Now that we got the sifaka the number of madagascan species reached 5, a good number to have a small zone dedicated to it and i gotta say that warms my heart.
Madagascar might not be a continent, but as the 4. Largest and one of the oldest, splitting from africa in the jurassic period, it developed its very own fauna and flora and became one of the worlds biodiversity hot spots, but dedicating actual areas in zoos to it is a rather recent developement, even if there are quite a few very common lemure species in zoos.
This is pretty well reflected in planet zoo, with us having 2 of the most common lemures from the start, adding a 3. with the first anniversary gift and now finally getting 2 more special critters in the last 2 years with the fossa and sifaka, bringing some variety into the now more then just 3 standard lemures.
This is great but also tickles my appetite.
Now that madagascan areas are possible what could be added to make them great?
Imo there are 6 animals, none of them lemures that would greatly enhance any madagascan section and give us not just some fun options but also some much needed variety for the game as a whole.
Starting of, you know me, i love ducks and theres no duck i love more then the white faced whistling duck.
And lucky me, they not only live in south america and africa, but also madagascar aswell! Being perfect for multispecies wetland aviarys (even if for the most part theyd be flying solo so far lol), tropical halls or just as general use ducks they bring a staggering amount of flexibility and usecases to the game.
I doubt that i need to explain to anyone why the combination of bird, south america and another continent is great, but to add to that they also got great synergie with our current madagsy animals, cause whats the most popular way to keep lemures? With a water moat and who fits perfectly to just vibe in that watermoat? This perfect fella here.
Combined with their general utility as a tropical wetlands bird, im certain that the white faced whistling duck would not just be a great addition for madagascar but among the best additions to the game in general.
While the duck is more of an ambient animal, theres also a certain centerpiece that wouldnt just give madagascar its largest living animal but also a big Ticket animal to build around that also fills another major request for the game.
Who is this mystery animal you might ask?
Well simple, its the nile crocodile, africas largest croc and the largest animal native to madagascar. While im in general not the biggest fan of their inclusion over other more unique crocodilleans, this here would be their niche and imo the best argument for why the nile croc should be africas croc of choice.
Sticking with highly requested reptiles, there are 2 exhibit animals that are in my humble opinion a genuine must for the game, those are a chameleon and a gekko. What a coincidence that madagascar has 2 of the best contenders for these roles!
For chameleons we are spoilef for choice, as madagascar is the place with the highest diversity in chameleons, but theres only one true pick with the panther chameleon, a large chameleon from tropical madagascar and a good contender for the title of most iconic chameleon. Being the second most common in zoos right after the veiled chameleon the panther would not just fit perfectly but also stand out as an easy centerpiece for any reptile or tropical house and give africa a much lacking interesting choice for a tropical exhibit that isnt a snake.
Just like chameleons, gekkos are another zoo and pettrade staple and its a shame that we have none. Madagascar bright green large day gekko is not only among the largest and most common gekkos, but also among the most beautiful with their emerald green back, torcoise belly and red markings. Compared to other popular gekkos they come with the advantage of a much larger size, being more then double the lenght of a leopard gekko. They also are a tropical species unlike the other two and again would help quite alot to make africas exhibit roster more appealing, while being a staple in all kinds of reptile collections on its own right.
For a non reptile, theirs also a non lemure mammal that has gotten quite popular in zoos, the malagasy giant rat. It might be called a rat, but its actually the last surviving member of its own family and that just barely. Being critically endangerd with only a very small range in the wild, it is an animal activly kept alive by ex situ breeding programms, with the most successfull of these being among zoos in the united states. They themself are also quite interesting though, as a rather large nocturnal rodent that burrows, lives monogamous in pairs and moves around like a large spring hare or quokka, meaning it by now even has a suitable rig to take advantage of.
As a wonderfull addition to nocturnal and tropical houses, aswell as an interesting spin on a rodent theyd bring lots of usefull things with them even without the fact that they are from madagascar, but in that context theyd be great to fill the ground section of mixed species enclosures and add something very different to the region and the game.
Last but not least, we got the radiated tortoise, often seen as one of the most beautiful tortoises on the planet. Coming just of the amazing spurred tortoise, i wont lie but my thirst for a small tortoise isnt quelched and these guys would do a wonderfull job on that front.
Besides being a small beautiful tortoise, they also inhabit the drier, scrubbier areas of madagascars unique thorn forests, so some representation of those would be nice to see. Id be lying if i said i got much to say about them, but smaller tortoise = profit is just that true of a statement.
Am i just a hopeless madagascar fan?
Perhaps, but imo the "little" Island shouldnt be overlooked as it still features many generally usefull and unique animals for the game that just so happen to live there and while i wouldnt be opposed to a madagascar pack, id just like frontier to pick them more often when fitting for their more open packs if support should continue, for example the tortoise in a scrubland pack or the rat in a nocturnal pack.
