just kept adding.
The whole zoo is essentially gonna be a big loop to keep in style of its hiking trail origins, but i think im gonna move the castle a little more away and up the mountain. I want it to be asscoiated with the park and very much part of the hiking trail, but not a direct part of it if that makes sense? Also when its a little higher up the view you get from up there is gonna be even sweeter.
(The green mark the finished areas/habitats)
A: Inn/Hotel - a little cozy place to stay for a weekend
B: Education Building/Museum - very lowkey, displaying various stuff related to the area like something for the castle ruins and historic stuff, taxidermy, and a few local species that you couldnt really observe in the regular park like an aquarium for local fish and terrariums for fire salamander and european adders.
C: Bistro area - small place to get something to eat before or after the tour, for parents to chill out while to kiddos are in the petting zoo or just to grab a cool beverage on a nice summer evening.
1: Lake - Its just swans for now, hopefully we get mallards in the future to keep them company
2: Petting zoo - Currently only housing stand ins
3: Raccons and Mice&Rats
4: Aviary row for Owls, Ravens and Capercallies
5: Red Deer
6: Beaver
7: Wisent
8: Otter
9: Wolves
10: Ibex
11. Lynx
12: Wild Boar
13: Red Fox
14: Badger
15: Fallow Deer
The still unsure about:
Brown Bear: Would theoretically fit, but since this zoo is supposed to be very lowkey im not certain if brown bears might not be to high profile of a species to really fit in in. Reason being that the would need a big enclosure with really heavy duty fences and moats, something i assume uncomfortable to build in a forest. If i did add them they would either go between the lake and the boars, or more likely to the southeast of the foxes as more of a satellite enclosure to the rest of the park. Next to the parking lot so you could actually get excavators and cemetmixers over there to build the enclosure. Maybe implying that this was build for a "problembear" who would have been shot otherwise.
Wolverine: They arent native to germany, or anywhere that close really. But there have been relic populations of them in the alps into historic times that got stranded there after the last ice age. So idk maybe ill add them next to the ibex.
Wetlands aviary: Honestly kinda more an excuse to get another bird in form as the crane (as stand ins for common cranes) into the park. Wetlands and swamps are really endagerend habitats over here since most of them got dried up for farming and building over time, so naturally we have tons of endangered wetlands birds in germany. Would be cool to have a big aviary dedicated to those birds.
I imagine that you can traverese the beaver lake via a boardwalk, so maybe i build it as an extention of that.
This park was always supposed to be a very lowkey place set in germany, only displaying local and semi local species aswell as the odd invasive species here and there. Very much insired of my local zoo, just now placed in the mountainous black forest.
But while building i was trying to come up with a more fleshed out backstory or lore, which actually is pretty fun and really helps with inspiration. So over time i got this idea of this park just naturally evolving around a hiking trail. There is gonna be a smallish castle ruin beside the park that previously was the main reason this hiking trail came to be, and since this got a pretty popular tourist destination in the area some the buildings in close proximity got slowly incorporated into the thing to take advantage of the visitors.
Then i imagine they build an enclosure for deer to have another vista on the trail and well they just kept adding.
The whole zoo is essentially gonna be a big loop to keep in style of its hiking trail origins, but i think im gonna move the castle a little more away and up the mountain. I want it to be asscoiated with the park and very much part of the hiking trail, but not a direct part of it if that makes sense? Also when its a little higher up the view you get from up there is gonna be even sweeter.
(The green mark the finished areas/habitats)
A: Inn/Hotel - a little cozy place to stay for a weekend
B: Education Building/Museum - very lowkey, displaying various stuff related to the area like something for the castle ruins and historic stuff, taxidermy, and a few local species that you couldnt really observe in the regular park like an aquarium for local fish and terrariums for fire salamander and european adders.
C: Bistro area - small place to get something to eat before or after the tour, for parents to chill out while to kiddos are in the petting zoo or just to grab a cool beverage on a nice summer evening.
1: Lake - Its just swans for now, hopefully we get mallards in the future to keep them company
2: Petting zoo - Currently only housing stand ins
3: Raccons and Mice&Rats
4: Aviary row for Owls, Ravens and Capercallies
5: Red Deer
6: Beaver
7: Wisent
8: Otter
9: Wolves
10: Ibex
11. Lynx
12: Wild Boar
13: Red Fox
14: Badger
15: Fallow Deer
The still unsure about:
Brown Bear: Would theoretically fit, but since this zoo is supposed to be very lowkey im not certain if brown bears might not be to high profile of a species to really fit in in. Reason being that the would need a big enclosure with really heavy duty fences and moats, something i assume uncomfortable to build in a forest. If i did add them they would either go between the lake and the boars, or more likely to the southeast of the foxes as more of a satellite enclosure to the rest of the park. Next to the parking lot so you could actually get excavators and cemetmixers over there to build the enclosure. Maybe implying that this was build for a "problembear" who would have been shot otherwise.
Wolverine: They arent native to germany, or anywhere that close really. But there have been relic populations of them in the alps into historic times that got stranded there after the last ice age. So idk maybe ill add them next to the ibex.
Wetlands aviary: Honestly kinda more an excuse to get another bird in form as the crane (as stand ins for common cranes) into the park. Wetlands and swamps are really endagerend habitats over here since most of them got dried up for farming and building over time, so naturally we have tons of endangered wetlands birds in germany. Would be cool to have a big aviary dedicated to those birds.
I imagine that you can traverese the beaver lake via a boardwalk, so maybe i build it as an extention of that.
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I am working on something slightly similar inspired by a real location, the town of Füssen in Bavaria. The area for the zoo is the parkland next to the castle and above the river. I’ve made a start but began too close to the edge of the map in-game so need to figure out how to sort that out.
To be honest I had some stuff I could do, but I’ve been waiting to hear news about the new dlc before I keep playing PZ. Also with finals on its way I don’t really have time to play games.
I do need to finish my tropical house in another one of my zoos though,
I do need to finish my tropical house in another one of my zoos though,
Ooh boy, I didn't know I needed thread like this one.
I usually take sweet time with my zoos. I focus on one or two and day by day, little by little, I add onto them. So I have two WIPs the Terra Mariana Zoo (Strictly Northern fauna) and Messina Zoo (Warmer Desert and Mediterranean fauna). But I'm pretty content with directions those two are heading in and have specific idea how to finish them. There's very little planning and creative ideas left (my favorite part
) so only the building remains.
There's a third park however that's all plans and ideas and I haven't even touched it yet, because it's still subject to major changes and I am still waiting for some animals to arrive (either officially or through mods when support ends).
