Your Top 10 Animals of 2024!!!

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

Every time i mention the nile croc most people aay they don't want it, that they want the slender snouted crocodile or any other africa croc.


The leopard looks beautiful and better than the amur one yet that doesn't make people like it more.

Big difference if we are talking dlc or free gift.

If i can choose of the 3 popular african crocodiles the nile is defenetly last place, but it also not like its a horrible addition, especally as its rl similarity to the salt water crocodile will be offset by the stark difference in model quality.

The leopard meanwhile is literally just a slightly thinner amur leopard, which isnt even a new species with 99% of all leopards in african areas in zoos not being african leopards, being actually amur leopards most of the time.
And even if it was super common, it still looks like our amur leopard so whats the point?
The only difference between them is that when you click on the animal it has a 5 Letter difference in its name, why would anybody want a slot wasted on an animal that we literally allready have instead of something they can actually distinguish with their eyes?

 

[The_Riot22]

Another reason is that we haven't gotten a new croc species in a while, and very few reptiles. So the "croc fatigue" a lot of people had a few years ago is largely gone, and the Nile Croc would be received fairly well.
There would be some people preferring a different crocodilian, but I don't think it would be anywhere close to a "wrong sloth or wrong domestics" situation.

 

[RightWhale]

If i can choose of the 3 popular african crocodiles the nile is defenetly last place, but it also not like its a horrible addition, especally as its rl similarity to the salt water crocodile will be offset by the stark difference in model quality.

It’s also an animal for Madagascar sections, so NGL it actually makes it a good choice.

Though in the end I still think an anniversary bird/ bird is better.

 

[TheDuckKnight]

Since others are doing it, here's the order of remaining five:

15. African Leopard - I appreciate the concept of finishing the Big 5, and it is a very nice model - but there are just so many better options imo
14. Highland Cattle - I know it's a favorite to many - including a few Barnyard naysayers - between the size, less than spectacular texture, I reluctantly admit it fell flat for me
13. Hamadryas Baboon - (ducks for tomatoes) Very similar to last year's black rhino and wolverine, I completely understand the desire, it was very well done, but just not appeal to me personally
12. Kirk's Dik-Dik - I've been on the "No More Antelope" train since Wetlands but this might be the only worthy addition, excluding the blue wildebeest
11. Tamworth Pig - Some Pig!

 

[NachoB]

So i counted the votes so far and the African spurred tortoise is the most liked animal of 2024 with 6 votes, followed by the spec bear with 3. Interesting.

Small number of voters ofc but still.

 

[Utahraptor Arcanus]

10. Hill Hadnor sheep - hard competition between this guy, Markhor and dik-dik for top ten, and personally, i'm only putting it here because it surprisingly grow on me, mainly considering it was the second worst animal on Barnyard for me when the pack came out, and that if you want a Sheep in a zoo this is the only option, while Dik-dik and markhor are one in a thousand.
9. Coquerel's sifaka - Not an animal I was particularly excited for, but considering it gave me motivation to rebuild an old habitat, I think it's worth putting it here.
8 & 7. Tamworth pig and Alpine goat - both animals that could be way higher if their breed choice was fixed, but this position is quite generous regardless.
6. American standard donkey - While I would have rather got a mediterranean or miniature donkey, this is a very interesting breed that is surprisingly versatile.
5. Highland cattle - What can i say other than nice cute and small snow cows that can be slapped in any cold climate zoo or cold themed area, for sure the fur quality isn't that nice but it's certainly a very good animal.
4. African spurred tortoise - it still baffles me that it took 5 years to get a desert tortoise, an habitat one since launch, and the first flawless habitat reptile since the alligator, one of my favorite additions in the entire game.
3. Hamadryas baboon - Having to wait more than 3 years for another monkey in the form of a proper baboon seems to have paid off.
2. Spectacled bear - i Think i already was very vocal about this being my most wanted animal from the pack, so yeah.
1. Sussex chicken - it's crazy how the most unexpected choice of the whole year ends up becoming my favorite animal of the year, but here we are.
To the record i didn't even knew this breed existed, but now that it's here i can't see a good Barnyard pack without those little guys as they are everything i ever wanted in animal: versatile, pretty to look at and our first galliform since the game release.

