Animals that really can't be held in zoo's

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

Imo animals not held in zoos can be grouped roughly into 3 different categorys:
1. Just why: Animals that have close relatives either in the game allready that are found in zoos or have a relative or functionally identical animal that could easily replace them without any draw backs.
Examples are: Javan Rhino (Indian Rhino), African Forest Elephant (African Elephant), Brown Throated Sloth (Two toed Sloth), Bald Uakari (Literally any other SA monkey actually found in zoos), Saola (Lowland Anoa), Indri (Conqueller Sifaka)
2. Understandable but rather no: Animals that are unique, but wouldnt fit well into the game and add only relativly little compared to other options.
Examples are: Pikas (many other small rodents like guinea pig, agoutis, squirells or lagomorphs that would be preferable), Tarsiers (Unique indeed, but they wouldnt add much to the game that a lori couldnt)
3. Would actually be a good addition: Animals that are unique and got good reasons for inclusion, often are even kept in a small number of zoos:
Saiga (Would flesh out central Asia with its arguably most iconic missing animal, still found in a few zoos in east europe with plans to expand that number), Leopard Seal (Rarly single animals are kept in australian zoos, only option for an antarctic carnivore), Marine Iguana (new diving reptile from the galapagos island), Elephant Seal (Very unique marine mammal, while superficially similar to the walrus, theyd be much more flexible in use)

2 and 3 are ofcours atleast somewhat subjective, but thats how the world is sometimes

 

[QueenCinna]

I could have sworn there was leopards seals at Sydneys Taronga Zoo for a decade or so there

 

[QueenCinna]

I could have sworn there was leopard seals at Sydneys Taronga Zoo for a decade or so there. I remember walking into the zoo and you could look at an underwater view of them right there at the entrance

 

[Captain Callum]

I could have sworn there was leopards seals at Sydneys Taronga Zoo for a decade or so there

The wording does say kept in captivity in small numbers - meaning currently kept. Lots of the animals suggested in this thread were actually kept in a lot of zoos decades ago , these include : saiga, leopard seal, lots of Galapagos species like penguin and Iguana, Sumatran rhino

 

[QueenCinna]

The wording does say kept in captivity in small numbers - meaning currently kept. Lots of the animals suggested in this thread were actually kept in a lot of zoos decades ago , these include : saiga, leopard seal, lots of Galapagos species like penguin and Iguana, Sumatran rhino

Thank you, it's very early in the morning and my reading comprehension skills haven't woken up yet

 

[Spiderhawk]

So from a list I have read on animals that you will never find in zoos/aquariums/aviaries
Mountain gorilla attempts to have them in zoos didn’t go well and most died after leaving their natural environment.
Idri lemurs die within a year after leaving Madagascar
Saola as their numbers are too low even in the wild
Swallows don’t stop flying
Giant squid: most footage we have of them is rare, making a tank that can handle one let alone the same pressure it would need and we mostly see them from dead corpses
Great white sharks are too difficult
Narwhals would be too difficult and navigating a tank with that large tusk must be hard

I used to really want marine iguanas, but considering their difficult dietary needs I will go ahead and agree they are unsuitable
Leopard seals I have never heard of being in captivity except for a case in Australia or New Zealand and that didn’t last long

 

[Fossa]

*MEANWHILE in ZOO TYCOON 2

Beluga, Narwhal, FREAKING BIG Whales and dinosaurs living in harmony together in my old parks...

So frontier must be really strict (and no fun at all) if they never include Leopard Seals and Saiga Antelope just because the real world fails at creating suitable places for these creatures.

 

[TheHippoGirl]

Not saying it's an easy species to keep but walrus can definitely be held and bred in zoos. Pairi Daiza have them and they got a baby in 2021 !

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

Not saying it's an easy species to keep but walrus can definitely be held and bred in zoos. Pairi Daiza have them and they got a baby in 2021 !

Walrus arnt hard to keep in zoos, there are more phased out for logistic reasons, mainly that transporting them from one zoo to another is very tedious, especally as europe currently only has 2 bulls with a permission to breed, one in pairi daiza and one in hamburg, so to retain any more they either need to travel europe or we gotta deal with russia, which is currently tricky due to the political situation.
Combined with the wellfare concerns regarding tusks and space requirements, its propaply only a matter of time of how long they stick around in zoos

 

[Antimony96]

*MEANWHILE in ZOO TYCOON 2

Beluga, Narwhal, FREAKING BIG Whales and dinosaurs living in harmony together in my old parks...

