If you could only pick 30 more habitat animals...

You know the most horrible part of all this, the one that terrifies me...at 4 animal slots a DLC and 3 DLCs a year that would place the body count at 36 animals more for this game, just six slots over what this thread allowed. Now I do not know about you, but my list extended well beyond 30 or even 36 animals, and good god I even left all the hundreds of birds I dream of at night out of it. It did not leave room for all the domestic and forest dwellers that so many of our European friends are dying to get, you know the squirrels, foxes, sheep, rabbits etc. It left an extraordinary void when it came to small mammals. There were a ton of similar animals and distinct from those in game at the same time that would have been cool to have (bears, wolves, crocodilians) My list of primates was reduced to just two hand full of stars. I had to choose between adding a Southern Ground Hornbill and a Marabou Stork, it was like choosing between two sons. So many small cats that I wanted that I end up leaving them all out, since I did not have the heart to choose (Ocelots, Servals, Fishing Cats, Caracal, Bobcat) I literally died inside when I thought of never seeing any of the many other ungulates I wanted.

Now guys remember this, three more years of support at the current size rate means 36 animals only, that is it, das ist es, se acabo todo, それだ. Ladies and gentleman does anyone really see this baby going over three years of support? Honestly, do not kid yourself, three more years is more than Planco ever received. We need something big here, or the zoo will never truly be a zoo.
 
Well, for the sake of this I'll ignore flying birds entirely.

1. Southern white rhinoceros.
2. Meerkat.
3. Clouded leopard.
4. Geoffroy's spider monkey.
5. Diana monkey.
6. Proboscis monkey.
7. Hamadryas baboon.
8. Bolivian black-capped squirrel monkey.
9. Iberian lynx.
10. Serval.
11. Caracal.
12. Addax.
13. Scimitar-horned oryx.
14. Asian small-clawed otter.
15. Capybara.
16. Emu.
17. Tasmanian devil.
18. Yellow-footed rock wallaby.
19. North Island brown kiwi.[1]
20. Northern white-cheeked gibbon.
21. Red river hog.
22. California sea lion.
23. Southern rockhopper penguin.
24. Little blue penguin.
25. Crowned lemur.
26. Amur leopard.
27. Alpine ibex.
28. Bukharan markhor.
29. European fallow deer.
30. Malayan sun bear.

[1]Side note on this one, I'd love it if having a windowless building actually created darkness instead of that weird greyed-out low-visibility light we get. I know this won't change since it has been requested since PlanCo and is an issue with the engine but still.
 
Well, for the sake of this I'll ignore flying birds entirely.

1. Southern white rhinoceros.
2. Meerkat.
3. Clouded leopard.
4. Geoffroy's spider monkey.
5. Diana monkey.
6. Proboscis monkey.
7. Hamadryas baboon.
8. Bolivian black-capped squirrel monkey.
9. Iberian lynx.
10. Serval.
11. Caracal.
12. Addax.
13. Scimitar-horned oryx.
14. Asian small-clawed otter.
15. Capybara.
16. Emu.
17. Tasmanian devil.
18. Yellow-footed rock wallaby.
19. North Island brown kiwi.[1]
20. Northern white-cheeked gibbon.
21. Red river hog.
22. California sea lion.
23. Southern rockhopper penguin.
24. Little blue penguin.
25. Crowned lemur.
26. Amur leopard.
27. Alpine ibex.
28. Bukharan markhor.
29. European fallow deer.
30. Malayan sun bear.

[1]Side note on this one, I'd love it if having a windowless building actually created darkness instead of that weird greyed-out low-visibility light we get. I know this won't change since it has been requested since PlanCo and is an issue with the engine but still.


Holy molly, looking at your list I just realized I did not include any penguins, that is horrible, nope, can't do. I will with much pain and sorrow exchange my beloved Yellow Backed Duiker for your Southern rockhopper penguin. The horror.
 
Holy molly, looking at your list I just realized I did not include any penguins, that is horrible, nope, can't do. I will with much pain and sorrow exchange my beloved Yellow Backed Duiker for your Southern rockhopper penguin. The horror.

