This thread is where you can say animals that you believe can complete representation of the biomes and continents in the game, BUT, there is a catch, you can only choose 4 habitat and 1 exhibit animal per continent, country, island, biome and also personal choices are welcome, feel free to mention birds, fish or strictly aquatic animals apart from large cetaceans such as Orca and Whales or large sharks with the exception of whale shark, bull shark, great hammerhead or Sand Tiger Shark.
Animals that you think can complete representation of animals
- Thread starter RedPandaReggie
- Start date
Alright, let's give this a whirl.
Asia seems to be next on the DLC list and since the Sun Bear was leaked a while back, I'm not including it on this list (I wouldn't have anyways):
1. Clouded Leopard - I see this animal on almost everybody's concepts for an Asia-themed pack, and I can't blame them! This small cat is very pretty and could make some really interesting habitat set-ups.
2. Northern White-Cheeked Gibbon - Gibbons are an iconic part of South-East Asia's primate line-up and I'd take any species found in captivity. I just find this species most appealing from a DLC perspective.
3. Binturong - Gets on this list over the Przewalski's Horse and Malayan Tapir purely because it's my favourite animal of all time.
4. Asian Small-Clawed Otter - I think that this animal is different from the Giant Otter in enough ways that could warrant it's addition. The most striking of which, is it's small size.
5. King Cobra (Exhibit) - If we were talking with larger exhibits in mind, I would go with the Reticulate Python. But we're not, so I'm settling for the next best thing, the longest venomous snake.
Africa has so many animals to choose that would really add to the game in my opinion, so it's hard to choose only 5 (technically 3 as 2 species are pretty much absolutely necessary):
1. Black Rhinoceros - I'd take either species (Heck, I'd take both) but it'd be nice to see some more critically endangered animals in the game (there are only two DLC animals that are below the vulnerable status)
2. Meerkat - Kind of obvious, but the meerkat is found in most zoos around the world. Plus we need some more smaller animals to help fill exhibit gaps.
3. Fennec Fox - Another small animal idea. This probably the best fox species to choose as they actually feel like a zoo animal, plus add to the desert biome which could use some more exclusive animals.
4. Hamadryas Baboon - There are so many other animals I could've gone with for this one (Secretary Bird and Addax were the most painful exclusions), but we could use some more monkeys. This species is unique because it's a desert monkey, of which there are few. I also seem to see this one a lot in zoos so there's also a bit of bias on my end.
5. Panther Chameleon (Exhibit) - We still need more lizards. End of discussion.
North America has a lot potential for some "clone" animals, but I'm going to try and focus on some of the more unique species here:
1. Moose - The largest deer in the world... is not really a zoo animal. But it's iconic as a zoo game and is found in some zoos so it gets a pass from me. I just find it too iconic to not end up including in either a North America or Europe pack (Preferably NA for me though).
2. American Beaver - We can easily throw in more diving animals after the Aquatic Pack, in fact 3 are in this country's list, so why not beaver?
3. American Alligator - Easily the most clone-like of all the animals on this list, but I don't care. I'd like to do a reptile-themed zoo in the future and I can't really do that without a gator, they're in some many places (I wouldn't be surprised if it's the most common crocodilian in captivity).
4. California Sea Lion - Should've been in the Aquatic Pack, but maybe they were saving it for a NA Pack? Arguably one of the most iconic animals when people talk about marine animals for zoo games, they're just so common and interesting.
5. Axolotl - This critically endangered little amphibian could help add to the new aquatic based exhibit AND is very popular (we kind of need that for DLC exhibit animals unfortunately. R.I.P. my dreams of hissing roaches).
Europe has very little when it comes to new animal selections in my eyes, but I have managed to wrangle a pack idea together in the past, so I'll use that here:
1. Alpine Ibex - Represents the alps and mountain ranges of Europe. Probably guaranteed for this type of pack as it was in the base roster for both the Zoo Tycoon games (similar to the Black Rhino from earlier). Adds to the caprid variety.
2. Iberian Lynx - I would be cool with the Eurasian species, but this endangered feline is my choice mainly due to its status and that it represents another unique biome, the Mediterranean.