The
Still Unnamed Wildlife and Education Centre that sparked my whole ''Museum DLC pls...'' arc. Main idea is ''marriage'' between classic Zoo, Science Center and a Historical Museum. Focus of this new park are unique animals (taxonomy, behavior, habitat, adaptations...) or animals that tie into discoveries of great zoologists or travelers. It's pretty fun to plan this one since, by design, I'll be using animals I don't often use, and none of the planned animals appears in either of my two zoos I am working on.
It's interesting when I compare two animal lists for this next project and Terra Mariana, for example, how stark the difference, in color, between the animals is.
Funnily enough, with current roster this would be my first zoo without any carnivorans.
Other than animals, this park would also differ than my other two in building style. Buildings in Terra Mariana are wooden and rustic, habitats are big and open. Zoo Messina has classical Mediterranean rock style. So my planned project would be way more "modern". I'm talking concrete, metal and lots of glass. Also much, much more indoor places with lots of indoor decorations (which would be sort of new challenge for me I guess).
One of the big pillars of such zoo would be custom signs and audio clips. But I never had so many custom files going on in one park, so I'm yet to see how would it affect my performance.
Below I will post all the ideas I had for sections in this zoo, but in spoilers, so I don't bloat this thread. I will put * next to animals or scenery that aren't yet in the game, but would be necessary for the zoo to look exactly how I imagined it.
No fancy sketches, I'm sorry, mine are hideous lol.
And that's it for now, glad I found a thread where I could unload all of this. If anyone read through all of that nonsense, hats off. I hope I'll get to, one day, craft this idea into existence.
I usually take sweet time with my zoos. I focus on one or two and day by day, little by little, I add onto them. So I have two WIPs the Terra Mariana Zoo (Strictly Northern fauna) and Messina Zoo (Warmer Desert and Mediterranean fauna). But I'm pretty content with directions those two are heading in and have specific idea how to finish them. There's very little planning and creative ideas left (my favorite part
) so only the building remains.There's a third park however that's all plans and ideas and I haven't even touched it yet, because it's still subject to major changes and I am still waiting for some animals to arrive (either officially or through mods when support ends).
The
Still Unnamed Wildlife and Education Centre that sparked my whole ''Museum DLC pls...'' arc. Main idea is ''marriage'' between classic Zoo, Science Center and a Historical Museum. Focus of this new park are unique animals (taxonomy, behavior, habitat, adaptations...) or animals that tie into discoveries of great zoologists or travelers. It's pretty fun to plan this one since, by design, I'll be using animals I don't often use, and none of the planned animals appears in either of my two zoos I am working on.It's interesting when I compare two animal lists for this next project and Terra Mariana, for example, how stark the difference, in color, between the animals is.
List of animals for my next project
List of animals for Terra Mariana
List of animals for Terra Mariana
Funnily enough, with current roster this would be my first zoo without any carnivorans.
Other than animals, this park would also differ than my other two in building style. Buildings in Terra Mariana are wooden and rustic, habitats are big and open. Zoo Messina has classical Mediterranean rock style. So my planned project would be way more "modern". I'm talking concrete, metal and lots of glass. Also much, much more indoor places with lots of indoor decorations (which would be sort of new challenge for me I guess).
One of the big pillars of such zoo would be custom signs and audio clips. But I never had so many custom files going on in one park, so I'm yet to see how would it affect my performance.
Below I will post all the ideas I had for sections in this zoo, but in spoilers, so I don't bloat this thread. I will put * next to animals or scenery that aren't yet in the game, but would be necessary for the zoo to look exactly how I imagined it.
No fancy sketches, I'm sorry, mine are hideous lol.
Main idea behind the park is education, so I envisioned it being settled near a campus, where it would be overlooked by (or even funded if possible) by colleges that have Biology and History branches (Nor sure how that works overboard, here Biology has "their own" college, while History is a branch on college of Philosophy).
Anyway zoo would have two sections, and therefore two entrances on opposite sides (I think Berlin zoo is like this). The Scholar entrance and The Adventurer entrance.
Anyway zoo would have two sections, and therefore two entrances on opposite sides (I think Berlin zoo is like this). The Scholar entrance and The Adventurer entrance.
This would be the first subsection in Adventurer's part of the zoo. It focuses on Madagascar and Near East though the eyes of the Marco Polo and Muhammad Ibn Battuta, two famous travelers who venture along the Silk Road. It would be comprised of only one shared habitat with Indian Rhinoceros and all three species of Lemur that are in the game.
Lemurs would be a nod to to Polo's (supposed) visit to Madagascar, and Battuta's description of this island. All animal picks in Adventurer's section will be more vague and generic, compared to Zoologists in Scholar section.
Indian Rhino is there instead of Sumatran Rhinoceros. Marco Polo describes seeing Unicorn in Sumatra, and by the description it's pretty clear he was seeing a Rhinoceros:
This habitat combination should be fun to build with all the climbing structures above for Lemurs and open grassy area for big Rhino below.
Other than this habitat section would also have "Rukh Nest" - small building with more info on Polo, Ibn Battuta and the Silk Road. In perfect world I would have replica of Elephant Bird skeleton* or egg* to put in this building.
Both Polo and Ibn Battuta describe the giant bird of prey from Madagascar, the Rukh (or Roc) that can carry entire elephants in its talons. It's believed that these legends were sparked by the eggs of Aepyornis (or even sights of one, both of these travelers could have possibly seen live bird) and that's why its popular name is Elephant Bird.
Ibn Battuta mentioning Rukh:
Historian Winwood Reade:
Lemurs would be a nod to to Polo's (supposed) visit to Madagascar, and Battuta's description of this island. All animal picks in Adventurer's section will be more vague and generic, compared to Zoologists in Scholar section.
Indian Rhino is there instead of Sumatran Rhinoceros. Marco Polo describes seeing Unicorn in Sumatra, and by the description it's pretty clear he was seeing a Rhinoceros:
This habitat combination should be fun to build with all the climbing structures above for Lemurs and open grassy area for big Rhino below.
Other than this habitat section would also have "Rukh Nest" - small building with more info on Polo, Ibn Battuta and the Silk Road. In perfect world I would have replica of Elephant Bird skeleton* or egg* to put in this building.
Both Polo and Ibn Battuta describe the giant bird of prey from Madagascar, the Rukh (or Roc) that can carry entire elephants in its talons. It's believed that these legends were sparked by the eggs of Aepyornis (or even sights of one, both of these travelers could have possibly seen live bird) and that's why its popular name is Elephant Bird.
Ibn Battuta mentioning Rukh:
Historian Winwood Reade:
Voyage across the Globe follows the trail of Ferdinand Magellan and his companion Antonio Pigafetta. This would divide in two smaller subsections. The SA section (East Coast to Terra del Fuego) and Pacific (Mostly Philippines).