 

[Marvinb]

Since others are doing it, here's the order of remaining five:

15. African Leopard - I appreciate the concept of finishing the Big 5, and it is a very nice model - but there are just so many better options imo
14. Highland Cattle - I know it's a favorite to many - including a few Barnyard naysayers - between the size, less than spectacular texture, I reluctantly admit it fell flat for me
13. Hamadryas Baboon - (ducks for tomatoes) Very similar to last year's black rhino and wolverine, I completely understand the desire, it was very well done, but just not appeal to me personally
12. Kirk's Dik-Dik - I've been on the "No More Antelope" train since Wetlands but this might be the only worthy addition, excluding the blue wildebeest
11. Tamworth Pig - Some Pig!

My "last 5".
15. Sifaka: Already talked way to much about this for an animal i never really had much desire for in the first place so TLDR: Completly inaccurate behaviour 50% of the time which leave them deep in the essentially unusable category for me.
14. Leopard: IDK, i feel there were a million better choices for an anniversary animal. Even amongst cats you could have done the ocelot for some SA rep, and if youre hellbent on doing a big cat why not asiatic lion so we could atleast get a good looking lion out of it? Not to mention other groups that desperately needed more animals, both in the basegame and in general
13 and 14. Donkey and Pig: Definetly the weakest of the barnyard pack for me. Donkey imo really needed to be a shetland pony to set them apart from the zebra, horse and especially the somali wild ass, since right now it feels like the donkey is little more than a color variations of the latter.
11. Markhor: Part me being pretty burned out of ungulates at this point, Part me really not being a fan the model.

 

[SuzieSky]

Since others are doing it, here's the order of remaining five:

11. African Leopard: I like cats, and I've used them a lot. The warm-climate biome tags are useful, and it looks nicer than the Amur leopard. It is useful in Safari zones. Would I have strongly preferred the ABB, a bird, or a monkey for the anniversary? Yes, but it's a free animal. I know a lot of people wanted it, and a lot of people didn't want to pay for it. It's not bad.
12. Dik-Dik: I didn't need another African ungulate, but at least they went with something different. I might use them once in a while.
13. Hill Radnor Sheep: I didn't need a sheep but the model is nice.
14. Alpaca: I'm not sure it was necessary with the llama, but I've seen zoos with both. This one fits petting zoos better and has the better model. It's fine.
15. Tamworth Pig: I don't like pigs, and this was a weird breed choice over the pot-bellied or kunekune. I do like that it is orange, so I don't hate the breed choice too much.

 

[Mr-Hyrax 2]

Ok so here is my list

1. Sulcata Tortoise: it was hard but this guy just looks so good and is incredibly useful, how could I not rate it higher, easily one of my favorite animals in the game
2. Hamadryas Baboon: would have been first but it's fur is a bit stiff, with that said it looks so good and it broke the monkey curse, it is also extremely useful.
3. Andean Bear: very useful, cute, and unique, so glad to get it.
4. Kirk's Dik-Dik: very cute and useful filler animal, I mean how could you not love it.
5. Sussex Chicken: the only bird we got this year and is very welcomed, should have got a Guinea Fowl or duck but this is nice.
6. Markhor: the face is a bit funky but it's fur looks great and it is a very cool goat
7. Hill Randor Sheep: should've been the Jacob's Sheep but it still looks absolutely great, and is good for a filler species
8. Alpine Goat: would be higher if it was a African Pygmy Goat or Nigerian Pygmy Goat like god intended but it's a very useful and well made animal as it is
9. Sifaka: I hate to put it so low but it's just to immersion breaking, if it actually acted like a Sifaka in the trees it could ha effectively made the top 3 but it's ground animations look great and the model is alright so it ranks here even though I can't comfortably use it
10. Pallas Cat: while the model isn't great it could be worse, and even though it's missing a iconic animation I still like it, but it does makes me love the sand cat more

Here is the other 5 for me

11: Highland Cow: if it looked better than I would have put is much higher, but I still like it.

12: Alpaca: I have been a big Llama fan for a long time and I was very anti-Alpaca for a while, but after getting it I have to emit it is better than the Llama, but I don't feel much towards it so it goes here

13: American Standard Donkey: it's alright, but the Shetland Pony would have been better

14: African Leopard: Meh, looks great but the Nile croc and American flamingo would be better.

15: Pig: would've been better if it was a Kunekune Pig, so it rates here.

 

[NachoB]

I don't care about ranking the five i left out but i guess baboon would be in n° 11 and pig in n° 15.