Madagascar might not be a continent, but as the 4. Largest and one of the oldest, splitting from africa in the jurassic period, it developed its very own fauna and flora and became one of the worlds biodiversity hot spots, but dedicating actual areas in zoos to it is a rather recent developement, even if there are quite a few very common lemure species in zoos.
This is pretty well reflected in planet zoo, with us having 2 of the most common lemures from the start, adding a 3. with the first anniversary gift and now finally getting 2 more special critters in the last 2 years with the fossa and sifaka, bringing some variety into the now more then just 3 standard lemures.
This is great but also tickles my appetite.
Now that madagascan areas are possible what could be added to make them great?
Imo there are 6 animals, none of them lemures that would greatly enhance any madagascan section and give us not just some fun options but also some much needed variety for the game as a whole.
Starting of, you know me, i love ducks and theres no duck i love more then the white faced whistling duck.
And lucky me, they not only live in south america and africa, but also madagascar aswell! Being perfect for multispecies wetland aviarys (even if for the most part theyd be flying solo so far lol), tropical halls or just as general use ducks they bring a staggering amount of flexibility and usecases to the game.
I doubt that i need to explain to anyone why the combination of bird, south america and another continent is great, but to add to that they also got great synergie with our current madagsy animals, cause whats the most popular way to keep lemures? With a water moat and who fits perfectly to just vibe in that watermoat? This perfect fella here.
Combined with their general utility as a tropical wetlands bird, im certain that the white faced whistling duck would not just be a great addition for madagascar but among the best additions to the game in general.
While the duck is more of an ambient animal, theres also a certain centerpiece that wouldnt just give madagascar its largest living animal but also a big Ticket animal to build around that also fills another major request for the game.
Who is this mystery animal you might ask?
Well simple, its the nile crocodile, africas largest croc and the largest animal native to madagascar. While im in general not the biggest fan of their inclusion over other more unique crocodilleans, this here would be their niche and imo the best argument for why the nile croc should be africas croc of choice.
Sticking with highly requested reptiles, there are 2 exhibit animals that are in my humble opinion a genuine must for the game, those are a chameleon and a gekko. What a coincidence that madagascar has 2 of the best contenders for these roles!
For chameleons we are spoilef for choice, as madagascar is the place with the highest diversity in chameleons, but theres only one true pick with the panther chameleon, a large chameleon from tropical madagascar and a good contender for the title of most iconic chameleon. Being the second most common in zoos right after the veiled chameleon the panther would not just fit perfectly but also stand out as an easy centerpiece for any reptile or tropical house and give africa a much lacking interesting choice for a tropical exhibit that isnt a snake.
Just like chameleons, gekkos are another zoo and pettrade staple and its a shame that we have none. Madagascar bright green large day gekko is not only among the largest and most common gekkos, but also among the most beautiful with their emerald green back, torcoise belly and red markings. Compared to other popular gekkos they come with the advantage of a much larger size, being more then double the lenght of a leopard gekko. They also are a tropical species unlike the other two and again would help quite alot to make africas exhibit roster more appealing, while being a staple in all kinds of reptile collections on its own right.
For a non reptile, theirs also a non lemure mammal that has gotten quite popular in zoos, the malagasy giant rat. It might be called a rat, but its actually the last surviving member of its own family and that just barely. Being critically endangerd with only a very small range in the wild, it is an animal activly kept alive by ex situ breeding programms, with the most successfull of these being among zoos in the united states. They themself are also quite interesting though, as a rather large nocturnal rodent that burrows, lives monogamous in pairs and moves around like a large spring hare or quokka, meaning it by now even has a suitable rig to take advantage of.
As a wonderfull addition to nocturnal and tropical houses, aswell as an interesting spin on a rodent theyd bring lots of usefull things with them even without the fact that they are from madagascar, but in that context theyd be great to fill the ground section of mixed species enclosures and add something very different to the region and the game.
Last but not least, we got the radiated tortoise, often seen as one of the most beautiful tortoises on the planet. Coming just of the amazing spurred tortoise, i wont lie but my thirst for a small tortoise isnt quelched and these guys would do a wonderfull job on that front.
Besides being a small beautiful tortoise, they also inhabit the drier, scrubbier areas of madagascars unique thorn forests, so some representation of those would be nice to see. Id be lying if i said i got much to say about them, but smaller tortoise = profit is just that true of a statement.
Am i just a hopeless madagascar fan?
Perhaps, but imo the "little" Island shouldnt be overlooked as it still features many generally usefull and unique animals for the game that just so happen to live there and while i wouldnt be opposed to a madagascar pack, id just like frontier to pick them more often when fitting for their more open packs if support should continue, for example the tortoise in a scrubland pack or the rat in a nocturnal pack.
