Rank the Bears

CharlieXGaming

CharlieXGaming
I’ve done a few ranking videos recently (birds, cats, reptiles) I’m doing bears next and I have a general idea for how I’m gonna rank them but to be as unbiased as possible I was wondering how you all rank them and some reasons why you rank them where you do. Any responses would be helpful :)
 

Aramar

Aramar
  1. Spectacled bear: great model, nice variants and decent requirements
  2. Sloth bear: great model too and decent requirements
  3. Sun bear: great model, but they need a lot of space
  4. Formosan black bear: despite being a base game the model isn't too bad. I wish they were a generic Asian black bear though
  5. Giant panda: I like the model and the requirements, but their reputation should be higher since they are always the most popular animal in the food that have them.
  6. Polar bear: despite being my favourite animal in the world, the requirements make it so hard to build for them
  7. Grizzly bear: the model is not good anymore
  8. Himalayan brown bear: don't get me started...
 

Marvinb

Marvinb
1. Spec bear: looks great and atleast to me feels like the most useable of the post launch bears despite not being all that common, but all things considered it has a still a very stereotypical bear feeling about it.

2. Sloth bear, looks fantastic, arguably the best looking animal in game, but relatively rarity makes it not that usefull for coming up with a zoo roster.

3. Polar bear, very classic zoo animal that is hard to make use of if you want to build a modern zoo.

4. Sun bear, essentially the same as the sloth bear while not looking as good.

5. Asiatic black bear, the best of the base game bears even if thats not saying much. But in the end sadly one of the most forgetable animals in the game.

6. Grizzly, looks awfull and is essentially a NA zoos exclusive animal.

7. Himalayan, looks awfull and doesnt even have the pro that its atleast common in one region like the grizzly
 

RightWhale

RightWhale
I’ll give it a shot, from best to worst:
  1. Spectacled Bear, looks amazing and really benefits from being the newest bear. Pretty useful and a common zoo species. But, to be honest, if we had the American Black Bear it would take this spot.
  2. Sloth bear, the second best looking bear in the game. Also pretty common and useful, so I think it really deserves #2.
  3. Sun bear, looks great, but just barely gets beaten out by the sloth bear.
  4. Panda bear, best looking bear in base game. Also an iconic zoo bear. I love pandas, but I also consider them kind of over rated. For me personally I build small zoos so I have a hard time justifying why a zoo with 7 habitats should have pandas loaned from China haha.
  5. Polar bear, doesn’t look bad. But are you sick of building a giant mansion for this guy? To the point guests get annoyed because the bear is over a mile away? I know I sure do. Still an iconic species to have, and if it wasn’t for its size requirements it could honestly be in my top 3 if not #1. But it really can be that annoying to build for.
  6. Grizzly bear, it looks bad. But I consider it more useful over the other two below it. Super common animal in North America sections, but you really have to use a mod to make it look good.
  7. Asiatic black bear, looks better than the grizzly. Which isn’t saying much. However, I have no reason to ever use this guy! Especially when the game now has two other black and Asian bears.
  8. Himalayan brown bear, looks bad, not common in captivity, weird subspecies to pick for a zoo game. This guy has it all in the worse way possible. Really should have been the Eurasian brown bear.
RIP to the American black bear, you would have been a real one :( 🐻
 

NZFanatic

NZFanatic
  1. Panda (my favourite).
  2. Sun bear (binturong mix makes this one especially fun).
  3. Sloth bear (beautiful).
  4. Polar bear (sandbox mode makes them usable).
  5. Spectacled bear (looks nice, very charismatic).
  6. Formosan bear (fun to use to change things up every now and then).
  7. Himalayan brown bear (remaster mod makes it much better).
  8. Grizzly bear (literally useless to me).
 

Utahraptor Arcanus

Utahraptor Arcanus
Bears are a curious case from me. Despite being one of my favorite animals i didn't used then after doing my first zoo ever. Meaning i never built properly for any of them.