Sadly to fairly represent animals that Pigafetta described I only have Collared Peccary. Other animals would be Golden Lion Tamarin*, Roseate Spoonbill*, Patagonian Mara*, Guanaco*, Rhea*...
So I've yet to plan out this subsection since I still don't know with which of these animals we will end up in game.
Pacific (Philippine) sections is better off. Pigafetta describes Flying Foxes, Saltwater Crocodiles and Leaf Insects.
I imagined large pool with clear water for Salties. There would be "Captain's Cabin" - indoor section to overlook habitat. Inside the Cabin would be more info on Magellan, his companion and their voyage across the world, with Leaf Insect terrarium along those. Spectacled Flying Foxes would have their walkthrough aviary as part of this subsection too.
Sadly to fairly represent animals that Pigafetta described I only have Collared Peccary. Other animals would be Golden Lion Tamarin*, Roseate Spoonbill*, Patagonian Mara*, Guanaco*, Rhea*...
So I've yet to plan out this subsection since I still don't know with which of these animals we will end up in game.
Pacific (Philippine) sections is better off. Pigafetta describes Flying Foxes, Saltwater Crocodiles and Leaf Insects.
I imagined large pool with clear water for Salties. There would be "Captain's Cabin" - indoor section to overlook habitat. Inside the Cabin would be more info on Magellan, his companion and their voyage across the world, with Leaf Insect terrarium along those. Spectacled Flying Foxes would have their walkthrough aviary as part of this subsection too.
This part of the zoo is dedicated to exploration of Oceania. Most notable figures that have their "cabins" in this section are James Cook, Willem de Vlamingh and Abel Tasman. Heaviest focus would be on New Zealand with Kiwi in indoors nocturnal habitat that accessed through "Hold of a Ship" and Fairy Penguin on the open shore habitat next to aforementioned "ship". It would be really nice to top off the NZ bird section with some Moa* skeleton replicas. Tuatara* will always be welcome and then Quokkas, that Willem described as rats (Black Swans* would fit here fantastically).
Finally Tasmanian Devils, as a nod to Abel Tasman, will have their own separate habitat.
P.S. Animals that would also be fire for here are Echidna* and Perentie*.
Finally Tasmanian Devils, as a nod to Abel Tasman, will have their own separate habitat.
P.S. Animals that would also be fire for here are Echidna* and Perentie*.
This section is less traveler specific. Even less so than the last one. This is more about animals that inspired myths and legends in antiquity and middle ages.
Sichuan Takin (instead of Golden Takin, but then again there's a mod, so who knows) for its connection with fabled Golden Fleece sought after legendary Argonauts. Many sites and blogs (with Wikipedia itself) mention this connection, but without direct reason why. At the end of the day Golden Fleece was (by story) found in Caucasus. Nevertheless it's good enough of a excuse to include it. Unique anatomy and behavior and interesting convergent evolution warrants it a place in park with educational theme.
Reticulated/African Rock Python* - Alexander the Great spoke about giant serpent-like dragons in Asian lands, that hissed and lived in caves, Pliny the Elder mention dragons in Ethiopia that strangled their prey, Marco Polo wrote about long dragons that dragged their bodies through shallow water and were hunted by locals. Sadly we don’t have this animal. But maybe I could use constrictor as substitute. I imagined the exhibit being put inside this cool "House of Dragons" that would be heavily decorated by the Water Monitor pieces from Tropical Pack. Inside, on the speaker, audio would be played with all the quotes from above.
That would generally be the rule for all mentioned buildings. A bunch of audio clips and custom signs and maps.
And the last addition would be "Traveler's Tent" building dedicated to Ahmed Ibn Fadlan. There would be, along with maps of his travels, replica of Wooly rhino skull* or Elasmotherium horn*. That ties in with the description of strange animal he heard of in Russian lands:
That concludes Adventurer's section. Through Magellans' Pacific part guests can enter into Scholar Area and Wallace's Line subsection. Or they can enter Zoology of Rumors through Edges of the World.
Sichuan Takin (instead of Golden Takin, but then again there's a mod, so who knows) for its connection with fabled Golden Fleece sought after legendary Argonauts. Many sites and blogs (with Wikipedia itself) mention this connection, but without direct reason why. At the end of the day Golden Fleece was (by story) found in Caucasus. Nevertheless it's good enough of a excuse to include it. Unique anatomy and behavior and interesting convergent evolution warrants it a place in park with educational theme.
Reticulated/African Rock Python* - Alexander the Great spoke about giant serpent-like dragons in Asian lands, that hissed and lived in caves, Pliny the Elder mention dragons in Ethiopia that strangled their prey, Marco Polo wrote about long dragons that dragged their bodies through shallow water and were hunted by locals. Sadly we don’t have this animal. But maybe I could use constrictor as substitute. I imagined the exhibit being put inside this cool "House of Dragons" that would be heavily decorated by the Water Monitor pieces from Tropical Pack. Inside, on the speaker, audio would be played with all the quotes from above.
That would generally be the rule for all mentioned buildings. A bunch of audio clips and custom signs and maps.
And the last addition would be "Traveler's Tent" building dedicated to Ahmed Ibn Fadlan. There would be, along with maps of his travels, replica of Wooly rhino skull* or Elasmotherium horn*. That ties in with the description of strange animal he heard of in Russian lands:
That concludes Adventurer's section. Through Magellans' Pacific part guests can enter into Scholar Area and Wallace's Line subsection. Or they can enter Zoology of Rumors through Edges of the World.
Theme of this area continues easily on from the Magellan-Pacific. This subsection like the rest of them, in Scholar part of zoo, will be tied more closely to specific research of each scientist.
Here scientist in question is Alfred Wallace who did extensive research in South East Asia. He is known for coming up with theory of Evolution independently of Charles Darwin and possibly even before him. Wallace's Line is an imaginary line that cuts through Malayan archipelago and makes a "divide" between traditionally Asian and Oceanian species.
I chose three animals for this part. Malayan Tapir as representative of Asian part of archipelago, Cassowary as Oceanian counterpart and Babirusa as representative of Sulawesi, island that is "melting pot" of both worlds.
Along these three, open, lush habitats there will be "Zoologist Office". Every scientist will receive dedicated "office" which will be enclosed space with more info about him and his research with potential animal skulls and horns and whatnot* (Museum DLC when?)
Here scientist in question is Alfred Wallace who did extensive research in South East Asia. He is known for coming up with theory of Evolution independently of Charles Darwin and possibly even before him. Wallace's Line is an imaginary line that cuts through Malayan archipelago and makes a "divide" between traditionally Asian and Oceanian species.
