Port Royal Zoo

[Aramar]

Welcome to Port Royal Zoo, my brand new zoo set somewhere in the Caribbean. I usually build zoos in areas with grassland or temperate biomes, so I wanted to do something different and decided to create a tropical zoo. I don't like creating parking lots, so I just built a kind of small train station where people arrive to the zoo. There's also a small pathway for those who walk to the park, but it's hidden by the plants and can't be seen on the screenshots:

After a short walk, visitors arrive at the big entrance square, where they can grab some coffee and the tickets, either at the ticket booths or the self-service machines:

Do you want to get in?

 

[DarthQuell]

Very nice. Love it, this inspires me for my next zoo (once I finish my current one, of course)

 

[Aramar]

As soon as you enter Port Royal Zoo, you find a big stone building with some food & drink shops and the information point. In this entrance area, there are some buildings housing restrooms and guest services (the interior is currently empty, maybe I will do it in the future). There are also two terrariums housing green iguanas (the male in one terrarium and the female in the other).

The big wall with the logo will eventually become the map of the park. On the left side of the main walk, there is the main zoo shop "Port Royal Store" and two more terrariums housing the Antillean iguanas.

On the right side, there is the first habitat animal, the capuchin monkeys.

And here's an overview of this entrance area:

 

[DarthQuell]

As soon as you enter Port Royal Zoo, you find a big stone building with some food & drink shops and the information point. In this entrance area, there are some buildings housing restrooms and guest services (the interior is currently empty, maybe I will do it in the future). There are also two terrariums housing green iguanas (the male in one terrarium and the female in the other).

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The big wall with the logo will eventually become the map of the park. On the left side of the main walk, there is the main zoo shop "Port Royal Store" and two more terrariums housing the Antillean iguanas.
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On the right side, there is the first habitat animal, the capuchin monkeys.
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And here's an overview of this entrance area:
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I'm going to steal that capuchin habitat and use it for whatever arboreal animal I get in my zoo. Maybe clouded leopard or binturong or proboscis monkey; not sure.
How did you make that bar that keeps guests from getting too close to the habitat?

This looks like a fun zoo to visit

 

[Aramar]

How did you make that bar that keeps guests from getting too close to the habitat?

It's the fence that came as a bulding piece with the aquatic pack.

 

[DarthQuell]

It's the fence that came as a bulding piece with the aquatic pack.

Ok, I'll check it out

 

[jcp011c]

This looks so neat. Really good work. I'd like to visit in real life lol

 

[Hugo98]

Looks good, I like the tropical setting. Can't wait to see more.

 

[Aramar]

After the entrance area, the first thing you see is a flamingo lake, of course:

Note: adding plants around the habitat makes a huge difference, see the habitat before the landscaping

Spoiler: basic habitat

We are starting our zoo visit going left, and we first come across another bird, the cassowary:

 

[Aramar]

Facing the cassowaries there's a mixed habitat for Malayan tapirs and binturongs. The habitat has a small river and some logs above the water so that the binturongs can come closer to the visitors. On the right side there's the shelter, shared with the flamingoes, and on the left side there's a woden cabin with a closer viewing area.

The cabin is also a viewing area for the habitat next door, a mixed lemur habitat. The main feature of this habitat is a big waterfall, and visitors can get on top of it and have a look down.

Finally, you can aslo find a small restaurant to charge you batteries before we move on.

PS: There first habitats are more nature based, but I'm already working on some areas more themed, like the entrance area.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

I really like your building style. Tame and simple yet still beautifull and engaging, love it!

 

[NZFanatic]

Interesting that you picked the Malayan tapir rather than the Baird's. I would expect to see the Baird's in a Caribbean Zoo more than the Malayan.

Great work, though, everything looks stunning!

 

[Aramar]

Interesting that you picked the Malayan tapir rather than the Baird's. I would expect to see the Baird's in a Caribbean Zoo more than the Malayan.

Great work, though, everything looks stunning!

I didn't even think of it . I wanted a mixed habitat with the binturong and chose the tapir. I will try replacing the tapirs and see if the mixed habitat still works although they don't get the interspecies bonus.

 

[NZFanatic]

I didn't even think of it . I wanted a mixed habitat with the binturong and chose the tapir. I will try replacing the tapirs and see if the mixed habitat still works although they don't get the interspecies bonus.

No need to change, I wouldn't think. You could always just say that the zoo ended their South American tapir programme and took on some Malayan tapirs instead. It's how I get around having Himalayan brown bears in my European zoos instead of Eurasian brown bears - it's all part of the "lore".

 

[Aramar]

Quick update today:

Opposite the lemurs you can see the playful red pandas. They are always crossing over the water, so I'm glad the habitat is working as planned. I tried to put some mesh pieces over the habitat, but it didn't look well because we don't have triangular pieces for the corners/round areas.

And a small kiosk and restrooms, nothing fancy:

 

[Aramar]

After visiting the red pandas and the lemurs, you are now on the backside of the binturong/Malayan tapir habitat. Here you find a large open habitat for Indian rhinoceros (although I love the white rhino, I don't want to stop using the Indian one, so I went for this species this time).

Right in front of the rhinos, you can enter the most exciting part of the zoo, the temple ruins filled with cats! But before, you can see some poisonous frogs also in the temple ruins.

Do you want to explore this area?

 

[Aramar]

The first cat that you find in the temple ruins is the clouded leopard. You can watch them from the main viewing area, which is covered, so no worries about the tropical rain!

After passing by the clouded leopards, you arrive at the main food and beverage point in the area, where there are also restrooms and an ATM:

After having a well deserved drink, you continue exploring the area. The main math is turning around a central point: the lion habitat. It has several viewing areas from each side, except on the clouded leopard side, because that's where the shelter is.

 

[Aramar]

Your visit around the temple ruins leads you to the beautiful Bengal tigers. The main viewing area is elevated and the ruins protect you from the rain or the sun of the Caribbean:

It's hard not to notice the big pyramid. What's inside? Well... an underwater viewing area! As you enter the pyramid, you go down and arrive at a big basement with windows on both sides. On one side, you can see the tigers. On the other side, the jaguars!

I need to decorate this indoor area better, but I want to wait until knowing if these two cats will get the diving animation soon. Otherwise, I might turn the pyramid into a sort of museum.

 

[random goat]

Beautiful pics!

 

[Hugo98]

Looks good. Great idea with the underwater viewing area, I hope they'll get diving animations.
Also nice that you used the netting for the clouded leopards and the jaguars, that's really realistic.