3. Red Deer - Sort of a "it's just there" pick for me, but people seem to want it. I do like the idea of putting it in a gardens type are of the zoo though.
4. Wolverine - Hah! I cheated the system! This is an animal that I want for North America, not Europe! But it's still found in Europe so I put it here so we can get more NA animals while still not breaking the rules.
5. Fire Salamander (Exhibit) - Honestly, more amphibians would be great. And the Fire Salamander is basically the quintessential salamander without feeling boring somehow. Plus, it looks like a lizard, so it gets double points from me.
Despite the Australia pack existing, we still have a decent amount of animals to cover from Oceania as a whole that could be worthy of a slot:
1. Emu - I like the cassowary, but the Emu is far more common in captivity and I just really want one. I'd like to have a good zoo game with an emu in it. I got my wish with the cassowary, but the emu is still waiting.
2. Tasmanian Devil - The most disappointing exclusion from the Australia Pack in my eyes, people always overlook Tasmania despite it being part of the same country. This endangered and carnivorous marsupial would add to my theme of small carnivores that I have been slowly building up without you people noticing. I shall build an army and it shall be glorious! Wait- where was I again?
3. Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat - This is probably my oddest choice yet, but wombats are cool, so here it is.
4. Matschie's Tree-Kangaroo - I had to shove in a non-Australian species in here somewhere (even if it's at the expense of a wallaby getting included
). Tree-Kangaroos are in a decent number of zoos and most are fairly endangered, plus they're tree-kangaroos. I feel like that's a bit contradictory but hey.
5. Frilled-Neck Lizard - I personally wanted this over the blue-tongue but we can have both, right?
South America, despite being one of the most diverse continents species-wise, we're still lacking some really interesting species:
1. Capybara - This one is obvious, everyone has been clamouring for this animal since the South America Pack got first teased. And then we didn't get it. And then the Aquatic Pack was announced, and had more South American animals, and we still didn't get it despite having water be very important to the species. I think it's about time we got this large aquatic rodent.
2. Maned Wolf - We really need some more diversity in the dog shapes in this game.
3. Humboldt Penguin - More of a zoo animal than the King Penguin really.
4. Geoffroy's Spider Monkey - More New World monkeys would be excellent. I personally find spider monkeys more interesting than howlers however (would still like both though).
5. Hercules Beetle - If we were talking about bigger exhibits, the Green Anaconda would easily make the list. But since we're not, the Hercules Beetle will do. I would've preferred this over the Titan Beetle, which is the only animal in the game that cannot be kept in captivity (only adult males have been so far apparently, they're that rare), and honestly? The Hercules is far more interesting in appearance anyways.
Asia seems to be next on the DLC list and since the Sun Bear was leaked a while back, I'm not including it on this list (I wouldn't have anyways):
1. Clouded Leopard - I see this animal on almost everybody's concepts for an Asia-themed pack, and I can't blame them! This small cat is very pretty and could make some really interesting habitat set-ups.
2. Northern White-Cheeked Gibbon - Gibbons are an iconic part of South-East Asia's primate line-up and I'd take any species found in captivity. I just find this species most appealing from a DLC perspective.
3. Binturong - Gets on this list over the Przewalski's Horse and Malayan Tapir purely because it's my favourite animal of all time.
4. Asian Small-Clawed Otter - I think that this animal is different from the Giant Otter in enough ways that could warrant it's addition. The most striking of which, is it's small size.
5. King Cobra (Exhibit) - If we were talking with larger exhibits in mind, I would go with the Reticulate Python. But we're not, so I'm settling for the next best thing, the longest venomous snake.
Africa has so many animals to choose that would really add to the game in my opinion, so it's hard to choose only 5 (technically 3 as 2 species are pretty much absolutely necessary):
1. Black Rhinoceros - I'd take either species (Heck, I'd take both) but it'd be nice to see some more critically endangered animals in the game (there are only two DLC animals that are below the vulnerable status)
2. Meerkat - Kind of obvious, but the meerkat is found in most zoos around the world. Plus we need some more smaller animals to help fill exhibit gaps.
3. Fennec Fox - Another small animal idea. This probably the best fox species to choose as they actually feel like a zoo animal, plus add to the desert biome which could use some more exclusive animals.
