Zoopeedia for diseases plus add parasites and more options for conservation signs

[Robo-birdie]

It would be a great addition to the games education system for an encyclopedia for the diseases in the game explaining what they are, which species are vulnerable and what conditions in a habitat can cause them to appear: is it random or is a filthy habitat more likely to cause the condition to appear for example. Also you have only bacteria and viruses in the game and missed out on parasites and fungi both of which can be problems for zoos. Things like fleas, ticks, tapeworm, ringworm and fungal infections can quickly spread before they are noticed and cause problems.

Also do you think we could get some more options for the conservation signs. It would be nice to have some more diversity for these items. There are plenty of issues that could be added these include:
exotic pet trade
habitat destruction
mass extinctions
importance of biodiversity
human encroachment
pollution and its effects (ie acid rain)
impacts of war (this is actual a major one that few seem to care or acknowledge about)
birds vs windows (this is actually the biggest killer of birds in the world, deaths by cats isn't even as close as damaging as window strikes are)
vehicular impacts
non-vaccinated pets (yes this is huge particularly with dogs which are the most diseased and disease spreading of pets)
impacts of farming
hybridization
fishing hooks and nets
snares and other hunting traps
invasive species
radioactive waste (like Chernobyl and improper disposal)
Trap-Neuter programs for domestic animals
Lead poisoning
Effects of mining (most mining brings lots of toxic materials to the surface)
The impacts of Fires
Light pollution (yes this is a thing)
The dangers of hydro wires (this is a thing too especially in heavily forested areas such as Central and parts of South America)
Urban Wildlife
Inbreeding (the game warns you when animals are going to inbreed why not elaborate more about it and why it is so detrimental to animal populations)
Genetic Bottle-necking
The use of Pesticides/Herbicides

 

[jcp011c]

I wholeheartedly agree with this, especially the first part about what the diseases are and what's at risk. Aside from just actual player education, it would help new players who haven't researched the disease (or who are playing on challenge) know what animals to plan for once they've researched a disease. Not every disease is going to affect every animal, and some are more obvious by name than others.

 

[Moonfox]

I love everything about this! These would be awesome future patch additions, or new DLC content.

 

[Firestar97]

It would be a absolutely great Addition to the Game. I wish they would also make it possible to vaccinate Animals once a Disease is completely researched. Also some of the Topics for the Conservation Signs would be really good. I've learned a few Days ago that hybridization could be a real Problem for the Conservation of the Green Peafowl because Spalding Peafowl do often look extremely similar to pure bred Green Peafowl.

 

[ikonet]

an encyclopedia for the diseases in the game explaining what they are, which species are vulnerable and what conditions in a habitat can cause them to appear

This is a great idea. Love it

In addition, I would also like an infection history on the animal's info panel.

 

[Indoraptor27]

Trap-Neuter programs for domestic animals

Like trapping a feral cat, and spaying/neutering it before releasing it? I love this thread and most of the suggestions, but I fail to see issues with this one. Perhaps I'm not understanding what you're referring to.

 

[Robo-birdie]

Domestic animals can prove dangerous to wild populations. Hybridizing with wild relatives such as dogs with wolves and cats with their wild cat relatives is a huge problem with conserving wild species examples of this include the Eastern Red Wolf and the Scottish Wildcat. Domestics hybridizing with wild populations can introduce genes that compromise the survivability of a wild species and destroy the genetic purity of wild animals. Domestic animals can also easily overpopulate especially since their willingness to venture close to and within human settlements gives them access to far more resources than wild populations. As they overpopulate they push out or destroy or disrupt native species and environments in the process. People always talk about cats but dogs, horses, rabbits and cattle have proven more devastating to wild environments (larger animals have greater and more devastating impacts on environments than smaller ones as they need more space and resources and have the power to alter their environments more ie: over-grazing/browsing, destruction of trees and other flora). Domestic animals, particularly dogs, also spread diseases and parasites more than wild animals and can spread those to wild populations. Basically control of feral populations prevents serious impacts they will have on natural environments.
Here is an example:
While horses were present in North America till 10 000 years ago the wild horses found today in the American West are feral not wild horses. Human presence is a major factor limiting space for wild species so an overpopulation of a feral animal can have serious impacts for wild animals.These feral horses lack serious predators to control the horses population and they have fewer competitors in their environments leading to problems. Feral horses can and do very easily over-graze environments and in arid regions where vegetation is sparse to begin with lead to the loss of top soil as there is not much plant matter to hold the soil in place. This over-grazing also means less food for Buffalo and Pronghorn who are its only competitors in North America and both of which are endangered (Bison are near-threatened while Pronghorn are threatened in many parts of their range). It also threatens plant species not used to such heavy destruction. Outside hunting and taming by humans there are few predators to feral horses in the Americas now. Cougars and wolves can take down horses and occasionally bears and bobcats can take foals but most of these predators are endangered so do not have the numbers to have a major effect on controlling wild populations (especially since they prey on a multitude of species not just horses) and most feral horse populations are in regions where wolves and cougars have been extirpated leaving no predators for them. Populations of feral horses in places such as the Americas and Australia often exceed numbers the wild is incapable of supporting meaning if we do not control the population they will cause serious damage to the environments they have come to claim.
As a comparison look at Zebras. Zebras have lions, leopards, hyenas, cheetahs, wild dogs and crocodiles which can control there populations and Zebras share their environments with several species of antelopes including impala, springboks, wildebeests, and gazelles for example along with African Buffalo, warthogs, ostriches, and various small animals. Zebras have plenty to keep their populations under control while feral horses do not leading to overpopulation and environmental disruption.