But regardless, here's my ranking, from worst to best:

8 - HBB - We all agree on this, i don't really need to go over it.
7 - Formosan black bear - it... Exists. If im being honest im glad i used it in the past once in a badly build habitat, cause i don't see myself building for it.
6 - Giant Panda - this one is funny, Pandas would be one of the bears that i consider to be essential to be let out for any zoo game... And yet thanks to it status and lack of versatility i never really build for them.
In other words they are simply to unflexible and to famous to be anywhere higher.
5 - Polar bear - my favorite bear IRL that sadly suffers from the same problem as the Panda: i always want to build something spetacular for them which just takes to much time and effort considering this thing size requirement.
It's higher than the Panda by the simple facts that i like them more and they are slighlty more versatile.
4 - Sun bear - It's a "i didn't request you, but nonethless i'm happy you're here" situation.
It's a cool, unique looking and versatile animal with a great model. Nothing to complain here.
3 - Grizzly bear - not the best model, but it's so charismatic and versatile that leaving it anywhere else would be criminal.
2 - Sloth bear - it's a similar situation to the sun bear but higher thanks to how much i like it.
1 - spec bear - My boy, my beatiful boy!
I coudn't put the only south american bear and last short-face anywhere else in the list.
This is my second favorite bear and unlike polar, it has all the quality for a good animal: unique in usage, unique looking, unique taxonomically and a great animal nonethless.
 

Spiderhawk

Spiderhawk
Lately I’ve become fond of bears. Last year I made an all bear zoo with pinnipeds and included binturongs and red pandas.
I am hoping the game wraps up bears with AbB or EBB.
Least to best
8. HBB: we are all on the same page
7. Polar bears: so I have included them my zoos and they are on the top most appealing. Building for them is a no win battle for me. So far I have used them in 3 zoos and only in my bear zoo have guests said they like the view. Every time I adjust water there is a new land problem and vice versa. Even though frontier lowered the requirements, it is still a pain.
6. Formosan black bear: I don’t use them much, they aren’t bad I just don’t have a lot of use for.
5. Sloth bear: more unique bear but I don’t have much use for.
4. Pandas: I tend to go hard with designing their habitats
3. Grizzly bears: I’ve used a lot of creativity in their habitats
2. Sun bears: such silly old bears I’ve used a few times
1. Spectacled bear: was waiting/hoping for these bears for a very long time, I had built habitats in 2 zoos in hopes they would arrive and they eventually did
 

jcp011c

jcp011c
1. Panda - its my favorite animal, so even though the model is from the base game, it takes the top ot the best it takes the top spot. It is the best base game bear though, so the top spot is not completely unbiased.
2. Sun Bear - it's a great model and I use it regularly, despite not being one my higher ranked favorite species. It just works so well with so many animals and themes.
3. Spectacled Bear - while the model is not as good as the Sloth Bear, my personal preference for this one puts it at #3. It's still a really good model though.
4. Grizzly Bear - Even though the model itself is ranked pretty low it's a staple for my zoos. I cannot rank this any lower than #4.
5. Sloth Bear - looking sole at species alone this would be ranked as my second least favorite. However, the model is IMO the best bear model we have in the game. So essentially the very opposites of the Grizzly Bear.
6. Formosan Black Bear - the only black bear in the base game and even though the model is not that great, I still like it. At least it's unique looking from the other base game bears and is quite usable for me.
7. Polar Bear - I love the species, but they're unusable in franchise mode. The area requirements are still ridiculous. It's ruined any enjoyment I have for this species even when carried over to sandbox mode, which is sad. They're an iconic animal. And while the model isn't fantastic it's better than most of the base game models.
8. Himalayan Brown Bear - why? Why not have just made this the Eurasian Brown Bear? It's not a great model either, but what really puts this at the bottom is it's the worst case of Frontier going too specific into a species. It's also just too similar to the Grizzly Bear in looks (which, well....it's nearly the same animal). It's actually my least favorite habitat animal in the game and I think I've used it all of one time and that was just to complete the zoopedia steam achievement.
 

NachoB

NachoB
From worst to best:

8. Himalayan brown bear: looks terrible, doesnt't even resembles the real thing. And is an useless addition as well. Maybe if it looks better i would use it? Idk but is such a niche species that i never find a place for it. I don't think i ever even played with it at all.