4. Hamadryas Baboon - There are so many other animals I could've gone with for this one (Secretary Bird and Addax were the most painful exclusions), but we could use some more monkeys. This species is unique because it's a desert monkey, of which there are few. I also seem to see this one a lot in zoos so there's also a bit of bias on my end.
5. Panther Chameleon (Exhibit) - We still need more lizards. End of discussion.
North America has a lot potential for some "clone" animals, but I'm going to try and focus on some of the more unique species here:
1. Moose - The largest deer in the world... is not really a zoo animal. But it's iconic as a zoo game and is found in some zoos so it gets a pass from me. I just find it too iconic to not end up including in either a North America or Europe pack (Preferably NA for me though).
2. American Beaver - We can easily throw in more diving animals after the Aquatic Pack, in fact 3 are in this country's list, so why not beaver?
3. American Alligator - Easily the most clone-like of all the animals on this list, but I don't care. I'd like to do a reptile-themed zoo in the future and I can't really do that without a gator, they're in some many places (I wouldn't be surprised if it's the most common crocodilian in captivity).
4. California Sea Lion - Should've been in the Aquatic Pack, but maybe they were saving it for a NA Pack? Arguably one of the most iconic animals when people talk about marine animals for zoo games, they're just so common and interesting.
5. Axolotl - This critically endangered little amphibian could help add to the new aquatic based exhibit AND is very popular (we kind of need that for DLC exhibit animals unfortunately. R.I.P. my dreams of hissing roaches).
Europe has very little when it comes to new animal selections in my eyes, but I have managed to wrangle a pack idea together in the past, so I'll use that here:
1. Alpine Ibex - Represents the alps and mountain ranges of Europe. Probably guaranteed for this type of pack as it was in the base roster for both the Zoo Tycoon games (similar to the Black Rhino from earlier). Adds to the caprid variety.
2. Iberian Lynx - I would be cool with the Eurasian species, but this endangered feline is my choice mainly due to its status and that it represents another unique biome, the Mediterranean.
3. Red Deer - Sort of a "it's just there" pick for me, but people seem to want it. I do like the idea of putting it in a gardens type are of the zoo though.
4. Wolverine - Hah! I cheated the system! This is an animal that I want for North America, not Europe! But it's still found in Europe so I put it here so we can get more NA animals while still not breaking the rules.
5. Fire Salamander (Exhibit) - Honestly, more amphibians would be great. And the Fire Salamander is basically the quintessential salamander without feeling boring somehow. Plus, it looks like a lizard, so it gets double points from me.
Despite the Australia pack existing, we still have a decent amount of animals to cover from Oceania as a whole that could be worthy of a slot:
1. Emu - I like the cassowary, but the Emu is far more common in captivity and I just really want one. I'd like to have a good zoo game with an emu in it. I got my wish with the cassowary, but the emu is still waiting.
2. Tasmanian Devil - The most disappointing exclusion from the Australia Pack in my eyes, people always overlook Tasmania despite it being part of the same country. This endangered and carnivorous marsupial would add to my theme of small carnivores that I have been slowly building up without you people noticing. I shall build an army and it shall be glorious! Wait- where was I again?
3. Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat - This is probably my oddest choice yet, but wombats are cool, so here it is.
4. Matschie's Tree-Kangaroo - I had to shove in a non-Australian species in here somewhere (even if it's at the expense of a wallaby getting included
). Tree-Kangaroos are in a decent number of zoos and most are fairly endangered, plus they're tree-kangaroos. I feel like that's a bit contradictory but hey.5. Frilled-Neck Lizard - I personally wanted this over the blue-tongue but we can have both, right?
South America, despite being one of the most diverse continents species-wise, we're still lacking some really interesting species:
1. Capybara - This one is obvious, everyone has been clamouring for this animal since the South America Pack got first teased. And then we didn't get it. And then the Aquatic Pack was announced, and had more South American animals, and we still didn't get it despite having water be very important to the species. I think it's about time we got this large aquatic rodent.
2. Maned Wolf - We really need some more diversity in the dog shapes in this game.
3. Humboldt Penguin - More of a zoo animal than the King Penguin really.
4. Geoffroy's Spider Monkey - More New World monkeys would be excellent. I personally find spider monkeys more interesting than howlers however (would still like both though).