A similar topic is the control of overpopulating wildlife. Like ferals a native species can devastate its environment and compromise the survavability for other species. Natural their are measures in an environment (such as predators and disease) to stop this but in some regions these measures are gone leading to problems. A good example are White-tailed Deer. In eastern North America White-tailed deer no longer have predators to control their populations and can very easily overpopulate and over-browse an area. It happened in the 1960s in southern Ontario where the deer were causing problems for provincial parks and farmers. This overpopulation stripped vegetation and affected plants, insects and wildlife. In order to prevent this from happening again since the area is too overpopulated and environmentally disrupted (there is less than 10% of untouched wilderness left in southern Ontario, it is mainly cities and farmland, so major predators have no home) to reintroduce predators to naturally control the population so human intervention in the form of regular hunting of White tails has to occur to prevent over-population.

 

[Indoraptor27]

Domestic animals can prove dangerous to wild populations. Hybridizing with wild relatives such as dogs with wolves and cats with their wild cat relatives is a huge problem with conserving wild species examples of this include the Eastern Red Wolf and the Scottish Wildcat. Domestics hybridizing with wild populations can introduce genes that compromise the survivability of a wild species and destroy the genetic purity of wild animals. Domestic animals can also easily overpopulate especially since their willingness to venture close to and within human settlements gives them access to far more resources than wild populations. As they overpopulate they push out or destroy or disrupt native species and environments in the process. People always talk about cats but dogs, horses, rabbits and cattle have proven more devastating to wild environments (larger animals have greater and more devastating impacts on environments than smaller ones as they need more space and resources and have the power to alter their environments more ie: over-grazing/browsing, destruction of trees and other flora). Domestic animals, particularly dogs, also spread diseases and parasites more than wild animals and can spread those to wild populations. Basically control of feral populations prevents serious impacts they will have on natural environments.
Here is an example:
While horses were present in North America till 10 000 years ago the wild horses found today in the American West are feral not wild horses. Human presence is a major factor limiting space for wild species so an overpopulation of a feral animal can have serious impacts for wild animals.These feral horses lack serious predators to control the horses population and they have fewer competitors in their environments leading to problems. Feral horses can and do very easily over-graze environments and in arid regions where vegetation is sparse to begin with lead to the loss of top soil as there is not much plant matter to hold the soil in place. This over-grazing also means less food for Buffalo and Pronghorn who are its only competitors in North America and both of which are endangered (Bison are near-threatened while Pronghorn are threatened in many parts of their range). It also threatens plant species not used to such heavy destruction. Outside hunting and taming by humans there are few predators to feral horses in the Americas now. Cougars and wolves can take down horses and occasionally bears and bobcats can take foals but most of these predators are endangered so do not have the numbers to have a major effect on controlling wild populations (especially since they prey on a multitude of species not just horses) and most feral horse populations are in regions where wolves and cougars have been extirpated leaving no predators for them. Populations of feral horses in places such as the Americas and Australia often exceed numbers the wild is incapable of supporting meaning if we do not control the population they will cause serious damage to the environments they have come to claim.
As a comparison look at Zebras. Zebras have lions, leopards, hyenas, cheetahs, wild dogs and crocodiles which can control there populations and Zebras share their environments with several species of antelopes including impala, springboks, wildebeests, and gazelles for example along with African Buffalo, warthogs, ostriches, and various small animals. Zebras have plenty to keep their populations under control while feral horses do not leading to overpopulation and environmental disruption.