 

[Spiderhawk]

Well my 2024 wrap up is certainly different compared to past years but here I go
1. Andean Bear: South America needed attention. Years ago I made a taiga portion of my SA zoo a long time ago with hopes that the bears would be included. Was very happy to include them, annoyed at first that they didn’t get the biomes correct untill the update.
2. Hamadrays baboons: had a section set aside in my primate zoo for the baboons. So happy they made it and the habitat was almost 100% suitable.
3. Alpaca: my first job was raising alpacas, therefore alpacas have always had a place in my heart.
4. Palas cat: I had hoped that frontier was gonna switch to small cats in 2023 and beyond, good news!
5. Markhor: they were too cool to not include, they are well suited to share with takin.
6. Spurred tortoise: I remade my reptile zoo and I thought a non tropical tortoise would be welcome!
7. Dik dik: wasn’t thrilled at first, idk small habitat animals have started to grow on me.
8. Sifaka: originally wasn’t thrilled about another lemur. Quickly learned that they aren’t like the other lemurs.
9. Highland cattle: I’ve always like these cattle and seen happy videos of them.
10. Donkeys: idk but they make it to the top 10.

African leopard: cool
Silkie chickens: idc
Hill Ragnar sheep: how about the valanise black nose sheep
Tanworth pig: Vietnamese pot belly
Alpine goat: pygmy goats we’re getting a lot more requests

 

[biggest_dreamer]

1. African spurred tortoise
2. Hamadryas baboon
3. Spectacled bear
4. Kirk's dik-dik
5. Pallas's cat
6. Coquerel's sifaka
7. Hill Radnor sheep
8. Sussex chicken
9. Markhor
10. Alpaca

Pretty straightforward list given how few animals we got and how a handful of them were outright bad. Honorable mention to the donkey and more distantly the Highland cattle, I guess.

 

[Topaz Star]

1. Sussex Chicken - The unexpected bird we didn't know we wanted, chickens are just fun creatures.
2. African Spurred Tortoise - It's such a beautiful model and I've always liked tortoises.
3. Kirk's Dik-dik - One of the ungulates I did still want, it's sooo cute and fills a niche we didn't have yet
4. Spectacled Bear - I'm not too big on bears, but this model is so nice & it's south-american representation
5. Hamadryas Baboon - I don't use primates too much, but this one was needed. They always remind me of my childhood zoo.
6. Coquerel's Sifaka - I've always used the lemurs more than primates, so even if it wasn't the ideal choice, in the end I'd still use this one cutie.
7. Alpaca - Fun animals, south-american representation
8. Pallas Cat - Love the animal and would have been higher if the model was better.
9. Alpine Goat - For a petting zoo goats are a must
10. Hill Radnor Sheep - Don't really care for the specifics but a sheep is nice

 

[SanRazo]

1. Hamadryas Baboon
2. Chicken
3. Sifaka
4. Tortoise
5. Dik Dik
6. Markhor
7. Alpaca
8. Spectacled Bear
9. Sheep
10. Goat

 

[Birb（｡･ө･｡）]

10. Coquerel’s Sifaka - I haven’t actually used these guys in game yet, so it isn’t my place to judge on their flaws. If I had used them and liked them, they’d probably be ranked at #6 or #7. It was nice to get more than one primate in a pack and these guys were a solid enough oddball that I’ve loved seeing a few times IRL.

9. Hill Radnor Sheep - Far from the greatest pick ever both in breed and species - especially in a pack with another caprine and five other ungulates - but it’s got a great model and unlike some of the other breed choices, I’m relatively okay with the obscurity here since it looks enough like the generic sheep found in zoos.

8. Highland Cow - Cute, iconic, and not overly rare overseas. it’s got a fair share of issues in execution but it’s a decent pick as a breed. I don’t have much to say about it, it’s just kinda okay.

7. Alpaca - It’s pretty much just a better llama to me. It’s a nice animal and is ridiculously common worldwide. As much as I love it though it doesn’t fill any niche that the llama didn’t already and thus would have been far from my first pick for a farm pack. This was one of the few domestic animal niches already filled in game and they decided to retread it instead of giving us something truly new?

6. American Standard Donkey - I’ve only played with them once so far but it’s a nice change of pace from how British the Barnyard pack is (and it’s a breed choice that’s actually common in zoos, and worldwide no less). The sound issue sucks but it doesn’t completely ruin the animal for me like it does for some others.