5. Hercules Beetle - If we were talking about bigger exhibits, the Green Anaconda would easily make the list. But since we're not, the Hercules Beetle will do. I would've preferred this over the Titan Beetle, which is the only animal in the game that cannot be kept in captivity (only adult males have been so far apparently, they're that rare), and honestly? The Hercules is far more interesting in appearance anyways.
I have already proposed some packs in their respective threads (desert, Europe...) so I won't stick to the 4+1 rule here. Instead, I will say some animals that I think that can complete the representation of animals:
- Any fox: the fennec fox is the most likley, buy the Artic or the red one would be cool too.
- Smaller cats: European or Iberian lynx and clouded leopard being the most important for me. Maybe an ocelot too.
- Forest animals: moose, deer, boar, badger, raccoon, wolverine... Bears and wolves aren't enough to represent the forests of the northern hemisphere.
- More goats. We only have one from a cold bioma, but there are many more options to consider, notably the Alpine ibex.
- Any rodent: cpybara, beaver, porcupine, marmot... they are big enough to be in the game.
Alright, here we go. I doubt many of these will be part of PZ, but it's still fun to do it anyway:
North America
2-5 are animals I've seen in the wild and enjoy seeing. 1 is my favorite animal
1. Grey Fox - my favorite animal of all time
2. White-Tailed Deer - I see these all the time and they have one of the largest distribution of any animal in the Americas
3. American Beaver - just plain amazing. And a new semi-aquatic
4. American Alligator - I love these guys
5. Small Exhibit: Five-Lined Skink - I had a tough choice between this and the Axolotl and American Bullfrog. But i chose it because I've seen these in my boots and they are amazing (after I realize it's not a snake)
South America
I have Argentine heritage, so some of these animals are found in north Argentina, where my dad grew up
1. Puma - the largest distribution in the Americas. Highly adaptable. Stronger than a tiger (in relation to size)
2. Capybara - I mean, come on. Who wouldn't want these? Plus, they can live alongside rheas, anteaters, and tapirs
3. Greater Rhea - the Argentinean equivalent to the Ostrich. Not as big, but still fun to observe
4. Argentine Black and White Tegu - a beautiful monitor-like lizard
5. Small Exhibit: Yarará Snake - aka the jaracara snake
Africa
The most well known continent with so many mysteries. Here are the animals I'd choose:
1. Olive Baboon - baboons are crazy. It'd be nice to have another monkey
2. Fennec Fox - usual choice, but they are so fun to watch
3. Nile Crocodile - an apex predarie in the waters of Africa
4. Dromedary Camel - mostly to fill in the strange gap that the Bactrian Camel doesn't fill
5. Small Exhibit: Red Spitting Cobra - probably the inspiration for the Jurassic Park dilophosaurus
Australia
Keeping it realistic, not many animals from Oceania are found outside of Oceania. But, this is made up, so I'd do the following:
1. Yellow-Footed Rock Wallaby - the most colorful kangaroo of all
2. Platypus - probably the most uniqye animal ever, thought to be a hoax at one point
3. Emu - the Australian Ostrich
4. Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat - I like wombats
5. Small Exhibit: Syney Funnel-Web Spider - their webs are so cool
Europe
Many animals from Europe are also in North America. So, some may be similar:
1. Red Fox - highly adaptable, and beautiful red color
2. Spanish Lynx - a critically endangered cat, plus it'd give us the small cat everyone wants
3. Wild Boar - a pig built for fighting. They'd be a very interesting choice
4. Elk - the deer we all need. And, it'd double as a North American animal
5. Small Exhibit: Stag Beetle - a majestic beetle
Asia
Because I love the Jungle Books, the animals here are based off of animals in the books:
1. Sloth Bear - Baloo the bear. Fun fact: he's not as nice in the book as he is in the movies
2. Dhole - ironically, Dholes are much tamer than wolves
3. Indian Leopard - Bagheera. Bagheera is submissive to Mowgli in the books. And he used to be a pet
4. Lion-Tailed Macaque - possibly one of the Bandar-Log (Monkey People). Plus, they're cool looking
5. Small Exhibit: Spectacled Cobra - ever read Rikki-Tikki-Tavi? The 2 cobras were Spectacled Cobras