I basically just picked animals I've seen in zoos and a few I've worked with before - I think that's a good measure of what should be in a zoo game, at least anecdotally.
 
I basically just picked animals I've seen in zoos and a few I've worked with before - I think that's a good measure of what should be in a zoo game, at least anecdotally.

Most definitely, that is the way to go. The thing is that even when I narrow it down to what is really common in zoos, it then goes back to which zoos? And even then, there are so many. Looking thru your list I love many of them, like you have the Proboscis Monkey, and that is a beautiful primate, I remember seeing them very active at the Singapore Zoo, that one was not on my list, but I want it.

Absolutely love your picks of Ibex and Markhor, besides the goat currently in game, we really have nothing like that. I can imagine an upgrade in animations, that allows them to leap and climb rock naturally. But looking at my list, I would have to ax the Greater Kudu and Giant Eland, and I just can not. The two largest antelopes in the world, would look amazing in the game, surprising that Frontier excluded them from the base game.

Crowned lemurs are also another one I love from your list, there are so many. Incredible that even with 3 more years of support at the current DLC size it would only be 36 animals.
 
This is hard, I had to crop my list so much. Hopefully we have another 200 habitat animals to come, because there will never be enough!

1. Moose
2. Mountain lion
3. Wapiti
4. Giant river otter
5. California sea lion
6. Cotton top tamarin
7. Squirrel monkey
8. Maned wolf
9. Coati
10. Sun bear
11. Clouded leopard
12. Small clawed otter
13. Binturong
14. Langur sp.
15. Nilgai
16. Babirusa
17. White rhino
18. Meerkat
19.Fennec fox
20. Crowned crane
21. Secretary bird
22. Fossa
23. Colobus monkey
24. Gelada
25. Caracal
26. King penguin
27. Leopard seal
28. Harp seal
29. Red fox
30. Lynx

Not included because I think if we get aviaries, they will work more like exhibits, but my flying bird picks: toucan, macaw, harpy eagle, Philippine eagle.
 
You know the most horrible part of all this, the one that terrifies me...at 4 animal slots a DLC and 3 DLCs a year that would place the body count at 36 animals more for this game, just six slots over what this thread allowed. Now I do not know about you, but my list extended well beyond 30 or even 36 animals, and good god I even left all the hundreds of birds I dream of at night out of it.

While I had the same thought, that just 30ish more animals would take a lot of time at the current DLC rate and would still leave a lot on the wish list, I could imagine two things, that give me hope:
There is a real possibility of a larger expansion pack, for example introducing aquatic or flying animals. The voices in the community asking for those have been there from the very beginning, and I would assume Frontier hears those. And if we get one or both of these, I think it is also pretty reasonable to expect them to come with a bigger amount of animals, my guess/hope would be 20-30, at a time. And I'd think those would contain additional "regular" animals, too.
Number two would be, that if the animal DLCs sell well enough and they are simple enough to make, it would make sense for Frontier to continue those for quite a while, just to heave some steady income.
 
While I had the same thought, that just 30ish more animals would take a lot of time at the current DLC rate and would still leave a lot on the wish list, I could imagine two things, that give me hope:
There is a real possibility of a larger expansion pack, for example introducing aquatic or flying animals. The voices in the community asking for those have been there from the very beginning, and I would assume Frontier hears those. And if we get one or both of these, I think it is also pretty reasonable to expect them to come with a bigger amount of animals, my guess/hope would be 20-30, at a time. And I'd think those would contain additional "regular" animals, too.
Number two would be, that if the animal DLCs sell well enough and they are simple enough to make, it would make sense for Frontier to continue those for quite a while, just to heave some steady income.


You have definitely hit the nail right on the top of its tiny head. I think that is exactly the scenario that will go down. Especially with a bird DLC, the number 20 looks good to me. That would definitely level the playing field a bit, and as you well said, we might at some point receive larger animal packs. Today's leaked/released video shows one thing, it was a massive amount of work for the Planet Zoo team to implement the current system, however once in place, they can certainly conjure animals a lot faster than many of us gave them credit for. I think the old but justified at the time theory, of they can only release four animals every four months, because it takes them a month each, is dead on the water now, so we shall see. But yeah I honestly do not envision only 36 more animals for this game, my comment was to highlight how incredibly devastating that would be.
 