I chose three animals for this part. Malayan Tapir as representative of Asian part of archipelago, Cassowary as Oceanian counterpart and Babirusa as representative of Sulawesi, island that is "melting pot" of both worlds.
Along these three, open, lush habitats there will be "Zoologist Office". Every scientist will receive dedicated "office" which will be enclosed space with more info about him and his research with potential animal skulls and horns and whatnot* (Museum DLC when?)
This area will be accessible through Edges of the Known World. It deals with animals that were rumored to be living long before their official discoveries. First one is modern indoor tank with Platypus that naturally continues on from previous Australian section, its followed by the Komodo Dragon pit as part of the same building. The last habitat is outside of the building where Okapi resides.
Galapagos area in honor of Charles Darwin. Octagon like enclosed space that goes around open habitat with Giant Tortoises. Enclosed area should be filled with maps and posters and an odd Iguana exhibit here and there. I was thinking either the two species we already have in game as stand-ins, or those pretty-looking Land Iguana* mods over at Nexus 
. The whole octagon area would act as one big "Office"
. The whole octagon area would act as one big "Office"This section is "up in the air" the most, because right now, we have exactly 0 animals for me to put here. One Sea Otter* would change that greatly. Other than that it could be boosted by Steller's Sea Lion* and Eagle*, but those are way less realistic. But one Otter* and replica of Steller Sea Cow fossil* would go a long way.
Of course if it wasn't obvious, this one would be dedicated to George Wilhelm Steller and his exploration of seas between Alaska and Russia.
Of course if it wasn't obvious, this one would be dedicated to George Wilhelm Steller and his exploration of seas between Alaska and Russia.
Now the open and half open habitats move into the completely indoors smaller "offices" dedicated to other great names of Zoology. There would be bunch of smaller exhibits scattered throughout, either dedicated (Dwarf Caiman to Georges Cuvier, Blue Morpho to Alexander Von Humboldt, Yellow Anaconda to Edward Cope....) or just undedicated animals that are interesting to kids to look at (Colorful frogs, centipedes, terrapins, giant snails...).
Other than "offices" this section would have bunch of interactive lab equipment and maybe places for biology students to practice either teaching to guests or practical work. This section would naturally tie to last (or first depending on entrance) one.
Other than "offices" this section would have bunch of interactive lab equipment and maybe places for biology students to practice either teaching to guests or practical work. This section would naturally tie to last (or first depending on entrance) one.
The grand big museum that starts of Scholar Entrance. It would have big skeletons*, fossils*, taxidermy* and whatnot (basically Museum DLC* pls). If we likely never get these pieces, I can always go with route of this Content Creator Haribo and handcraft skeletons myself in a cave with bunch of scraps. I'll leave his video below, to show you what hard work can give you out of tin air.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ugqtfE9BMc&t=1201s
And that's it for now, glad I found a thread where I could unload all of this. If anyone read through all of that nonsense, hats off. I hope I'll get to, one day, craft this idea into existence.
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Very very cool idear and im sure youd love my local zoo, the aquazoo and löbbeck museum.Ooh boy, I didn't know I needed thread like this one.
I usually take sweet time with my zoos. I focus on one or two and day by day, little by little, I add onto them. So I have two WIPs the Terra Mariana Zoo (Strictly Northern fauna) and Messina Zoo (Warmer Desert and Mediterranean fauna). But I'm pretty content with directions those two are heading in and have specific idea how to finish them. There's very little planning and creative ideas left (my favorite part
There's a third park however that's all plans and ideas and I haven't even touched it yet, because it's still subject to major changes and I am still waiting for some animals to arrive (either officially or through mods when support ends).
The
It's interesting when I compare two animal lists for this next project and Terra Mariana, for example, how stark the difference, in color, between the animals is.
List of animals for my next project
View attachment 388420
List of animals for Terra Mariana
View attachment 388421
Funnily enough, with current roster this would be my first zoo without any carnivorans.
Other than animals, this park would also differ than my other two in building style. Buildings in Terra Mariana are wooden and rustic, habitats are big and open. Zoo Messina has classical Mediterranean rock style. So my planned project would be way more "modern". I'm talking concrete, metal and lots of glass. Also much, much more indoor places with lots of indoor decorations (which would be sort of new challenge for me I guess).
One of the big pillars of such zoo would be custom signs and audio clips. But I never had so many custom files going on in one park, so I'm yet to see how would it affect my performance.
Below I will post all the ideas I had for sections in this zoo, but in spoilers, so I don't bloat this thread. I will put * next to animals or scenery that aren't yet in the game, but would be necessary for the zoo to look exactly how I imagined it.
No fancy sketches, I'm sorry, mine are hideous lol.
Main idea behind the park is education, so I envisioned it being settled near a campus, where it would be overlooked by (or even funded if possible) by colleges that have Biology and History branches (Nor sure how that works overboard, here Biology has "their own" college, while History is a branch on college of Philosophy).
Anyway zoo would have two sections, and therefore two entrances on opposite sides (I think Berlin zoo is like this). The Scholar entrance and The Adventurer entrance.
This would be the first subsection in Adventurer's part of the zoo. It focuses on Madagascar and Near East though the eyes of the Marco Polo and Muhammad Ibn Battuta, two famous travelers who venture along the Silk Road. It would be comprised of only one shared habitat with Indian Rhinoceros and all three species of Lemur that are in the game.
Lemurs would be a nod to to Polo's (supposed) visit to Madagascar, and Battuta's description of this island. All animal picks in Adventurer's section will be more vague and generic, compared to Zoologists in Scholar section.
Indian Rhino is there instead of Sumatran Rhinoceros. Marco Polo describes seeing Unicorn in Sumatra, and by the description it's pretty clear he was seeing a Rhinoceros:
This habitat combination should be fun to build with all the climbing structures above for Lemurs and open grassy area for big Rhino below.
Other than this habitat section would also have "Rukh Nest" - small building with more info on Polo, Ibn Battuta and the Silk Road. In perfect world I would have replica of Elephant Bird skeleton* or egg* to put in this building.
Both Polo and Ibn Battuta describe the giant bird of prey from Madagascar, the Rukh (or Roc) that can carry entire elephants in its talons. It's believed that these legends were sparked by the eggs of Aepyornis (or even sights of one, both of these travelers could have possibly seen live bird) and that's why its popular name is Elephant Bird.
Ibn Battuta mentioning Rukh:
Historian Winwood Reade:
Voyage across the Globe follows the trail of Ferdinand Magellan and his companion Antonio Pigafetta. This would divide in two smaller subsections. The SA section (East Coast to Terra del Fuego) and Pacific (Mostly Philippines).