North America
2-5 are animals I've seen in the wild and enjoy seeing. 1 is my favorite animal
1. Grey Fox - my favorite animal of all time
2. White-Tailed Deer - I see these all the time and they have one of the largest distribution of any animal in the Americas
3. American Beaver - just plain amazing. And a new semi-aquatic
4. American Alligator - I love these guys
5. Small Exhibit: Five-Lined Skink - I had a tough choice between this and the Axolotl and American Bullfrog. But i chose it because I've seen these in my boots and they are amazing (after I realize it's not a snake)
South America
I have Argentine heritage, so some of these animals are found in north Argentina, where my dad grew up
1. Puma - the largest distribution in the Americas. Highly adaptable. Stronger than a tiger (in relation to size)
2. Capybara - I mean, come on. Who wouldn't want these? Plus, they can live alongside rheas, anteaters, and tapirs
3. Greater Rhea - the Argentinean equivalent to the Ostrich. Not as big, but still fun to observe
4. Argentine Black and White Tegu - a beautiful monitor-like lizard
5. Small Exhibit: Yarará Snake - aka the jaracara snake
Africa
The most well known continent with so many mysteries. Here are the animals I'd choose:
1. Olive Baboon - baboons are crazy. It'd be nice to have another monkey
2. Fennec Fox - usual choice, but they are so fun to watch
3. Nile Crocodile - an apex predarie in the waters of Africa
4. Dromedary Camel - mostly to fill in the strange gap that the Bactrian Camel doesn't fill
5. Small Exhibit: Red Spitting Cobra - probably the inspiration for the Jurassic Park dilophosaurus
Australia
Keeping it realistic, not many animals from Oceania are found outside of Oceania. But, this is made up, so I'd do the following:
1. Yellow-Footed Rock Wallaby - the most colorful kangaroo of all
2. Platypus - probably the most uniqye animal ever, thought to be a hoax at one point
3. Emu - the Australian Ostrich
4. Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat - I like wombats
5. Small Exhibit: Syney Funnel-Web Spider - their webs are so cool
Europe
Many animals from Europe are also in North America. So, some may be similar:
1. Red Fox - highly adaptable, and beautiful red color
2. Spanish Lynx - a critically endangered cat, plus it'd give us the small cat everyone wants
3. Wild Boar - a pig built for fighting. They'd be a very interesting choice
4. Elk - the deer we all need. And, it'd double as a North American animal
5. Small Exhibit: Stag Beetle - a majestic beetle
Asia
Because I love the Jungle Books, the animals here are based off of animals in the books:
1. Sloth Bear - Baloo the bear. Fun fact: he's not as nice in the book as he is in the movies
2. Dhole - ironically, Dholes are much tamer than wolves
3. Indian Leopard - Bagheera. Bagheera is submissive to Mowgli in the books. And he used to be a pet
4. Lion-Tailed Macaque - possibly one of the Bandar-Log (Monkey People). Plus, they're cool looking
5. Small Exhibit: Spectacled Cobra - ever read Rikki-Tikki-Tavi? The 2 cobras were Spectacled Cobras
From a taxonomical perspective the groups that I consider underrepresented (in bold those which currently do not have any species in the game):
If the game implements aviaries then birds of prey and parrots are a must.
Continents and regions that still lack representatives:
Specific animals that would help the game feel more complete:
- Small cats (cougar, clouded leopard, etc.)
- Foxes and medium canids
- Viverrids and mongooses
- Pinnipeds
- Baboons
- New World monkeys
- Marsupials
- Caprines
- Rodents
- Fowl
- Wading birds
- Constrictor snakes (boas and pythons)
- Turtles
If the game implements aviaries then birds of prey and parrots are a must.
Continents and regions that still lack representatives:
- Australia
- Southeast Asia
- South America, particularly the Patagonian region
- North America
- Europe
- Middle East
Specific animals that would help the game feel more complete:
- Black or white rhino
- Meerkat
- Cougar
- Lynx
- American alligator
- Gibbon
- Humboldt penguin
Interesting choices guys
Going to go with biomes to mix this up a bit from what I normally do (continents and regions of the world). I'm going to forgo the exhibit choices, but stick to just picking 4 habitat animals.
