3 unique animals that could play a „rare“ role in our animal roster.

[FoxyDee]

And by that, I mean that they are not considered a common or a „must have“ Zoo animals, but quite a few zoos have them, making it realistic to obtain them for our zoos, while their unique look would surely be interesting for our guests.

1) Let’s start with something that many want. A malayan tapir.
Tapirs are quite common in zoos but this species not so much. According to wiki, only 24 zoos in Europe have this specific species of tapir. Their fur pattern is easily recognizable and unique, so I think it would be a best choice of tapir.
Did you know that tapirs are exceptional swimmers? And we have all those underwater viewing areas, making it a perfect candidate.
Just take a look. Wouldn't you want this cuteness in our favourite zoo game? I know I would!

Let’s move to something different. A flightless bird native to New Zeland. A kiwi.
Now this is my personal favourite, it is not the biggest bird, but it is large enough to be a full exhibit animal and not a terrarium or aviary one. In 2007 only 13 zoos outside of New zeland had kiwis. Making it perfect „rare“ animal to our roster.
It’s unique feathers just looks like fur and it has nostrils on the end of its beak, with highly developed sense of smell, unusual in birds.
There are several sanctuaries committed to save kiwis and with their help two species of kiwis were downlisted from endangered to vulnerable. This could be an iconic animal that could teach our guest that protection and conservation of animals can change things to better.
Picture of these little fellas below:

Time to include something more challenging perhaps. A species that could very well be extinct in a few years. A Tasmanian devil.
In the wild, these small carnivores are facing an extinction due to a devil facial tumour disease which is a form of a transmissible cancer, making zoos and sanctuaries important role in their survival.
It could be a more challenging animal for our zoos, because devils are often highly aggressive to each other and they often bite each other during feeding or even mating. They are known for their typical pose with widely open mouth full of sharp teeth and kind of creepy "roars".
Is it cute? Is it scary? It is both and it would make an excellent addition as a unique animal:

If anyone has any other ideas, I will be happy to read them.

 

[PeterArciel]

I think this is a very interesting list, especially the Tasmanian Devil, as it fits the more conservation and education theme of zoos perfectly. I think the tapir will make it to the game, but I guess it will be a South American species, since it's one of the biggest mammal's in South America. Asia has more big mammal's they could go for and thus spreading animals from all around the world better. Only time will tell.

Good research by the way. It's a nice thing to add in the Zoopedia perhaps, rarity in zoo's, causing the animal to be a more showstopper perhaps.

 

[FoxyDee]

I think this is a very interesting list, especially the Tasmanian Devil, as it fits the more conservation and education theme of zoos perfectly. I think the tapir will make it to the game, but I guess it will be a South American species, since it's one of the biggest mammal's in South America. Asia has more big mammal's they could go for and thus spreading animals from all around the world better. Only time will tell.

Good research by the way. It's a nice thing to add in the Zoopedia perhaps, rarity in zoo's, causing the animal to be a more showstopper perhaps.

You are probably right on the tapirs. I will be glad if any kind of tapir will get to the game, though this is my personal favourite. I like it’s weird looking coloration of fur. Perhaps it could be included in any potentional dlc in the future if not in the base game. We will see.

 

[Firestar97]

I would love it to build a Tasmanian Devil Exhibit and the other two Animals are really cute too

 

[PeterArciel]

Probably is very difficult to see a tasmanian devil outside Australia,

Actually, because of that devil face cancer thing, Tasmanian Devils are distributed around the world. I know that for example Zoo Duisburg got a couple to help the breeding and conservation of the species, at least that's what the information sign said over there. I think they did that for more zoos to spread the chances.

 

[FoxyDee]

That would be right. Zoo in my country started to build an exhibit for tasmanian devils last year. They should recieve some of them once it is finished to help with the conservation program. And I am located in Europe, so they are probably rare, but certainly obtainable outside of tasmania.

 

[Aero-Bubbles]

I think that, even though some animals are rare to find in zoos, we still have a chance at getting them. For example, we now know the Bengal Tiger will be added to Planet zoo, however I don’t believe any zoo in North America has a Bengal Tiger, or at least not many of them, most are Sumatran tigers, Amur tigers or south China tigers. So maybe there’s a possibility we could get Tasmanian devils

 

[Firestar97]

Two Animals that aren't very common in Zoos and could maybe in the Game be obtained trough some kind of Mission are the Spix-Macaw which is extinct in the wild and the Hoatzin that seems to be nowhere in Captivity at the Moment, but was bred successful in at least one Zoo. Maybe the Hoatzin could be obtained because some People tried to smuggle them in the Country but the Smugglers were imprisoned and the Animals will be given to the Zoo if it's possible for the Player to build a good Exhibit for them. But it seems to be very difficult to keep them in Captivity, so I think it would be very unlikely that we would have the Hoatzin in Planet Zoo

 

[FoxyDee]

Two Animals that aren't very common in Zoos and could maybe in the Game be obtained trough some kind of Mission are the Spix-Macaw which is extinct in the wild and the Hoatzin that seems to be nowhere in Captivity at the Moment, but was bred successful in at least one Zoo. Maybe the Hoatzin could be obtained because some People tried to smuggle them in the Country but the Smugglers were imprisoned and the Animals will be given to the Zoo if it's possible for the Player to build a good Exhibit for them. But it seems to be very difficult to keep them in Captivity, so I think it would be very unlikely that we would have the Hoatzin in Planet Zoo

That is a very good idea, to obtain rare animals via some mission or challenge. I like it.