Sadly to fairly represent animals that Pigafetta described I only have Collared Peccary. Other animals would be Golden Lion Tamarin*, Roseate Spoonbill*, Patagonian Mara*, Guanaco*, Rhea*...
So I've yet to plan out this subsection since I still don't know with which of these animals we will end up in game.
Pacific (Philippine) sections is better off. Pigafetta describes Flying Foxes, Saltwater Crocodiles and Leaf Insects.
I imagined large pool with clear water for Salties. There would be "Captain's Cabin" - indoor section to overlook habitat. Inside the Cabin would be more info on Magellan, his companion and their voyage across the world, with Leaf Insect terrarium along those. Spectacled Flying Foxes would have their walkthrough aviary as part of this subsection too.
This part of the zoo is dedicated to exploration of Oceania. Most notable figures that have their "cabins" in this section are James Cook, Willem de Vlamingh and Abel Tasman. Heaviest focus would be on New Zealand with Kiwi in indoors nocturnal habitat that accessed through "Hold of a Ship" and Fairy Penguin on the open shore habitat next to aforementioned "ship". It would be really nice to top off the NZ bird section with some Moa* skeleton replicas. Tuatara* will always be welcome and then Quokkas, that Willem described as rats (Black Swans* would fit here fantastically).
Finally Tasmanian Devils, as a nod to Abel Tasman, will have their own separate habitat.
P.S. Animals that would also be fire for here are Echidna* and Perentie*.
This section is less traveler specific. Even less so than the last one. This is more about animals that inspired myths and legends in antiquity and middle ages.
Sichuan Takin (instead of Golden Takin, but then again there's a mod, so who knows) for its connection with fabled Golden Fleece sought after legendary Argonauts. Many sites and blogs (with Wikipedia itself) mention this connection, but without direct reason why. At the end of the day Golden Fleece was (by story) found in Caucasus. Nevertheless it's good enough of a excuse to include it. Unique anatomy and behavior and interesting convergent evolution warrants it a place in park with educational theme.
Reticulated/African Rock Python* - Alexander the Great spoke about giant serpent-like dragons in Asian lands, that hissed and lived in caves, Pliny the Elder mention dragons in Ethiopia that strangled their prey, Marco Polo wrote about long dragons that dragged their bodies through shallow water and were hunted by locals. Sadly we don’t have this animal. But maybe I could use constrictor as substitute. I imagined the exhibit being put inside this cool "House of Dragons" that would be heavily decorated by the Water Monitor pieces from Tropical Pack. Inside, on the speaker, audio would be played with all the quotes from above.
That would generally be the rule for all mentioned buildings. A bunch of audio clips and custom signs and maps.
And the last addition would be "Traveler's Tent" building dedicated to Ahmed Ibn Fadlan. There would be, along with maps of his travels, replica of Wooly rhino skull* or Elasmotherium horn*. That ties in with the description of strange animal he heard of in Russian lands:
That concludes Adventurer's section. Through Magellans' Pacific part guests can enter into Scholar Area and Wallace's Line subsection. Or they can enter Zoology of Rumors through Edges of the World.
Theme of this area continues easily on from the Magellan-Pacific. This subsection like the rest of them, in Scholar part of zoo, will be tied more closely to specific research of each scientist.
Here scientist in question is Alfred Wallace who did extensive research in South East Asia. He is known for coming up with theory of Evolution independently of Charles Darwin and possibly even before him. Wallace's Line is an imaginary line that cuts through Malayan archipelago and makes a "divide" between traditionally Asian and Oceanian species.
I chose three animals for this part. Malayan Tapir as representative of Asian part of archipelago, Cassowary as Oceanian counterpart and Babirusa as representative of Sulawesi, island that is "melting pot" of both worlds.
Along these three, open, lush habitats there will be "Zoologist Office". Every scientist will receive dedicated "office" which will be enclosed space with more info about him and his research with potential animal skulls and horns and whatnot* (Museum DLC when?)
This area will be accessible through Edges of the Known World. It deals with animals that were rumored to be living long before their official discoveries. First one is modern indoor tank with Platypus that naturally continues on from previous Australian section, its followed by the Komodo Dragon pit as part of the same building. The last habitat is outside of the building where Okapi resides.
Galapagos area in honor of Charles Darwin. Octagon like enclosed space that goes around open habitat with Giant Tortoises. Enclosed area should be filled with maps and posters and an odd Iguana exhibit here and there. I was thinking either the two species we already have in game as stand-ins, or those pretty-looking Land Iguana* mods over at Nexus
This section is "up in the air" the most, because right now, we have exactly 0 animals for me to put here. One Sea Otter* would change that greatly. Other than that it could be boosted by Steller's Sea Lion* and Eagle*, but those are way less realistic. But one Otter* and replica of Steller Sea Cow fossil* would go a long way.
Of course if it wasn't obvious, this one would be dedicated to George Wilhelm Steller and his exploration of seas between Alaska and Russia.
Now the open and half open habitats move into the completely indoors smaller "offices" dedicated to other great names of Zoology. There would be bunch of smaller exhibits scattered throughout, either dedicated (Dwarf Caiman to Georges Cuvier, Blue Morpho to Alexander Von Humboldt, Yellow Anaconda to Edward Cope....) or just undedicated animals that are interesting to kids to look at (Colorful frogs, centipedes, terrapins, giant snails...).
Other than "offices" this section would have bunch of interactive lab equipment and maybe places for biology students to practice either teaching to guests or practical work. This section would naturally tie to last (or first depending on entrance) one.
The grand big museum that starts of Scholar Entrance. It would have big skeletons*, fossils*, taxidermy* and whatnot (basically Museum DLC* pls). If we likely never get these pieces, I can always go with route of this Content Creator Haribo and handcraft skeletons myself in a cave with bunch of scraps. I'll leave his video below, to show you what hard work can give you out of tin air.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ugqtfE9BMc&t=1201s
And that's it for now, glad I found a thread where I could unload all of this. If anyone read through all of that nonsense, hats off. I hope I'll get to, one day, craft this idea into existence.
Its build on the foundation of the collection of pharmacist and malacologcist Theodor Löbbeck, which contains everything from fossils, taxidermit animals, mollusc shells minerals and many other natural history oriented things, while also being an aquarium with a focus on endangerd species, especally amphibeans and smaller fish, but also with many reptiles and some smaller mammals and birds, aswell as part thats dedicated to the history and consequences of the exploration and exoloitation of the oceans.
Im sure youd love it
Oh, absolutely, that sounds right up my alley!