Forests - we have a lot of "jungle" type animals but not quite so many forest or woodlands animals. Of course we have some but it seems that comparatively they're underrepresented. I could probably do a second pack of runners of with this easily, but I don't want to get too repetitive.
Moose (the animal named moose in NA, Elk in Europe)- This would give us a big hoofed animal that's fairly iconic for much of North American forests. We don't have much representation in the Cervidae (deer) family so this would be welcome addition
Common Wombat - I will continue to push this one since it's one I really wanted for Australia. It's fairly common in Australia forests. Would also give us a smaller but bulky squatty animal, of which we don't have a lot of (the aardvark maybe?). I know it's a marsupial but it almost looks like it should be a rodent. More on rodents later...
European Badger - well known and would give us a low to the ground mustelid build
Eurasian Lynx - we are definitely needing a "small cat" rig and I chose this animal for that, I had a hard time choosing this or Clouded Leopard that would give us a medium type cat build, but in the end, I thought it more important to diversity to get the small cat build represented.
Deserts - though they updated same animals to include a desert biome tag, it's still not well represented in the game.
Meerkats - though mainly more savanna and grassland oriented they do also live in deserts. This is an obviously iconic zoo animal that is definitely missing in the game (while there's a lot of animals I'd like to see there's really only a handful I would consider "missing" as in, they should be in there already.). We don't have a lot of small animals for habitats, and this would be different build and ecological niche different than red pandas and pangolins.
Coyote - A welcome non-wolf candid, that is fairly representative of a carnivore species in North America.
Fennec Fox - we have no foxes in the game and while there's a lot of species, there's only a handful that would likely be considered. Along with the red and arctic, Fennec Fox is definitely highly requested and would at least give that group of animals a representative.
Dromedary - This one seemed so obvious I almost left it out, but on trying to find a better animal representing the desert biome, I couldn't justify not including it.
Highlands/Mountains - Again not overly represented though course we do have some animals already that would work for this.
Alpine Ibex -another much needed non-African hoofed animal, and one that is best suited to the mountainous regions. It's also much requested.
Cougar - while we do have a lot of felines already this would fit a different biome and region of the world than most of what we have now. It's also highly requested.
Rocky Mountain Goat - It would give a second hoofed animal in this pack, but look at the name! how I can not include this in a mountains oriented pack.
Bald Eagle - I realize this pack is fairly North American represented, but it's instantly recognizable as "America's" bird to people around the world. If they do ever include, there's only a 2-3 birds I would think would be absolutely required and this is one of them.
Coastal/Riverlands - I know we just got our first pack of semi or aquatic animals, but there definitely should be more. Rather than a specific biome, per se, this is just more a pack for animals that have much aquatic activity yet are also fairly landfaring.
Cabybara - We don't have a single rodent in the game as yet. And when the South American pack came out, I was really surprised they did not make the cut. In fact, I think it's one of the few missteps they've had with the animal picks for the pack. I think it's an obvious choice here.
American Beaver - another highly requested rodent that also fills a unique ecological niche. This and the capybara would give us some rodent representation and would both be large enough rodents to make sense as habitat animals.
Asian Small Clawed Otter - Nothing wrong with adding in a second and smaller otter, especially one that is from a completely different area of the world than the Giant Otter.
California Sea Lion - Highly requested and iconic coastal animal. They're going to want to use that unique seal rig for something else, even if they are going to have mod it a bit, and a Sea Lion species is a no brainer
Birds of the World - I realize I included the Bald Eagle already, but it felt right for a North American Pack. What I'm going to do here is try to look at the other continents and make choices, and again, I could probably easily do two packs of this.
Toco Toucan - The toucan is another bird that I feel, if they ever include birds, is a must have inclusion. Probably South America's most iconic bird, it's an obvious pick for this pack.
Marabou Stork - A solid wading bird choice that also represents Africa. I know there's more requests for the Secretary Bird but I would prefer this one.
Rhinoceros Hornbill - This would give us a bird from Asia.
Cape/African Penguin - if we're getting a second use of the otter and seal rigs, we should for the Penguins as well. I realize this is an odd choice but it's the Penguin I would go with personally. I know also I should probably include a habitat bird from Australia (Emu most likely based on requests), or another tropical bird from South America, but this is what I'm going with.
