Hippos and White Rhinos should not fight

[yoav_r]

Currently they can't be held together. I tried recreating my local Safari zoo, and was dissapointed to discover they will fight.

Here is a picture of all animals together at the zoo:

Hippos in general work well in Safari habitats with all animals ingame, so I don't understand why the rhinos are different.

 

[criswaller]

Agreed. I had to send all the hippos to the trade center while I was researching the rhino...

 

[Sahara]

Animals may be kept in captivity together, but that doesn't mean they always get along. I think it makes sense that two very aggressive and territorial animals wouldn't like being together in the same space. There's a zoo that keeps Mandrills and pygmy hippos together, but despite this the two are often seen displaying signs of aggression at each other. Just my two cents

 

[NL_Mutso]

How many zoos actually do this?

Maybe the pic above is an exception?

 

[criswaller]

Animals may be kept in captivity together, but that doesn't mean they always get along. I think it makes sense that two very aggressive and territorial animals wouldn't like being together in the same space. There's a zoo that keeps Mandrills and pygmy hippos together, but despite this the two are often seen displaying signs of aggression at each other. Just my two cents

It isn't consistent with the current game, though. So far, we've been able to keep all savannah animals together without incident (whether or not they share the interspecies bonus.)

 

[yoav_r]

It isn't consistent with the current game, though. So far, we've been able to keep all savannah animals together without incident (whether or not they share the interspecies bonus.)

Exactly, and we should still be able to keep them all together

 

[Firestar97]

It's so weird to see Hippos together with other Animals. How exactly do Zoos do this? I thought they are way too territorial. Even Gazelles aren't save from them in the Wild

 

[NL_Mutso]

It's so weird to see Hippos together with other Animals. How exactly do Zoos do this? I thought they are way too territorial. Even Gazelles aren't save from them in the Wild

As far i've seen when visiting zoos, they are always kept in a separate habitat.

 

[Firestar97]

As far i've seen when visiting zoos, they are always kept in a separate habitat.

Also never seen Hippos sharing a Enclosure when I was visiting a Zoo (except maybe Fish)

 

[yoav_r]

It's so weird to see Hippos together with other Animals. How exactly do Zoos do this? I thought they are way too territorial. Even Gazelles aren't save from them in the Wild

I worked at this zoo, I will explain. The hippos are in a very large safari area, and the most important thing is that they are never stressed. This means they must have space, social life, food and fitting habitat, and then they are chill with everything.

In the zoo in the picture the habitat includes: Hippo (over 40 individuals), White Rhino, Giant Eland, Waterbuck, Thomson Gazelle, Plains Zebra, Wildebeest, Scimitar Oryx, Arabian Oryx, Flamingo, Marabou, Ostrich, Crowned Crane, Pelicans, and a few smaller water birds.

In all history of the zoo (40+ years) there was no incident with the hippos.

 

[Hugo98]

Also never seen Hippos sharing a Enclosure when I was visiting a Zoo (except maybe Fish)

I've seen some combinations with hippos in a few zoos in Germany and Switzerland:

• hippo and nyala (Berlin Zoo)
• hippo, sitatunga and storks/cranes (Cologne and Gelsenkirchen)
• hippo, zebra and ostrich (Basel)

As long as the other animals have an area that only they can reach and not the hippos, it can work but it also has it risks. For example in Basel one zebra stallion was killed by a hippo. But with other zebra stallions it worked fine, so it really depends on the characters.

 

[yoav_r]

I've seen some combinations with hippos in a few zoos in Germany and Switzerland:

• hippo and nyala (Berlin Zoo)
• hippo, sitatunga and storks/cranes (Cologne and Gelsenkirchen)
• hippo, zebra and ostrich (Basel)

As long as the other animals have an area that only they can reach and not the hippos, it can work but it also has it risks. For example in Basel the zebra stallion was killed by a hippo. But with other zebra stallions it worked fine, so it really depends on the characters.

It is not necessary that the hippo can't reach a part of the habitat, it just needs to be large enough. In the Ramat Gan Safari zoo (in the picture) the habitat is just large enough that the antelopes can roam, and the hippos always stay close to the lake.

 

[Firestar97]

I worked at this zoo, I will explain. The hippos are in a very large safari area, and the most important thing is that they are never stressed. This means they must have space, social life, food and fitting habitat, and then they are chill with everything.