A similar topic is the control of overpopulating wildlife. Like ferals a native species can devastate its environment and compromise the survavability for other species. Natural their are measures in an environment (such as predators and disease) to stop this but in some regions these measures are gone leading to problems. A good example are White-tailed Deer. In eastern North America White-tailed deer no longer have predators to control their populations and can very easily overpopulate and over-browse an area. It happened in the 1960s in southern Ontario where the deer were causing problems for provincial parks and farmers. This overpopulation stripped vegetation and affected plants, insects and wildlife. In order to prevent this from happening again since the area is too overpopulated and environmentally disrupted (there is less than 10% of untouched wilderness left in southern Ontario, it is mainly cities and farmland, so major predators have no home) to reintroduce predators to naturally control the population so human intervention in the form of regular hunting of White tails has to occur to prevent over-population.

Are you replying to me? Wouldn't the real issue with feral domestics be their existence in the first place, not them being trapped and neutered?

 

[WolfTrek]

Theoretically, trapping and neutering ferals will help to control the population, because those sterilized animals can no longer breed and maintain the population. That's the goal, anyway. Some sources say it works even better than culling.

Anyway, lots of good ideas on this thread. I think more info on the disease would be really helpful, as well as maybe an infection history for each animal and perhaps vaccinations, though it might get a bit tedious to maintain said vaccinations, since vaccines often require boosters. Wouldn't necessarily have to work that way, though.

 

[Casperite]

Domestic animals can prove dangerous to wild populations. Hybridizing with wild relatives such as dogs with wolves and cats with their wild cat relatives is a huge problem with conserving wild species examples of this include the Eastern Red Wolf and the Scottish Wildcat. Domestics hybridizing with wild populations can introduce genes that compromise the survivability of a wild species and destroy the genetic purity of wild animals. Domestic animals can also easily overpopulate especially since their willingness to venture close to and within human settlements gives them access to far more resources than wild populations. As they overpopulate they push out or destroy or disrupt native species and environments in the process. People always talk about cats but dogs, horses, rabbits and cattle have proven more devastating to wild environments (larger animals have greater and more devastating impacts on environments than smaller ones as they need more space and resources and have the power to alter their environments more ie: over-grazing/browsing, destruction of trees and other flora). Domestic animals, particularly dogs, also spread diseases and parasites more than wild animals and can spread those to wild populations. Basically control of feral populations prevents serious impacts they will have on natural environments.
Here is an example:
While horses were present in North America till 10 000 years ago the wild horses found today in the American West are feral not wild horses. Human presence is a major factor limiting space for wild species so an overpopulation of a feral animal can have serious impacts for wild animals.These feral horses lack serious predators to control the horses population and they have fewer competitors in their environments leading to problems. Feral horses can and do very easily over-graze environments and in arid regions where vegetation is sparse to begin with lead to the loss of top soil as there is not much plant matter to hold the soil in place. This over-grazing also means less food for Buffalo and Pronghorn who are its only competitors in North America and both of which are endangered (Bison are near-threatened while Pronghorn are threatened in many parts of their range). It also threatens plant species not used to such heavy destruction. Outside hunting and taming by humans there are few predators to feral horses in the Americas now. Cougars and wolves can take down horses and occasionally bears and bobcats can take foals but most of these predators are endangered so do not have the numbers to have a major effect on controlling wild populations (especially since they prey on a multitude of species not just horses) and most feral horse populations are in regions where wolves and cougars have been extirpated leaving no predators for them. Populations of feral horses in places such as the Americas and Australia often exceed numbers the wild is incapable of supporting meaning if we do not control the population they will cause serious damage to the environments they have come to claim.
As a comparison look at Zebras. Zebras have lions, leopards, hyenas, cheetahs, wild dogs and crocodiles which can control there populations and Zebras share their environments with several species of antelopes including impala, springboks, wildebeests, and gazelles for example along with African Buffalo, warthogs, ostriches, and various small animals. Zebras have plenty to keep their populations under control while feral horses do not leading to overpopulation and environmental disruption.