Kiwi - I am going to include an exhibit animal here, and this would definitely need to be an exhibit animal. It also gives us an Australian bird for the pack.
Grasslands/Plains - while it's already extremely well represented, especially in Africa, this would fill in a few needed animals
Southern White Rhino - gives us a Rhino for our African region.
African Leopard - while the Amur is more requested this would fit in with the theme.
Big Horn Sheep - another fairly iconic North American animal, of the plains.
Emu - popular bird of the grasslands and plains of Australia.
Gosh, that's 26 animals right there and I could easily do another 5-6 packs though it would get repetitive of themes. Given we're going to likely get another 3 at least I'm sure, and likely at most 9 more if they take us through 2023 (which I think they won't go past 2022, but I still hope), it's sad how many animals are going to not get included.
Forests - we have a lot of "jungle" type animals but not quite so many forest or woodlands animals. Of course we have some but it seems that comparatively they're underrepresented. I could probably do a second pack of runners of with this easily, but I don't want to get too repetitive.
Moose (the animal named moose in NA, Elk in Europe)- This would give us a big hoofed animal that's fairly iconic for much of North American forests. We don't have much representation in the Cervidae (deer) family so this would be welcome addition
Common Wombat - I will continue to push this one since it's one I really wanted for Australia. It's fairly common in Australia forests. Would also give us a smaller but bulky squatty animal, of which we don't have a lot of (the aardvark maybe?). I know it's a marsupial but it almost looks like it should be a rodent. More on rodents later...
European Badger - well known and would give us a low to the ground mustelid build
Eurasian Lynx - we are definitely needing a "small cat" rig and I chose this animal for that, I had a hard time choosing this or Clouded Leopard that would give us a medium type cat build, but in the end, I thought it more important to diversity to get the small cat build represented.
Deserts - though they updated same animals to include a desert biome tag, it's still not well represented in the game.
Meerkats - though mainly more savanna and grassland oriented they do also live in deserts. This is an obviously iconic zoo animal that is definitely missing in the game (while there's a lot of animals I'd like to see there's really only a handful I would consider "missing" as in, they should be in there already.). We don't have a lot of small animals for habitats, and this would be different build and ecological niche different than red pandas and pangolins.
Coyote - A welcome non-wolf candid, that is fairly representative of a carnivore species in North America.
Fennec Fox - we have no foxes in the game and while there's a lot of species, there's only a handful that would likely be considered. Along with the red and arctic, Fennec Fox is definitely highly requested and would at least give that group of animals a representative.
Dromedary - This one seemed so obvious I almost left it out, but on trying to find a better animal representing the desert biome, I couldn't justify not including it.
Highlands/Mountains - Again not overly represented though course we do have some animals already that would work for this.
Alpine Ibex -another much needed non-African hoofed animal, and one that is best suited to the mountainous regions. It's also much requested.
Cougar - while we do have a lot of felines already this would fit a different biome and region of the world than most of what we have now. It's also highly requested.
Rocky Mountain Goat - It would give a second hoofed animal in this pack, but look at the name! how I can not include this in a mountains oriented pack.
Bald Eagle - I realize this pack is fairly North American represented, but it's instantly recognizable as "America's" bird to people around the world. If they do ever include, there's only a 2-3 birds I would think would be absolutely required and this is one of them.
Coastal/Riverlands - I know we just got our first pack of semi or aquatic animals, but there definitely should be more. Rather than a specific biome, per se, this is just more a pack for animals that have much aquatic activity yet are also fairly landfaring.
Cabybara - We don't have a single rodent in the game as yet. And when the South American pack came out, I was really surprised they did not make the cut. In fact, I think it's one of the few missteps they've had with the animal picks for the pack. I think it's an obvious choice here.
American Beaver - another highly requested rodent that also fills a unique ecological niche. This and the capybara would give us some rodent representation and would both be large enough rodents to make sense as habitat animals.
Asian Small Clawed Otter - Nothing wrong with adding in a second and smaller otter, especially one that is from a completely different area of the world than the Giant Otter.