I know now what I will spend my next few hours researching
P.S. if you have some pics of your own from that place, they would fit really nicely here:
Education in Zoos and Museum Inspirations
I found this interesting little thing. Which i think one could reasonably easy recreate as an reverse version using egg pieces. Could be an implied display for kids to measure their hands against tiger paws for example. Edit: Just realized we have something like that in game :D
What a splendid idea to use the tier maker list! Love it!Ooh boy, I didn't know I needed thread like this one.
I usually take sweet time with my zoos. I focus on one or two and day by day, little by little, I add onto them. So I have two WIPs the Terra Mariana Zoo (Strictly Northern fauna) and Messina Zoo (Warmer Desert and Mediterranean fauna). But I'm pretty content with directions those two are heading in and have specific idea how to finish them. There's very little planning and creative ideas left (my favorite part
There's a third park however that's all plans and ideas and I haven't even touched it yet, because it's still subject to major changes and I am still waiting for some animals to arrive (either officially or through mods when support ends).
The
It's interesting when I compare two animal lists for this next project and Terra Mariana, for example, how stark the difference, in color, between the animals is.
List of animals for my next project
View attachment 388420
List of animals for Terra Mariana
View attachment 388421
Funnily enough, with current roster this would be my first zoo without any carnivorans.
Other than animals, this park would also differ than my other two in building style. Buildings in Terra Mariana are wooden and rustic, habitats are big and open. Zoo Messina has classical Mediterranean rock style. So my planned project would be way more "modern". I'm talking concrete, metal and lots of glass. Also much, much more indoor places with lots of indoor decorations (which would be sort of new challenge for me I guess).
One of the big pillars of such zoo would be custom signs and audio clips. But I never had so many custom files going on in one park, so I'm yet to see how would it affect my performance.
Below I will post all the ideas I had for sections in this zoo, but in spoilers, so I don't bloat this thread. I will put * next to animals or scenery that aren't yet in the game, but would be necessary for the zoo to look exactly how I imagined it.
No fancy sketches, I'm sorry, mine are hideous lol.
Main idea behind the park is education, so I envisioned it being settled near a campus, where it would be overlooked by (or even funded if possible) by colleges that have Biology and History branches (Nor sure how that works overboard, here Biology has "their own" college, while History is a branch on college of Philosophy).
Anyway zoo would have two sections, and therefore two entrances on opposite sides (I think Berlin zoo is like this). The Scholar entrance and The Adventurer entrance.
This would be the first subsection in Adventurer's part of the zoo. It focuses on Madagascar and Near East though the eyes of the Marco Polo and Muhammad Ibn Battuta, two famous travelers who venture along the Silk Road. It would be comprised of only one shared habitat with Indian Rhinoceros and all three species of Lemur that are in the game.
Lemurs would be a nod to to Polo's (supposed) visit to Madagascar, and Battuta's description of this island. All animal picks in Adventurer's section will be more vague and generic, compared to Zoologists in Scholar section.
Indian Rhino is there instead of Sumatran Rhinoceros. Marco Polo describes seeing Unicorn in Sumatra, and by the description it's pretty clear he was seeing a Rhinoceros:
This habitat combination should be fun to build with all the climbing structures above for Lemurs and open grassy area for big Rhino below.
Other than this habitat section would also have "Rukh Nest" - small building with more info on Polo, Ibn Battuta and the Silk Road. In perfect world I would have replica of Elephant Bird skeleton* or egg* to put in this building.
Both Polo and Ibn Battuta describe the giant bird of prey from Madagascar, the Rukh (or Roc) that can carry entire elephants in its talons. It's believed that these legends were sparked by the eggs of Aepyornis (or even sights of one, both of these travelers could have possibly seen live bird) and that's why its popular name is Elephant Bird.
Ibn Battuta mentioning Rukh:
Historian Winwood Reade:
Voyage across the Globe follows the trail of Ferdinand Magellan and his companion Antonio Pigafetta. This would divide in two smaller subsections. The SA section (East Coast to Terra del Fuego) and Pacific (Mostly Philippines).
Sadly to fairly represent animals that Pigafetta described I only have Collared Peccary. Other animals would be Golden Lion Tamarin*, Roseate Spoonbill*, Patagonian Mara*, Guanaco*, Rhea*...
So I've yet to plan out this subsection since I still don't know with which of these animals we will end up in game.
Pacific (Philippine) sections is better off. Pigafetta describes Flying Foxes, Saltwater Crocodiles and Leaf Insects.
I imagined large pool with clear water for Salties. There would be "Captain's Cabin" - indoor section to overlook habitat. Inside the Cabin would be more info on Magellan, his companion and their voyage across the world, with Leaf Insect terrarium along those. Spectacled Flying Foxes would have their walkthrough aviary as part of this subsection too.
This part of the zoo is dedicated to exploration of Oceania. Most notable figures that have their "cabins" in this section are James Cook, Willem de Vlamingh and Abel Tasman. Heaviest focus would be on New Zealand with Kiwi in indoors nocturnal habitat that accessed through "Hold of a Ship" and Fairy Penguin on the open shore habitat next to aforementioned "ship". It would be really nice to top off the NZ bird section with some Moa* skeleton replicas. Tuatara* will always be welcome and then Quokkas, that Willem described as rats (Black Swans* would fit here fantastically).
Finally Tasmanian Devils, as a nod to Abel Tasman, will have their own separate habitat.
P.S. Animals that would also be fire for here are Echidna* and Perentie*.
This section is less traveler specific. Even less so than the last one. This is more about animals that inspired myths and legends in antiquity and middle ages.
Sichuan Takin (instead of Golden Takin, but then again there's a mod, so who knows) for its connection with fabled Golden Fleece sought after legendary Argonauts. Many sites and blogs (with Wikipedia itself) mention this connection, but without direct reason why. At the end of the day Golden Fleece was (by story) found in Caucasus. Nevertheless it's good enough of a excuse to include it. Unique anatomy and behavior and interesting convergent evolution warrants it a place in park with educational theme.
Reticulated/African Rock Python* - Alexander the Great spoke about giant serpent-like dragons in Asian lands, that hissed and lived in caves, Pliny the Elder mention dragons in Ethiopia that strangled their prey, Marco Polo wrote about long dragons that dragged their bodies through shallow water and were hunted by locals. Sadly we don’t have this animal. But maybe I could use constrictor as substitute. I imagined the exhibit being put inside this cool "House of Dragons" that would be heavily decorated by the Water Monitor pieces from Tropical Pack. Inside, on the speaker, audio would be played with all the quotes from above.
That would generally be the rule for all mentioned buildings. A bunch of audio clips and custom signs and maps.