A similar topic is the control of overpopulating wildlife. Like ferals a native species can devastate its environment and compromise the survavability for other species. Natural their are measures in an environment (such as predators and disease) to stop this but in some regions these measures are gone leading to problems. A good example are White-tailed Deer. In eastern North America White-tailed deer no longer have predators to control their populations and can very easily overpopulate and over-browse an area. It happened in the 1960s in southern Ontario where the deer were causing problems for provincial parks and farmers. This overpopulation stripped vegetation and affected plants, insects and wildlife. In order to prevent this from happening again since the area is too overpopulated and environmentally disrupted (there is less than 10% of untouched wilderness left in southern Ontario, it is mainly cities and farmland, so major predators have no home) to reintroduce predators to naturally control the population so human intervention in the form of regular hunting of White tails has to occur to prevent over-population.

I feel like some of your information is wrong or misunderstood. For overpopulation the hunting programs help with that. You already mention a solution to it, or is hunting an issue to you? For horses I do not understand at all the way you phrase it. Should they be irradiated as an invasive species since they are not native to America? As for invasive species goes, that could be a very interesting topic. Guam and New Mexico have some good examples of that.

 

[Robo-birdie]

I feel like some of your information is wrong or misunderstood. For overpopulation the hunting programs help with that. You already mention a solution to it, or is hunting an issue to you? For horses I do not understand at all the way you phrase it. Should they be irradiated as an invasive species since they are not native to America? As for invasive species goes, that could be a very interesting topic. Guam and New Mexico have some good examples of that.

My information is accurate. The part on the horses is an example of the effects and problems that come with invasive species and why people need to be more educated on why we have to control their populations. Everyone tends to focus on feral cats without realizing that while they are invasive in places their are many other and often more serious invasive species out there however few people are willing to acknowledge them. The horses are an invasive species. The species of horses native to the Americas are extinct and feral horses are not the same, Plains Zebras are more closely related to those extinct species than feral horses. These horses should be eradicated but that is easier said than done. Some people claim they are a national symbols of the colonizing of the west and others claim since horses used to be native then these are simply reintroducing them back to their native habitat. There are also people, like when talking about culling most invasive species who claim its cruel despite the destruction they cause. This makes it hard to due what has to be done as you have to fight activists and legal battles with people who have no understanding or are poorly educated in the matter. Most of these people are not properly educated about the reality that they are an invasive species and do not qualify for reintroducing as they are descendants of ferals and are not the same species as those that used to live in the Americas. Eradicating any invasive species comes with many issues, a lot of them are human based often as a result of misinformation, poor education or people letting their feelings over-take rational thought.

I do not have an issue against hunting when it is needed, the part on hunting is just a point that non invasive species sometimes need population control as well. You cannot just focus on the domestics when talking about population control because due to human impacts some wild species now need us to keep them from getting out of hand and destroying their own environments causing problems for every other species in their environment. It's very sad that predators can no longer return to Southern Ontario to natural control the population and boost the conservation of North Americas native predators who are threatened (that is where I live, I would not be surprised if you never heard about the deer problem, outside provincial parks education for and on ecology or anything to do with the natural world is hard to come by. Problems with White tailed deer overpopulation are common in eastern North America due to the lack of predators but since they are native not much attention is paid to this issue like it is for invasive species).

 

[Robo-birdie]

Are you replying to me? Wouldn't the real issue with feral domestics be their existence in the first place, not them being trapped and neutered?

I was replying to your comment. Yes they should not be their but now that they are here and a problem we have to find ways to deal with them. Some species are almost impossible to eradicate, look at rats and mice but if we can at least try and control their populations we can try to establish some form of balance. Eradicating them would be an ideal measure but that is easier said than done also in some places, some of these invasive species can be beneficial when properly controlled especially in areas heavily devastated by human impact. Also feral cats do perform some good. They help control populations of far more destructive and terrible invasive species such as rats and mice especially in places like where I live in Southern Ontario where few predator species exist to control them; birds of prey and foxes can only take out so many and without help cannot keep these invaders at bay. For environmental and public safety (rats and mice carry many lethal disease including the Black Death) the cats are not eradicated but controlled here.

 

[NZFanatic]

(rats and mice carry many lethal disease including the Black Death)

That is a misconception. The rats and mice carried the fleas that carried the bubonic plague, but so did myriad other animals, including livestock, domestic cats, and even dogs. The rats were blamed because at the time people had a poor education. Rats are naturally very clean animals and avid groomers both of themselves and other rats. The other point that most people don't consider was that rats are prolific breeders so naturally there were more rats to carry more fleas to carry more disease (and rats were harder to keep out of homesteads).

In any case, everything you have said is correct. Some places in Africa make a (legal) mint by allowing rich white hunters to come and cull elephants and the like when their populations get out of control. It seems questionable in concept but it does work to preserve more land and resources for other animal species without doing excessive damage to the elephant population over all.