Black Jaguar melanistic colour variant.

[Danny_zoo]

I'm surprised that one subject that has not been covered yet as far I know is the inclusion of the Black Jaguar variation within the DLC. There are currently other animal color variations within the game, but those are extremely rare in real life, and hardly ever found in zoos. The albino animals as an example, are not in my opinion very pleasant to look at, however they are found in the game. The melanistic Jaguar unlike those previously mention is not only extremely popular and present in zoos worldwide, but it is absolutely stunning. Now I have tried understanding the many reasons given by some forum members as to why there can not be additional animals in the DLC, but given the fact that having a black Jaguar would only be a recoloring, it seems only logical. So the question is, has there been any mention of a Black Jaguar melanistic colour variant? Below you will find just a very small selection of gorgeous black Jaguars found either presently or in the past within a range of zoos the world over.


CHESTER ZOO. UNITED KINGDOM

ARTIS ZOO. NETHERLANDS

LEGENDS PARK. PERU

ZOO ANTWERPEN. BELGIUM

SAN DIEGO ZOO. U.S

REID PARK ZOO. U.S

JACKSONVILLE ZOO. U.S

PHILADELPHIA ZOO. U.S

EDINBURGH ZOO. UNITED KINGDOM

 

[Moonfox]

Beautiful photos!! I'm feeling pretty confident that this will be the first melanistic variant we get in the game, hopefully built into the pack, but otherwise once colour variations are added in a patch.

 

[Maarten494]

I think it will be

 

[LN]

We will find out soon enough.

 

[paul78]

Don’t expect it in this pack. In the next couple updates they will probably slowly start implementing variants to at least some animals. Bo mentioned this today on Twitter when someone expressed their disappointment in the llamas all being white.

 

[Danny_zoo]

Paul 78 thank you for the update, while disappointing, at least it is good to know that they will be working on it. I completely understand the lack of variants in many several animals, as an example albino lions and even hippos as I have seen in some of the screenshots posted here are not common at all, some i can fairly say i have never seen in zoos, and i have visited 472 zoos, wildlife parks and conservation centers. The melanistic Jaguar however it is not only very common in zoos, but many exhibits featuring Jaguars display them as the sole ambassadors for the species. Any time frame on when that update is supposed to be provided, I have noticed that Frontier is extremely efficient when providing updates for the game, so hopefully not too long.

 

[paul78]

Yeah it’s tough to wait since we all want variations in animals. Like you said tho at least it’s another thing to look forward to in the future. Only question is will they do all animals? I’m sure they’ll probably spread them out over time but I could be wrong.

 

[NZFanatic]

Yeah it’s tough to wait since we all want variations in animals. Like you said tho at least it’s another thing to look forward to in the future. Only question is will they do all animals? I’m sure they’ll probably spread them out over time but I could be wrong.

I get the feeling they will do the most popularly-demanded ones first. This seems to be the wolves and lions. Hopefully the jaguar will have a melanistic variant, though, and if it does, I hope it's more common than the albinos. Albino animals are rare in reality, unless selectively bred that way (which in the context of zookeeping is really, really dumb), but melanistic jaguars and leopards occur in the wild with fairly high frequency.

 

[paul78]

Yeah a white variant wouldn’t do the jaguar or leopard if we got one someday justice.

 

[Moonfox]

Don’t expect it in this pack. In the next couple updates they will probably slowly start implementing variants to at least some animals. Bo mentioned this today on Twitter when someone expressed their disappointment in the llamas all being white.

Oh I looked up that post and I’m so excited that they seem to be taking the colour variations pretty seriously. I hope the update isn’t too far away!

 

[Danny_zoo]

Yeah a white variant wouldn’t do the jaguar or leopard if we got one someday justice.

If there are white variants for the Jaguars they might as well add in blue ones, since this has zero relation to Jaguars in general, much less anything to do with zoos. I truly hope that will not be the case. It is my understanding by reading some of the threads in this forum that there is a large percentage of the players who are children, and I can only imagine them visiting their local zoo looking for white Jaguars. Only two days now.

 

[Wistala]

I welcome any colour variation within all of the animals, but since they only seem to have Albinos I think that's what we are going to get. If they start adding in colour variation in the animals, then we might get it.