So frontier must be really strict (and no fun at all) if they never include Leopard Seals and Saiga Antelope just because the real world fails at creating suitable places for these creatures.

Frontier has added plenty of species with little or no captive presence. Maybe the most egregious example is the Titan beetle, whose grubs have never even been seen.

 

[Pentoleaf]

I'd put colugo at the top of that list. I don't think they've ever been kept sucessfully in captivity. I'd love them in Planet Zoo, realism be damned, but I have no idea how Frontier would handle an animal that's mostly flap gliding hundreds of meters between trees.

...

I also still want saiga and their silly snuffle noses. I'd put them in historic zoos and dream zoos and generally just enjoy their snuffliness. We've got pronghorn in the game which have similar difficulties in captivity (specific humidity and barrier needs, not common outside of native range), so saiga would be the old world difficult ungulate representative.

 

[NachoB]

I'd put colugo at the top of that list. I don't think they've ever been kept sucessfully in captivity. I'd love them in Planet Zoo, realism be damned, but I have no idea how Frontier would handle an animal that's mostly flap gliding hundreds of meters between trees.

In a WE

 

[TheYeti]

Tarsiers (Unique indeed, but they wouldnt add much to the game that a lori couldnt)

Today I learned tarsiers aren't bred in zoos.

 

[NZFanatic]

Kakapo

Just as a point of order, the kakapo's absence from captivity isn't because it doesn't perform well, it's just because there are so few left that risking a sexually mature pair on a captive breeding programme that might fail isn't worth it. Their breeding success in managed wild habitats is high (something like over two hundred now) so why fix what isn't broken? The purpose of zoos is, ultimately, to create insurance against extinction, but if the animals are being conserved just fine in the wild there's no real point in keeping them in captivity.

 

[Fossa]

I'd put colugo at the top of that list. I don't think they've ever been kept sucessfully in captivity. I'd love them in Planet Zoo, realism be damned, but I have no idea how Frontier would handle an animal that's mostly flap gliding hundreds of meters between trees.

...

I also still want saiga and their silly snuffle noses. I'd put them in historic zoos and dream zoos and generally just enjoy their snuffliness. We've got pronghorn in the game which have similar difficulties in captivity (specific humidity and barrier needs, not common outside of native range), so saiga would be the old world difficult ungulate representative.

I really need the Saiga, I saw a good mod for the Saiga, so if they ever stop supporting the game with content, I download that mod, but I'd rather have the real deal!
Saiga always interested me from young age on, they are just so bizarre, special and unique! Much more needed than another leopard from africa or a lion from asia.

 

[YesIndeed]

Well, we have the proboscis monkey, which doesn't do well due to its specific diet, and the platypus, which is only held in ONE zoo outside of Australia, so who knows?

Also, imagine me reaching through the screen to give you a comforting and reassuring hug in a non-creepy way.

But they very common in zoos in Australia. There pretty much the same as a lot of the north american animals we have that are only found in like 2-5 zoos outside of there.

 

[FlameWizard492]

But they very common in zoos in Australia. There pretty much the same as a lot of the north american animals we have that are only found in like 2-5 zoos outside of there.

My point was that the difficulty of keeping platypus alive in transit outside of Australia has a history of being difficult, but in the game, we're not limited by that.

 

[arafan]

Today I learned tarsiers aren't bred in zoos.

I know that Ueno Zoo in Tokyo used to breed them, but I'm not sure if they still have the group.

But they very common in zoos in Australia. There pretty much the same as a lot of the north american animals we have that are only found in like 2-5 zoos outside of there.

How well do they actually breed in Australian zoos? Aren't most of the rescued animals that were born in the wild?

 

[premierfong]

*MEANWHILE in ZOO TYCOON 2

Beluga, Narwhal, FREAKING BIG Whales and dinosaurs living in harmony together in my old parks...

So frontier must be really strict (and no fun at all) if they never include Leopard Seals and Saiga Antelope just because the real world fails at creating suitable places for these creatures.

We soo need Leopard Seals and Saiga Antelope. Its a game after all, just dont put fantasy animals and dinosaurs in the game.

 

[nutrit]

Sumatran rhinoceros or at least not anymore since there are only around 100 of them left