Analyzing required animals by Taxonomical group

I have no idea how could I forget about my favourite gecko the Leopard gecko with dozens of very interesting colormorphs:

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And what about axolotl?
I prefer them in natural colors too, even though captive axolotls always are a bit different from the wild ones. The pinks are so common now that a lot of people think that is how they are supposed to look.

Part of zoos' role is to educate. In most cases there is some kind of evolutionary benefit behind animals' natural colors, so this is the story zoos should tell. Not show morphs that would most likely die in the wild because they look "cool".
 
I prefer them in natural colors too, even though captive axolotls always are a bit different from the wild ones. The pinks are so common now that a lot of people think that is how they are supposed to look.

Part of zoos' role is to educate. In most cases there is some kind of evolutionary benefit behind animals' natural colors, so this is the story zoos should tell. Not show morphs that would most likely die in the wild because they look "cool".
I have to agree, in my opinion the only colormorphs we should get are natural accuring ones like melanism and albinism not selective bred ones
 
I dunno, I see the appeal of the color morphs for sure. Imagine being a leopard gecko owner and being able to have an in-game gecko that looks just like your own. I think that would be really fun for people.
 
I dunno, I see the appeal of the color morphs for sure. Imagine being a leopard gecko owner and being able to have an in-game gecko that looks just like your own. I think that would be really fun for people.
Yeah i see the appeal aswell. And while im not really into it that much, ive seen a lot of people really enjoy all the variations we got with the fox and stuff. Still, i think they should stick to natural variations. I am a leopard gecko owner and id prefer to get the wild type :D.
Also i feel like all the effort of making all those morphs would be a little wasted on an exhibit animal, especially one thats about the size of the fire salamander where you wouldnt see it anyways :D
 
Since this is getting off-topic, I will put my reply in a spoiler.
Skins and stuff like that overall seem like a big deal in gaming these days, so I understand why it makes sense to get into it.

I just think it is a shame when animals get chosen because they got a lot of color morphs, which I believe was at least part of the reason they went with the red fox. Especially when Frontier either hasn't looked into why red foxes have so many color morphs or just doesn't dare to inform about it. I would like it better if they would at least be honest about color morphs in captive foxes mostly being a result of the fur industry. Instead of pretending that is not why.

Recently they made a post with a pink axolotl with the words "Critically Endangered" under it. The pet versions of axolotls are far from endangered, the wild ones are. Something is off with their understanding and communication of these things, which is a shame for a company that otherwise has done a lot of good to show the positive reasons zoos exist.

I don't mind having extreme color variations in the game (though not important to me), because they are also still part of the real zoo world and I like to be able to sometimes build zoos that might not be overall perfect. I just think it is a shame when it is added in without informing about the negative aspects there often are with morphs. It could even have added to the management aspects of the game. A white tiger has a high appeal but earns fewer conservation credits or albinos need more shelter or similar.

Sorry for the long off-topic post.
 
Could you elaborate?
You can of course in rare cases find foxes with color mutations out in the wild. But silver foxes and other colors are pretty common to see in zoos, often smaller ones. Since these animals are of the domesticated kind originally intended for fur farms. Some later on also got bred as pets, which of course also meant color variations was of interest.

It is much easier to obtain a "fur" fox than a true wild red rox, plus they got more color variations and are less shy, an ideal animal for a smaller zoo. Same story if you see an American mink in an European zoo.

I don't know how common wild red foxes are in zoos, but I imagine they often would be rescued animals.

So Frontier either knows all this and choose to ignore it because they would rather not mention the fur industry. Or they have just seen pictures of cool colors and went with it.
 
You can of course in rare cases find foxes with color mutations out in the wild. But silver foxes and other colors are pretty common to see in zoos, often smaller ones. Since these animals are of the domesticated kind originally intended for fur farms. Some later on also got bred as pets, which of course also meant color variations was of interest.

It is much easier to obtain a "fur" fox than a true wild red rox, plus they got more color variations and are less shy, an ideal animal for a smaller zoo. Same story if you see an American mink in an European zoo.

I don't know how common wild red foxes are in zoos, but I imagine they often would be rescued animals.

So Frontier either knows all this and choose to ignore it because they would rather not mention the fur industry. Or they have just seen pictures of cool colors and went with it.
While i personally dont really care for special colormorphs and would rather have more general color palletes with slight differences to make animals look less identical like the new reindeer one in the last update, i also dont see them as a problem. Pretty colors are appealing and i rather have them in the game then not.
It doesnt really matter if they only are a product of domestication or fur farms, as those animals are also displayed in zoos.
And in the end, if color variations make an otherwise possibly rather dull and boring animal like the red fox more unique and popular with what seems like the majority of the people, then its a good addition
 
It doesnt really matter if they only are a product of domestication or fur farms, as those animals are also displayed in zoos.
I also don't necessarily see it as a problem as mentioned, I just don't like that they pretend all these variations are rare and something you would expect in a wild animal, when they basically just gave us the domesticated fox, which are common to see in other colors than red. Why not just be open about it?
 
I also don't necessarily see it as a problem as mentioned, I just don't like that they pretend all these variations are rare and something you would expect in a wild animal, when they basically just gave us the domesticated fox, which are common to see in other colors than red. Why not just be open about it?
Exactly and also what is the difference between leopard gecko color morphs and domestic breeds of llama or other requested domestics? I’m just really curious of your opinions.
 
Exactly and also what is the difference between leopard gecko color morphs and domestic breeds of llama or other requested domestics? I’m just really curious of your opinions.
The llama is domesticated in such a degree they can be seen as their own species. This also means no colors are more accurate than others, though some might appear more often. A llama is no different than a domestic pig or horse. And it also is common practice to inform about the llama being a domestic animal and explain about the differences between them and guanacos. There is educational value in teaching people why we domesticated certain animals.

Colormorphs in reptiles are more a case of the "original" animal in human bred colors. Though some species are sometimes debated if they should be considered domesticated by now.

If people want these colors at home, then fine with me. But I can't see how it has any educational or conservational value to show animals in zoos that doesn't look as they are supposed to.
 
Happy to announce that I'm finished writing the main thread. You are welcome to read it, give feedback, and add on wherever you see fit.

The thread is finished for now, and will be re-examined with every new dlc.

Should we get new mechanics such as aviaries or fully aquatic animals, the thread will be reopened for the animal groups relevant to these mechanics that were not examined yet.

Hope you enjoy :)
It was quite a lot of hard work
 
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