 

[Mkau]

If there are white variants for the Jaguars they might as well add in blue ones, since this has zero relation to Jaguars in general, much less anything to do with zoos.

While the blue or maltese colour mutation of any big feline is considered a myth and thus fictional,the white jaguar is not.White jaguars are not albinos though,but leucistic and have been documented in the wild as well as in zoos.One of the zoos that had leucistic jaguar cubs was the Amsterdam Zoo.

 

[craftymutt]

I am not so sure they will just make an albino because other animals are albino, seeing as a melanistic jaguar is much more common and people are aware of it. I would think it is fairly likely for them to use the "albino" mechanic, which is basically a single rare coat variation based on genetics, to include a melanistic jaguar, rather than default to albino simply because other animals have albino coats. This would make sense since they included a spotless cheetah rather than albino, it's not purely used for albino variations of animals even now, but as an interesting coat variation.

 

[paul78]

I stand corrected. Today they showed off the jaguar to anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. They also hinted at melanistic jaguars but didn’t show one so I guess it will be a surprise if they are in game. If not I’m sure they’ll add them.

 

[Swjosdotschka]

I stand corrected. Today they showed off the jaguar to anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. They also hinted at melanistic jaguars but didn’t show one so I guess it will be a surprise if they are in game. If not I’m sure they’ll add them.

Since they already hinted them. I'm quite sure they are in already. Hope they aren't as hard to breed (in sandbox) as white tigers and white lions Franchise is flooded, but in Sandbox or any single player mode the odds are quite small.

 

[Danny_zoo]

While the blue or maltese colour mutation of any big feline is considered a myth and thus fictional,the white jaguar is not.White jaguars are not albinos though,but leucistic and have been documented in the wild as well as in zoos.One of the zoos that had leucistic jaguar cubs was the Amsterdam Zoo.

That was actually meant as a figure of speech, obviously lost in translation when put in writing. The point here that Black Jaguars are extremely popular and fairly common within zoo exhibits the world over, an albino is definitely not. From someone that has work with and alongside zoos for decades I can tell you, that most world class zoos would not display a white Jaguar within their exhibits, even if available, because it is not indicative or representative of what a Jaguar found in their natural environment would look like. Now that is not to say that there would not be zoos that if given the option, would not go ahead and display them, mostly as a publicity and marketing stunt. Normally you would see this behavior from your roadside zoo prototypes and private collections, but every now and then a prominent zoo would follow suit. Anyone remember Snowflake (Copito de Nieve), the albino Gorilla at the Barcelona Zoo? That is what i think of when i keep on seeing these fairly common Frontier albinos, not a big fan of it I must admit. The melanistic Black Jaguars are a different story, would love for them to be featured in the game.

 

[Danny_zoo]

I stand corrected. Today they showed off the jaguar to anyone who hasn’t seen it yet. They also hinted at melanistic jaguars but didn’t show one so I guess it will be a surprise if they are in game. If not I’m sure they’ll add them.

Not sure if anyone else feels like this, I might just be too picky, but when the initial picture of the game's Jaguar came out, It looked beyond amazing, and the best part, so lifelike that it looked like the real thing. Watching the promo clip, I did not get that impression, it might just be the shots they picked, but it looked too much like a cartoon. Out of all the big cats, Jaguars have this intimidating presence about them, their facial expressions are usually emotionless. They command respect and fear thru many of their native territories, Jaguars are proud and majestic. When I saw the video promo today, my first thought was, cute kitties, the complete opposite of when i saw the picture.

 

[Moonfox]

Re: cartoony: I think the cub is as cute as possible, the female has a softer looking face, but the male looks fierce to me. It’s not letting me add the picture, but at 0.02 seconds in the teaser video.

 

[Danny_zoo]

Re: cartoony: I think the cub is as cute as possible, the female has a softer looking face, but the male looks fierce to me. It’s not letting me add the picture, but at 0.02 seconds in the teaser video.

It could be the angles captured in the teaser, it is not long, so I'm fully confident that the playful look has been somewhat enhanced in the video. In any case, it is an excellent addition and I'm looking ahead to Tuesday.