In the zoo in the picture the habitat includes: Hippo (over 40 individuals), White Rhino, Giant Eland, Waterbuck, Thomson Gazelle, Plains Zebra, Wildebeest, Scimitar Oryx, Arabian Oryx, Flamingo, Marabou, Ostrich, Crowned Crane, Pelicans, and a few smaller water birds.

In all history of the zoo (40+ years) there was no incident with the hippos.

Wow, that's a huge Herd of Hippos. Must be hard to manage everything like Vet Appointments for Example.
Wouldnt've expected that it works over 40 Years. I've expected this to be a Accident waiting to happen

 

[paul78]

Hippos and white rhino have scuffles by waterholes quite a bit. They really don’t tolerate each other. Hippos are always kept alone they are very unpredictable they are also highly territorial. Usually a rhino won’t even mess with them. Only elephants are feared.

 

[yoav_r]

Hippos and white rhino have scuffles by waterholes quite a bit. They really don’t tolerate each other. Hippos are always kept alone they are very unpredictable they are also highly territorial. Usually a rhino won’t even mess with them. Only elephants are feared.
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Keep in mind that in nature food and water may be scarce. If the zoo keeps the hippos content and they don't feel like they may need to fight for food, they won't be aggresive.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

Makes sense that logic. Im also way more tame and forgiving with a full stomage

 

[yoav_r]

Wow, that's a huge Herd of Hippos. Must be hard to manage everything like Vet Appointments for Example.
Wouldnt've expected that it works over 40 Years. I've expected this to be a Accident waiting to happen

It's the largest herd in captivity. And it's not an accident waiting to happpen because the hippos are content, and so don't act territorial.

And yes vet appointments are hard, if you'd like I could explain the logistics and techniques but it's a bit long.

 

[Firestar97]

It's the largest herd in captivity. And it's not an accident waiting to happpen because the hippos are content, and so don't act territorial.

And yes vet appointments are hard, if you'd like I could explain the logistics and techniques but it's a bit long.

Would like to know more about it

 

[yoav_r]

Would like to know more about it

Okay, so this zoo (Ramat Gan Safari Zoo), uses the 'hands on approach', meaning that specialist zoologists and vets do a checkup on all animals every morning.

Important note, only specialists do this, the general audience and zookeepers are not allowed to touch the animals.

The way the checkup works, is that after the real nutritious breakfast, the zoologist comes in with treats (peanut butter, white cheese), and asks the animals to present a body part, like when you train a dog. Things like "show me your shoulder", "show me your tongue", and then they gently touch the body part with a plastic stick. Then the animal gets a treat.

This serves both as a physical checkup to check for injuries and diseases animals may hide (and social animals often do like to hide injuries), and it allows to administer medicine. Like, if an animal needs a specific pill only for him, the zoologist can put it in the peanut better. If it needs an injection, instead of touching the animal with a stick they just do a quick injection (most animals don't even notice the difference in my experience).

This way you can do all easy medical treatments in the animals habitat, without tranquilizing amd causing it stress. More complicated medical intervention obviously requires more.

What surprised me the most is how most animals recognize and trust their keepers, and so can do this morning checkups. This included tigers and crocodiles. Some animals are still not trusted enough, like Cassowaries.

With the safari animals, because they all live together and you can't call them one by one, it's a bit more complicated. What they do is observe the animals throughout the 3 feedings of the day, and if they see an animal suspicious of injury, they later lure it away from the herd, usually with something fun like a favorite food or an enrochment (the hippos for example love the water hose).

Then they can be observed alone, and if they do turn out to need medical help they are preferrably taken to a quarantined area where they can be treated, and if all else fails they are tranquilized and sent to the hospital, but this is usually avoided because tranquilization is stressful and animals could get injured while tranquilized.

If you have any more questions I'd be glad to answer!

 

[Firestar97]

The way the checkup works, is that after the real nutritious breakfast, the zoologist comes in with treats (peanut butter, white cheese), and asks the animals to present a body part, like when you train a dog. Things like "show me your shoulder", "show me your tongue", and then they gently touch the body part with a plastic stick. Then the animal gets a treat.

This serves both as a physical checkup to check for injuries and diseases animals may hide (and social animals often do like to hide injuries), and it allows to administer medicine. Like, if an animal needs a specific pill only for him, the zoologist can put it in the peanut better. If it needs an injection, instead of touching the animal with a stick they just do a quick injection (most animals don't even notice the difference in my experience).

I would love it if they would implement this in Planet Zoo. Would be awesome with the Elephants. They could do it in a Way that only a 5 Star Vet that is already in the Zoo for a certain Number of Years can do it that Way