7. Formosan black bear: i think people give it too much hate just because is a very specific subspecies but i personally don't think the model is that bad. However is placed here because compared to other bears it does look dated and is not as usefull anymore. I would like it to come back all glow up in pz 2 though.

6. Grizzly bear: after the HHB is probably the worst looking bear in the game, but they are still pretty iconic and a must have in any NA section. I place them below the polar bear just because of the model.

5. Polar bear: now we have entered the top five. I love polar bears, model is a bit dated now but i think building for them is kind of fun and frustrating at the same time and are not as versatile and not suitable for every zoo, so it goes lower than the rest of the top five. Still great animals though and allow for subaquatic viewing areas and semiaquatic exhibits so that's different from the other bears (i guess you can do the same for the grizzly but is more impresive for the polar bear being an actual sea dwealing mammal)

4. Panda: an icon of zoos and wildlife conservation. I like building enclosures for them and they are cute and out of the base game bears these are the ones that stand the test of time. Sure textures could be better (as with every base game animal at this point) but they still hold up very well)

3. Sun bears: they are smaller, tropical, they climb and can be mixed with other species so they are probably some of the best bears to build for in the game. They have a great model as well though i find them uglier than the remaining two in the top of the list this one goes third. But they are one of my favorite additions to the game.

2. Sloth bear: only reason is not number one for me is because of the lack of the piggyback behaviour with the cubs, but oh boy was i wishing hard for this bear almost from the start and i was pleaseantly surprised it got added. Plus they look wonderfull and look very different from other bears we have. A must have in indian sections for me.

1. Spectacled bear: i was never an active supporter of the spectacled bear because i always thought other south american speceis deserved to be added more than the bear. Is a really cool animal, being the only bear species that lives in SA, living in cloud forests and subtropical forests in the andean mountains which creates new opportunities for building for them, but it isn't as much as an iconic SA animal as people here seem to think. That said i think is the best looking bear in the game at the moment and is fun building for them.
 

Eletan888

Eletan888
1. Sun Bear- my favorite species of bear and honestly one of my favorite animals. I use 2 & 3 a lot more, but I just adore sun bears. The model in game looks great imo amd still holds up.
2. Spectacled Bear- Was so happy to finally get these guys in zookeepers! The model is stunning and its wonderful to have a large carnivore for SA other than the jaguar.
3. Sloth Bear- So suprised to get these guys in Eurasia but I am SO glad we did. These guys are my go to bear for Asia exhibits.
4. Giant Panda- Honestly, I still think the panda holds up quite well, at least compared to a lot of base game animal. Also, pandas are just adorable.
5. Polar Bear- Not the biggest fan of the polar bear or its model.
6. Grizzly Bear- Love grizzlies, but the model definitely could look better
7. Formosan Black Bear- Very niche subspecies that really doesn't add anything interesting. Also the model is quite bad in my opinion. Doesn't have an of the Asiatic black bear fluff. I never use it.
8. Himalayan Brown Bear- Pointless addition no one asked for. That's it.
 

NZFanatic

NZFanatic
Eletan888 said:
I'll give you a pass on this take since you're a kiwi. However, you have many Americans and Canadians that strongly disagree lol
Click to expand...
I'm just being cheeky.

I would have preferred the Eurasian bear to the HBB as well, but quite honestly I use the HBB more than the grizzly. The remaster mod makes it way more accurate to life and it's just a much more adorable bear than the grizzly. Big goofy ears. Plus, IIRC, Prague Zoo has an HBB that was rescued. That's enough captive presence for me to accept it, as someone who exclusively builds European zoos.
 

Tinou97

Tinou97
I love bears so I can't really rank them. I would say that nearly all of them are great addition to the game as they represent different continents. However, I agree with everyone on the Himalayan Brown Bear. It's definitely not a great addition. I personally use it as the Eurasian Brown Bear. I would also add that maybe the Formosan (Asian) Black Bear is not as interesting as the others but I still like it.
The top pick remains the Spectacled Bear, the cutest of them all and the best model imo.
 
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