And the last addition would be "Traveler's Tent" building dedicated to Ahmed Ibn Fadlan. There would be, along with maps of his travels, replica of Wooly rhino skull* or Elasmotherium horn*. That ties in with the description of strange animal he heard of in Russian lands:
That concludes Adventurer's section. Through Magellans' Pacific part guests can enter into Scholar Area and Wallace's Line subsection. Or they can enter Zoology of Rumors through Edges of the World.
Theme of this area continues easily on from the Magellan-Pacific. This subsection like the rest of them, in Scholar part of zoo, will be tied more closely to specific research of each scientist.
Here scientist in question is Alfred Wallace who did extensive research in South East Asia. He is known for coming up with theory of Evolution independently of Charles Darwin and possibly even before him. Wallace's Line is an imaginary line that cuts through Malayan archipelago and makes a "divide" between traditionally Asian and Oceanian species.
I chose three animals for this part. Malayan Tapir as representative of Asian part of archipelago, Cassowary as Oceanian counterpart and Babirusa as representative of Sulawesi, island that is "melting pot" of both worlds.
Along these three, open, lush habitats there will be "Zoologist Office". Every scientist will receive dedicated "office" which will be enclosed space with more info about him and his research with potential animal skulls and horns and whatnot* (Museum DLC when?)
This area will be accessible through Edges of the Known World. It deals with animals that were rumored to be living long before their official discoveries. First one is modern indoor tank with Platypus that naturally continues on from previous Australian section, its followed by the Komodo Dragon pit as part of the same building. The last habitat is outside of the building where Okapi resides.
Galapagos area in honor of Charles Darwin. Octagon like enclosed space that goes around open habitat with Giant Tortoises. Enclosed area should be filled with maps and posters and an odd Iguana exhibit here and there. I was thinking either the two species we already have in game as stand-ins, or those pretty-looking Land Iguana* mods over at Nexus
This section is "up in the air" the most, because right now, we have exactly 0 animals for me to put here. One Sea Otter* would change that greatly. Other than that it could be boosted by Steller's Sea Lion* and Eagle*, but those are way less realistic. But one Otter* and replica of Steller Sea Cow fossil* would go a long way.
Of course if it wasn't obvious, this one would be dedicated to George Wilhelm Steller and his exploration of seas between Alaska and Russia.
Now the open and half open habitats move into the completely indoors smaller "offices" dedicated to other great names of Zoology. There would be bunch of smaller exhibits scattered throughout, either dedicated (Dwarf Caiman to Georges Cuvier, Blue Morpho to Alexander Von Humboldt, Yellow Anaconda to Edward Cope....) or just undedicated animals that are interesting to kids to look at (Colorful frogs, centipedes, terrapins, giant snails...).
Other than "offices" this section would have bunch of interactive lab equipment and maybe places for biology students to practice either teaching to guests or practical work. This section would naturally tie to last (or first depending on entrance) one.
The grand big museum that starts of Scholar Entrance. It would have big skeletons*, fossils*, taxidermy* and whatnot (basically Museum DLC* pls). If we likely never get these pieces, I can always go with route of this Content Creator Haribo and handcraft skeletons myself in a cave with bunch of scraps. I'll leave his video below, to show you what hard work can give you out of tin air.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ugqtfE9BMc&t=1201s
And that's it for now, glad I found a thread where I could unload all of this. If anyone read through all of that nonsense, hats off. I hope I'll get to, one day, craft this idea into existence.
I have an old Auckland Zoo map framed on the wall of my new house (made shortly after Te Wao Nui opened, when the zoo still had hippos). Once support ends and the remaster mods are all finally up to date I'm going to start playing again. My plan is mimic the layout of Auckland Zoo's Pridelands (what is now the Africa Trail) for the zoo I build, east of the entrance. Then I'll do a sort of Wellington Zoo/Orana Wildlife Park blend for the northern edge of the zoo, with some large paddocks and a hilly path going north for some Asian/Eurasian species culminating in a large giant panda complex (two breeding pairs, so four habitats). Then the rest of the middle/western part of the zoo will be a grab-bag of whatever else I feel like putting in. Probably some primate islands, tigers, smaller species like otters and penguins, seals, reptiles, etc. Maybe a basic Oceania corner as well, with a kiwi house.
I want to finish my mega zoo by finally adding the Spectacled Caiman to the South America section and Mute Swans to the giant lake, finishing up buildings that I left unfinished, ... Because I need to move on to the next big thing: Bollo Bollo, where I plan to add nearly every African animal (and modded animal) that exists in a project that'll probably last way into next year.
To be honest, I might try to play again today. But with finals on its way, and this being the last dlc, I wanted to wait a bit. I know during my break I won’t have my computer on me either.
So depending on what animals are in this last dlc will really affect what I do.
So depending on what animals are in this last dlc will really affect what I do.
Got most of the map done for my side zoo Kootenai Wilds. It is a pretty basic layout, with one main path and a few loops branching off, but it has been refreshing rather than trying to figure out the monstrous mess that my other zoo is. I wanted to work on the local area first, but been getting the itch to build for tropical animals so i might work on the big tropical building
Started building and had my dimensions all off so changed the map significantly. This is what it looks like now:
I will also show an overview of the main sections for anyone interested, it has a list of species that i plan to put in each section.
First, the entry area and the Bitterroot Wilderness section:
Next, the asian highlands section, including the African reptile house as well because it fit in the same photo:
and i just realized as i uploaded this that i forgot the red panda habitat, it will go in that little nook where the species list from the reptile house is.
Finally, the northern section of the zoo, with the polar explorations area, the tropical house, and the komodo dragon house:
I will also show an overview of the main sections for anyone interested, it has a list of species that i plan to put in each section.
First, the entry area and the Bitterroot Wilderness section:
Next, the asian highlands section, including the African reptile house as well because it fit in the same photo:
and i just realized as i uploaded this that i forgot the red panda habitat, it will go in that little nook where the species list from the reptile house is.
Finally, the northern section of the zoo, with the polar explorations area, the tropical house, and the komodo dragon house:
Honestly after building that indoor rainforest, it makes me want some tropical birds even more. I wish I could have some species to live along my gibbons, or even just the basic tropical South America and tropical Africa can work for me.
This is currently the overview of my zoo, with the entrance at the top left. Thinking that this will be my final plan for the African section in the zoo. Currently having the following exhibits finished/still working on:
As I thought my PC would be done with this map now, it is still running ok, so will expand the African section after all with a tropical section. Four species will come to the zoo, with the bonobo exhibit to be the star of the tropical section. Will not be an island as mention in the picture, but want to create a river vibe, with the guests walking over a bridge, with at one side the bonobo's and the other side the okapi exhibit. Same will happen on the other side with the other okapi exhibit and the mixed exhibit for bongo's and red river hogs. Thinking that inside the guests will have a visual on the okapi indoor stables and the indoor part for the bonobo's only and maybe adding some vivariums.
