These are probably my main choices, with reasoning for each:
1. Owston's civet (Endangered)
- One of the most threatened small carnivores that have been recommended for widespread captive breeding; currently there is a small but successful breeding programme taking place in Britain, with four zoos housing the species: they also have multiple keeping options as they can be kept in either outdoor enclosures or indoor nocturnal houses.
2. Przewalski's horse (Endangered)
- This is a true captive breeding success story, going from being extinct in the wild to having several hundred animals reintroduced in several countries; they are housed in zoos in Europe, America and Australia and animals from all these locations have been used for releases. They would also add the most-different looking equine species to the plains zebra currently in-game.
3. Iberian lynx (Endangered)
- I debated having one of the endangered leopard subspecies but decided the story of the Iberian lynx's conservation was too good to leave out; captive breeding and releasing has seen them being downgraded from Critically Endangered to Endangered and now surplus unreleasable animals from the breeding programme are being exhibited in zoos.
4. Goodfellow's tree kangaroo (Endangered)
- This is a fairly widely-kept species, with zoos in Europe, Singapore and Australia housing it (in America, it is replaced with the similar Matschie's tree kangaroo, which is equally workable); this would add a new marsupial to the game and also add another climbing species; they have been kept in walkthrough enclosures as well.
5. Horned guan (Endangered)
- This mostly ground-based bird is not overly common in zoos but there are at least five zoos in its native Mexico plus two in the USA and one in Germany that house this bird. It is a rather unique bird, with no close living relatives and has a very striking appearance. If a more widespread species is desired, the Northern helmeted curassow is also listed as Endangered and is kept in at least 63 European zoos alone.
6. Yellow headed temple turtle (Critically Endangered)
- One of the most threatened animal groups on earth are the Asian freshwater and land turtles; this is one of the larger Asian turtles and would add another diving species to the game; this is also a species with some captive representation, with three zoos in Europe as well as a number in America housing and breeding them.
7. Golden lion tamarin (Endangered)
- I wondered about which primate to choose and while a gibbon, mangabey or lemur could work, I decided to go with this icon of conservation; they are, with tail included, slightly longer than a meerkat so could work as a habitat animal; they are kept in a variety of spaces, including indoor, outdoor and walkthrough enclosures and would add the first very small primate to the game.
Exhibit) Kihansi spray toad (Extinct in the Wild)
- In this pack, Africa would be represented by the first Extinct in the Wild species in the game; this small toad was wiped out when the only waterfall it lives near ran dry after the river was dammed; it is a species housed primarily in North America, with at least five US zoos keeping them; this species is quite similar in size to the Lehmann's poison frog already in the game.