California Sea Lion - Highly requested and iconic coastal animal. They're going to want to use that unique seal rig for something else, even if they are going to have mod it a bit, and a Sea Lion species is a no brainer
Birds of the World - I realize I included the Bald Eagle already, but it felt right for a North American Pack. What I'm going to do here is try to look at the other continents and make choices, and again, I could probably easily do two packs of this.
Toco Toucan - The toucan is another bird that I feel, if they ever include birds, is a must have inclusion. Probably South America's most iconic bird, it's an obvious pick for this pack.
Marabou Stork - A solid wading bird choice that also represents Africa. I know there's more requests for the Secretary Bird but I would prefer this one.
Rhinoceros Hornbill - This would give us a bird from Asia.
Cape/African Penguin - if we're getting a second use of the otter and seal rigs, we should for the Penguins as well. I realize this is an odd choice but it's the Penguin I would go with personally. I know also I should probably include a habitat bird from Australia (Emu most likely based on requests), or another tropical bird from South America, but this is what I'm going with.
Kiwi - I am going to include an exhibit animal here, and this would definitely need to be an exhibit animal. It also gives us an Australian bird for the pack.
Grasslands/Plains - while it's already extremely well represented, especially in Africa, this would fill in a few needed animals
Southern White Rhino - gives us a Rhino for our African region.
African Leopard - while the Amur is more requested this would fit in with the theme.
Big Horn Sheep - another fairly iconic North American animal, of the plains.
Emu - popular bird of the grasslands and plains of Australia.
Gosh, that's 26 animals right there and I could easily do another 5-6 packs though it would get repetitive of themes. Given we're going to likely get another 3 at least I'm sure, and likely at most 9 more if they take us through 2023 (which I think they won't go past 2022, but I still hope), it's sad how many animals are going to not get included.
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The first on the list is my favorite. It's a difficult choice but I choose these animals for
Europe
1. Badger
2. Red deer
3. Red fox
4. Wild boar
5. Asp viper
Africa
1. Fossa
2. Nile crocodile
3. Caracal
4. Cobe of Lechwe
5. Black mamba
Australia 2
1. Bennet Wallaby
2. Tasmanian devil
3. Emu
4. Dendrolague
5. Green python
North America
1. Wolverine
2. Puma
3. Raccoon
4. Moose
5. Coral snake
South America2
1. Maned wolf
2. Ocelot
3. Coati
4. Mara
5. Amazonian Boa
Asia
1. Saro from Japan
2. Takin
3. Markhor
4. Gibbon
5. Reticulated python
Europe
1. Badger
2. Red deer
3. Red fox
4. Wild boar
5. Asp viper
Africa
1. Fossa
2. Nile crocodile
3. Caracal
4. Cobe of Lechwe
5. Black mamba
Australia 2
1. Bennet Wallaby
2. Tasmanian devil
3. Emu
4. Dendrolague
5. Green python
North America
1. Wolverine
2. Puma
3. Raccoon
4. Moose
5. Coral snake
South America2
1. Maned wolf
2. Ocelot
3. Coati
4. Mara
5. Amazonian Boa
Asia
1. Saro from Japan
2. Takin
3. Markhor
4. Gibbon
5. Reticulated python
You know, we keep forgetting Antarctica. Yes, most are penguin, cetaceans, or seals. So, here is what I'd do:
1. Emperor Penguin - a classic. ZT nostalgia and a relative of the King, just a great deal larger
2. Leopard Seal - enemies of the penguin. Obviously it'd use the seal rig
3. Elephant Seal - a huge animal with a strange nose
4. Gentoo Penguin - they make nests out of rocks. Maybe Frontier could add rock enrichment?
5. SMALL EXHIBIT: Giant Isopod - suggested by RedPandaReggie
1. Emperor Penguin - a classic. ZT nostalgia and a relative of the King, just a great deal larger
2. Leopard Seal - enemies of the penguin. Obviously it'd use the seal rig
3. Elephant Seal - a huge animal with a strange nose
4. Gentoo Penguin - they make nests out of rocks. Maybe Frontier could add rock enrichment?
5. SMALL EXHIBIT: Giant Isopod - suggested by RedPandaReggie
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An Antarctic Exhibit animal can be the Giant Isopod