I then still have two open areas available. Thinking of turning one into an guest zone with facilities and the other for an exhibit. Since there is no real predator yet, I'm doubting what I should do. Lions, cheetas, hyenas or African wild dogs will be most likely the pick. Only then is the big question, which of these to pick! Currently the spotted hyenas are my favorite pick.
- Sand cat exhibit
- Meerkat/porcupine exhibit
- Warthog exhibit
- Nile lechwe exhibit
- Giraffe/Thomson's gazelle/ostrich exhibit (top center)
- Egyptian fruit bat exhibit
- Black rhinoceros exhibit (top right)
As I thought my PC would be done with this map now, it is still running ok, so will expand the African section after all with a tropical section. Four species will come to the zoo, with the bonobo exhibit to be the star of the tropical section. Will not be an island as mention in the picture, but want to create a river vibe, with the guests walking over a bridge, with at one side the bonobo's and the other side the okapi exhibit. Same will happen on the other side with the other okapi exhibit and the mixed exhibit for bongo's and red river hogs. Thinking that inside the guests will have a visual on the okapi indoor stables and the indoor part for the bonobo's only and maybe adding some vivariums.
I then still have two open areas available. Thinking of turning one into an guest zone with facilities and the other for an exhibit. Since there is no real predator yet, I'm doubting what I should do. Lions, cheetas, hyenas or African wild dogs will be most likely the pick. Only then is the big question, which of these to pick! Currently the spotted hyenas are my favorite pick.
Way back in the early days I wanted to create a world zoo with the animals split into continental sections shaped kinda like their continental shapes. But alas, the animal count was hard to handle for the computer I had back then or manage adequately, and storage would be a nightmare now, even with 200 storage instead of the original 50.
So, I moved onto other zoo's trying different things and every DLC Release and Content Patch I would clear everything out and start again. Little did I know ( until fairly recently ) that your research gets reset if you do not have someone researching in one of your Franchise Zoos. So, it was time to start over again.
I Kept my original world zoo - can't sneeze at nearly 200 animals up for grabs when you need them - but rarely dip into it except to grab some babies to fill in a new zoo.
But, to keep things manageable for me and the computer I opted for a 15 species ( or thereabouts ) max for each zoo. This meant that some animals were in a Zoo with their starting letter as there were a lot of animals beginning with that letter. Others were in a multi letter zoo. The handy thing for this was that I only needed to monitor storage for a few animals compared to all of them and, I had a place to go to when I needed to create a specific zoo and needed specific animals.
I still have a few zoos to go but the following are completed ( at least at the initial stages - more on that later ).
Completed Zoos:
A, B, C, DEF, JKL, MN, R, S, T to Z
Completed means that all animals have a well sized habitat and a devoted researcher. And the zoo as a whole either has work zones with devoted workers in each zone or a zoo wide network with plenty of staff buildings as the staff move around the zoo.
In progress Zoos:
GHI, OPQ
Once all zoos are completed I can start remodelling and spreading the animals a bit more to expand the zoo into the rest of the map and giving the guests more reasons to moan about walking every where ( so more transport options ), more entrance points and more habitats for each species so that I don't have to use the storage as much for not trading animals.
Overview maps attached of the completed zoos so far.
The Future ?
I still need to have a zoo with both types of Elephants (for the achievement ) so maybe some Sanctuaries.
I do like the different patterns and colours available, so maybe a genetics zoo or three to see if I can identify a way of consistently creating a pattern/colour combination.
And as a responsible zoo keeper and animal lover, of course I want to reintroduce endangered animals back into the wild one day, so yeah, zoos to breed those types of animals. On a side note, it would be cool to see if we, as virtual zoo keepers, have managed to repopulate the animal kingdom of it's endangered animals. Simulate the reality of getting x pairs of animals back out there able to breed their way back into the world.
And of course, eventually a zoo in each continent/area for animals in that continent/area.
So, I moved onto other zoo's trying different things and every DLC Release and Content Patch I would clear everything out and start again. Little did I know ( until fairly recently ) that your research gets reset if you do not have someone researching in one of your Franchise Zoos. So, it was time to start over again.
I Kept my original world zoo - can't sneeze at nearly 200 animals up for grabs when you need them - but rarely dip into it except to grab some babies to fill in a new zoo.
But, to keep things manageable for me and the computer I opted for a 15 species ( or thereabouts ) max for each zoo. This meant that some animals were in a Zoo with their starting letter as there were a lot of animals beginning with that letter. Others were in a multi letter zoo. The handy thing for this was that I only needed to monitor storage for a few animals compared to all of them and, I had a place to go to when I needed to create a specific zoo and needed specific animals.
I still have a few zoos to go but the following are completed ( at least at the initial stages - more on that later ).
Completed Zoos:
A, B, C, DEF, JKL, MN, R, S, T to Z
Completed means that all animals have a well sized habitat and a devoted researcher. And the zoo as a whole either has work zones with devoted workers in each zone or a zoo wide network with plenty of staff buildings as the staff move around the zoo.
In progress Zoos:
GHI, OPQ
Once all zoos are completed I can start remodelling and spreading the animals a bit more to expand the zoo into the rest of the map and giving the guests more reasons to moan about walking every where ( so more transport options ), more entrance points and more habitats for each species so that I don't have to use the storage as much for not trading animals.
Overview maps attached of the completed zoos so far.
The Future ?
I still need to have a zoo with both types of Elephants (for the achievement ) so maybe some Sanctuaries.
I do like the different patterns and colours available, so maybe a genetics zoo or three to see if I can identify a way of consistently creating a pattern/colour combination.
And as a responsible zoo keeper and animal lover, of course I want to reintroduce endangered animals back into the wild one day, so yeah, zoos to breed those types of animals. On a side note, it would be cool to see if we, as virtual zoo keepers, have managed to repopulate the animal kingdom of it's endangered animals. Simulate the reality of getting x pairs of animals back out there able to breed their way back into the world.
And of course, eventually a zoo in each continent/area for animals in that continent/area.
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As mentioned earlier I'm planning an exhibit for spotted hyenas in my zoo. For realism purposes, how big should the group be? When I look at zoos they mostly have small populations (sometimes even just a male and female), but when checking wikipedia, they sometimes group even up to 80 animals. What do you think would be the best/realistic group size to have in a zoo?