Honestly, there’s a bit of a gap between these last five and everything else. Maybe I’ve just grown more cynical, but this year’s packs just weren’t for me I guess. Regardless I’m just happy to be getting any new animals after all this time.

5. Spectacled Bear - While I can completely understand why others might be upset at our 8th bear, I’m just happy to have another member in the often avoided void that is non-tropical South America. Probably the best looking of the game’s bears, and a personal favorite species of mine. This goober has grown on me a lot.

4. Kirks Dik-Dik - I’ve said many times before that a tiny ungulate was one of the few niches left for the group I could get excited over, and I’m glad it’s finally got a representative! While it’s probably my least favorite of the options over a muntjac or pudu, it’s still a great animal to have and it looks wonderful. After this, an Indian antelope and maybe still a muntjac would make non-domestic ungulates complete for me.

3. African Spurred Tortoise - This is one of only two non-mammals this year (yikes…), but at least it was a solid enough choice. It's our first mainland tortoise, with loads of mixed species potential, and by far the best model of the year (and maybe among the best in the game). I wish Frontier did more habitat reptiles because they always look incredible.

2. Hamadryas Baboon - THE MONKEY CURSE IS BROKEN! REJOICE! Seriously though, I adore these guys. It is so nice to have a more unique animal to build rocky exhibits for outside of the usual carnivorans and caprines. Sure, the model isn’t perfect, but I don’t even care that much, I’m just happy to have a damn baboon finally. It wasn’t an animal I was super excited for initially, but now that it’s here it’s one of my favorites in the entire game. Oh, and did I mention it’s a monkey?

1. Sussex Chicken - Such a staple animal in farm areas and finally another galliforme (though it’s still ridiculous we never got another wild one after the peafowl when they’re such basic zoo animals). They have super cute animations and are some of my favorite animals to build for with their cute little coops. Admittedly, it was probably the only animal in Barnyard I didn’t have issues with, and it was the only bird of the entire year somehow, so its high placement would’ve been inevitable, but even if that wasn’t the case it still would’ve been pretty high up for me. I love chickens IRL and while it’s not quite my favorite ever in a game with kiwi, elephants, seals, and maned wolves, it undoubtedly cracks the top 10 overall for me. Now if only it had a brown color morph.

Might as well rank my last five while others are. Sorry if I seem kinda harsh on some animals, there really isn’t any in the entire game I straight up dislike, it’s all just a matter of priorities to me.

11 - 12. Tamworth Pig/Alpine Goat: Grouping these together because my thoughts on them are pretty much the same, though if I have to rank one above the other I actually prefer the pig. While I don’t mind the more generic looking breed choices on the chicken or the sheep, kunekune/potbelly pigs and Nubian dwarf goats are pretty much synonymous with farm areas in zoos and these two just don’t feel right, especially the goat considering the size difference between it and more zoo-relevant goat breeds that guests often go in with. They aren’t as low as they could be because I do appreciate having a goat and a pig to put in my farm areas at all, with both being essentials on a species level at least.
13. Pallas’s Cat: Yeah, I’m sorry but I just don’t see how our 15th cat adds all that much to the game. I appreciate having a more “filler” sort of animal for Himalayan sections I guess, but that’s nothing another, more unique pick couldn’t have also done better than the region’s second cat - third if counting the tiger (a monal or a waterfowl species for instance.) Fun animal irl, but it’s just not one I needed in-game when its family has already been spoiled so much.
14. Markhor: We’ve gotten more caprines in the past three DLCs than every non-mammal combined… oof. I’ve said it before elsewhere, but I’m always surprised this never gets as much criticism as the pig situation (aside from personal preference of course, which is totally fair) considering that those were not only far more unique from each other in geography/biome/niche, but one of them was an anniversary animal. The markhor meanwhile fills nearly the same niche as the takin and I personally had no desire for both, and it certainly doesn’t help that we pretty much just had two packs worth of Eurasian ungulates. I can see why it’s a fan-favorite to some, but it’s far from a species I can get excited about at this point, it just feels like the Eurasia pack (which I already wasn’t a big fan of besides the swan) was leaking into Zookeeper’s here. Like, can we just chill with the Palearctic ungulates for a bit? Please? There are other zoo animals that exist.
15. African Leopard: Oh yeah this is in the game now I guess. I wasn’t really expecting an anniversary animal at all though so I can’t be too upset about it, but I’m also not gonna lie and say I’ll use it.