You have definitely hit the nail right on the top of its tiny head. I think that is exactly the scenario that will go down. Especially with a bird DLC, the number 20 looks good to me. (not that 30 does not, but I'm trying to keep the expectations realistic 😁 ) That would definitely level the playing field a bit, and as you well said, we might at some point receive larger animal packs. Today's leaked/released video shows one thing, it was a massive amount of work for the Planet Zoo team to implement the current system, however once in place, they can certainly conjure animals a lot faster than many of us gave them credit for. I think the old but justified at the time theory, of they can only release four animals every four months, because it takes them a month each, is dead on the water now, so we shall see. But yeah I honestly do not envision only 36 more animals for this game, my comment was to highlight how incredibly devastating that would be.
 
10. White Backed Vulture (same as the Marabu Stork, it does not have to fly, and they can just hop around, mostly displayed in open air mixed savannah exhibits)

In Europe, at least, they are mostly displayed in aviaries although I can think of a couple of collections that have them flightless in open air enclosures. From a husbandry and ethical point of view it really isn't ideal to have vultures housed like this. I also feel that inclusion of flying birds in this kind of mixed enclosure reduces them to little more than props in a diorama.
 
This is mine (These are actually ones that are key parts of particular zoo builds I want to endeavour in the future)
  1. Common Wombat
  2. Emu
  3. Short-Beaked Echidna
  4. Tammar Wallaby
  5. Swamp Wallaby
  6. Yellow-Footed Rock Wallaby
  7. Kangaroo Island Kangaroo (So that people can make walk-through habitats)
  8. Tasmanian Devil
  9. Tufted Capuchin
  10. Capybara
  11. Hamadryas Baboon
  12. Black-Handed Spider Monkey
  13. Sumatran Orangutan (Because they are hairier than Bornean Orangutans and more endangered)
  14. Sumatran Tiger
  15. Water Buffalo
  16. Asian Small-Clawed Otter
  17. Dromedary Camel
  18. Meerkat
  19. Southern White Rhinoceros
  20. Helmeted Guineafowl
  21. Maned Wolf
  22. Fennec Fox
  23. Przewalski's Horse
  24. American Alligator
  25. Malayan Tapir
  26. Sun Bear
  27. Siamang
  28. Lar Gibbon
  29. Scimitar-Horned Oryx
  30. Addax
 
I guess I can check 2 entries off my list already! :D Otters were rank 31, I think I cut them for something more important I had forgotten. ^^ And a Caiman would have most likely been in my Top 50.
 
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I can now remove the King Penguin but the Giant Otter (while nice) will not fulfill my otter needs so I leave two other otters in there. The King Penguin gets replaced with a second smaller penguin (three overall).
I will remove the Harbor seal as the Grey seal, while not exact, is IMO an acceptable substitute. Still leaving the Leopard Seal and Harp Seals on the list though. I need those Harp Seal pups!!!. That leaves one open and I know the bears are not a popular choice, but the American Black Bear.
 
Might as well put my hands on the table for this now that the Aquatic Pack has been announced (this list isn't in any particular order and operates under the assumption that we are getting the sun bear) :

1. Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) [CR]
2. Meerkat (Suricata suricatta) [LC]
3. African Leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) [VU]
4. Olive Baboon (Papio anubis) [LC] or Hamadryas Baboon (Papio hamadryas) [LC]
5. Addax (Addax nasomaculatus) [CR]
6. Southern White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) [NT]
7. Fennec Fox (Vulpes zerda) [LC]
8. Secretary Bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) [VU]
9. Dromedary Camel (Camelus dromedarius) [DM]
10. Red River Hog (Potamochoerus porcus) [LC]
11. Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) [VU]
12. Przewalski's Wild Horse (Equus ferus przewalskii) [EN]
13. Black Crested Gibbon (Nomascus concolor) [CR]
14. Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus) [EN]
15. Binturong (Arctictus binturong) [VU]
16. Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) [LC]
17. Asian Small-Clawed Otter (Aonyx cinereus) [VU]
18. Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) [LC]
19. Alpine Ibex (Capra ibex) [LC]
20. Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus) [EN]
21. Wolverine (Gulo gulo) [LC]
22. Moose (Alces alces) [LC]
23. North American Cougar (Puma concolor cougar) [LC]
24. American Beaver (Castor canadensis) [LC]
25. American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) [LC]
26. Emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae) [LC]
27. Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) [EN]
28. Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) [LC]
29. Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) [NT]
30. Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) [VU]

Of course I'd like more animals, but this list is made with idea of adding in as many common and iconic zoo animals as possible, while also including a good batch of interesting species as well.
 
1. Meerkat
2. Red River Hog
3. Crested Porcupine
4. White/Black Rhino (no preference for this one)
5. Binturong
6. Black Crested Gibbon
7. Grey Crowned Crane
8. Moose
9. North American Beaver
10. Emperor Tamarin
11. Alpine Ibex
12. Capybara
13. European Badger
14. Alligator
15. Siamang
16. Proboscis monkey
17. Secretary Bird
18. European/Iberian Lynx
19. A turkey species
20. Australian Pelican
21. Walrus
22. Hamadryas Baboon
23. Markhor
24. Yak
25. Waterbuck
26. Fennec Fox
27. African Leopard
28. A deer species
29. Golden Pheasant
30. Cabot's Tragopan
 
While I made these list I switched some out again and again. But here is my take. I might have included more birds, but they are not my favorite so I took more mammals. And yes, I want some small ones as well and there might be some weird picks and I might have got some names wrong. Didn't double check every English name for animals I only know the german names of yet.

Red Fox
Red Deer
Asian small clawed Otter
California sea lion
Humboldt Penguiin
Walruss
Harbor Seal
Arctic fox
Armur Leopard
Squirel monkey
Howler monkey
Gibbon
Moustached tamarin
Spectacled bear
Capybara
Crowned crane
Macaw
Bald eagel
Skunk
Praire dog
Racoon
European mink
Mountain lion
Wombat
Wolverine
European Lynx
Pecarti
Sika deer
Maned Wolf
Moose
 
I have managed to narrow this down to the 30 animals that I personally think are essential additions to any zoo. I have even managed to include the essential flying birds in my list. Although these are my essentials there are loads more (I think the possibilities could EASILY run into more than a hundred animals - including reskins). Maybe the DLC content will change over time and we may not get as many new building materials (surely they will run out of themes soon?) and we may get animal and foliage only DLC which would then surely mean that we would get more than five animals total per pack.

Anyway here are my 30 (in no particular order as I feel they are all equally important);

Mammals:
1. Amur Leopard
2. Clouded Leopard
3. Hoffmann's Two-Toed Sloth
4. Eurasian Lynx
5. Eurasian Moose
6. Fossa
7. Black Rhinoceros
8. Asiatic Lion
9. Red River Hog
10. Meerkat (how are they not already in game???)
11. Fennec Fox
12. Capybara
13. Arctic Fox
14. Addax or Scimitar Horned Oryx (not sure if they will include extinct in the wild animals?)
15. Dusky Pademelon
16. Kirk's Dik Dik
17. Goodfellow's Tree Kangaroo

Primates (I feel that, although we have all the big apes, primates are VERY under-represented):
18. Woolly Monkey
19. Silvery Gibbon
20. Golden-Cheeked Gibbon
21. Golden Headed Lion Tamarin
22. Black Spider Monkey

Birds (could have a new attraction - birds of prey displays)
23. Snowy Owl
24. Golden Eagle
25. European Eagle Owl
26. African White Backed Vulture
27. Rainbow Lorikeet (many zoos (in Britain at least) will let you walk through these and even give out cups of nectar to attract them down to you)
28. Hyacinth Macaw
29. Citron Crested Cockatoo
30. Toucan

As previously stated there are so many more and I would love to have every animal available that is able to be kept in captivity (I know this will never ever happen as it's probably impossible).

I think it would be really lovely if, maybe as the last DLC they release for the game, they perhaps did an extra pack that was just a few extra sub-species so those would want another penguin or another otter or perhaps more leopards or tigers were happy as well. It might refresh some of the species from the base game and earlier packs as well.
 
I'll preface this by saying that I sincerely hope that the reports Frontier wants at least 200 animals in PZ by the end of it's lifecycle are true. The Aquatic pack brings us to 95 currently, so that would mean we have 105 to go. I think that 50 more habitat animals, with the remaining 55 being some combination of exhibit, small aquarium tanks and aviaries, would be the optimal solution. But since this post says 30, that's what I'll limit myself to. This list isn't in any real order by the way.

  1. Binturong (AS)
  2. Sun bear (It's practically confirmed we're getting it, so I'm including it) (AS)
  3. Meerkat (AF)
  4. Black rhinoceros (AF)
  5. Serval (AF)
  6. Clouded leopard (AS)
  7. Ocelot (SA)
  8. Iberian lynx (EU)
  9. Alpine ibex (EU)
  10. Amur leopard (AS)
  11. Cougar (NA/SA)
  12. Collared peccary (NA/SA)
  13. Black howler monkey (SA)
  14. White-Cheeked gibbon (AS)
  15. Siamang (AS)
  16. Angolan black-and-white colobus monkey (AF)
  17. Southern hairy-nosed wombat (AUS)
  18. Japanese serrow (AS)
  19. African crested porcupine (AF)
  20. Asian short-clawed otter (AS)
  21. Cape penguin (AF)
  22. California sea lion (NA)
  23. Fairy penguin (AUS)
  24. Harbor seal (EU)
  25. Himalayan monal (AS)
  26. Takin (AS)
  27. Maned wolf (SA)
  28. Alaskan moose (NA)
  29. Wolverine (EU/AS/NA)
  30. American alligator (NA)
I consider almost all of those to be "essential" or "somewhat essential" zoo animals. Some are just ones that I would like to see, even if they're not necessarily widespread in captivity (Iberian lynx for example).
 
Love the idea of this, so let's go in no particular order of preference:

1. Meerkat
2. Moose
3. American Beaver
4. Nubian Ibex
5. Capybara
6. Emu
7. Crested Gibbon
8. Great White Pelican
9. Golden Takin
10. Black Swan
11. Californian Sea Lion
12. Babirusa
13. Hamadryas Baboon
14. Fennec Fox
15. Three-toed Sloth
16. Grey Crowned Crane
17. Proboscis Monkey
18. Great Spotted Kiwi
19. Bennett's Wallaby
20. Binturong
21. Alligator Snapping Turtle
22. Helmeted Guineafowl
23. Scarlet Ibis
24. Nine-banded Armadillo
25. Canada Lynx
26. Ring-tailed Coati
27. African Crested Porcupine
28. Mandarin Duck
29. Black Rhinoceros
30. Bornean Clouded Leopard
 
1. Sloth
2. Meerkat
3. Atlantic Puffin
4. African wild donkey
5. Platypus
6. White / Black Rhino
7. Cougar
8. Moose
9. Addax / Saiga Antelope
10. Capybara / Patagonian Mara
11. Musk Ox
12. Fennec Fox / Sand Cat
13. Thorny Devil (exhibition)
14. Alligator Snapping Turtle
15. Przewalski horse
16. Asian monkey species (Saimang? Gibbon? Langur?)
17. Chameleon sp (exhibition; any species)
18. European /Iberian Lynx
19. Scarlet Ibis
20. Red Crowned Crane
21. Swan (any species) / Ducks (any species)
22. Seals (any species) [I want Elephant Seal]
23. Beluga Whale
24. Shoebill / Marabou stork
25. African Leopard
26. Scimitar Oryx / Arabian Oryx
27. Secretary Bird
28. Arctic Fox
29. Helmeted Guineafowl
30. Macaw (any species) / Cockatoo (any species)
 
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