A lot of people on here have talked about what animals they would include in a European pack if it were to happen. Much of the discussion has been had about the major habitat animals; some are highly requested in the 30 essential animals meta-wishlist (the Eurasian lynx and alpine ibex are both in the top 12 most-requested species). What is less apparent is what exhibit animal should be used – in the 30 essential exhibit animal meta-wishlist only 14 of the 250 species are from Europe. This thread aims to find which species are most workable in Planet Zoo currently.
A major consideration is the biome. There is no tropical rainforest in Europe and a European pack would feel a bit odd if the sole exhibit species was in a rainforest display. While there are no true deserts in Europe, there are semi-arid areas particularly in the Mediterranean region as well as sandy heathlands further north. This exhibit will be considered further. There is also the recently released estuarine aquarium, currently only housing the diamondback terrapin. There are several potential species of brackish water that will also be considered here. For each exhibit biome, four species will be considered.
Arid biome
The leopard snake (Zamenis situla) is one of the most boldly-coloured of Europe’s reptiles and occurs mainly in the Balkans with isolated populations in Turkey and southern Italy; this nonvenomous snake is currently considered Least Concern. The ocellated lizard (Timon lepidus) closely rivals the leopard snake as a boldly patterned European reptiles – they are the largest European lizard and occur almost entirely on the Iberian Peninsula. These lizards are currently listed as Near Threatened in the wild. The natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita) is one of the more dry-adapted of Europe’s amphibians; they live in Western Europe and occupy semi-deserts, heaths and coastal dunes. For this species to be included, a small water pool would need to be added as an enrichment item to the arid exhibit. The Crau Plain grasshopper (Prionotropis rhodanica) is the rarest of these four species, being listed as Critically Endangered. They are a large grasshopper that grows to 4.5cm long and only lives on the Crau Plain of France. There is currently a fledgling captive breeding project being run by Thoiry Zoo and Bristol Zoo. Unlike many grasshoppers, this species is ideal because it is wingless and sedentary – one wild individual was recorded moving only 24m over an 11 day period.
Estuarine biome
The dice snake (Natrix tessellata) is a nonvenomous water snake that ranges across the Mediterranean from Italy eastwards; they also occur in Asia and Egypt. While they mainly inhabit freshwater habitats, this snake has rudimentary salt glands and hunts in marine habitat around the Mediterranean coast. The other options are all fish – the greater weever (Trachinus draco) has a formidable reputation because of its painful venomous sting. These fish are almost sedentary during daylight, either laying on the surface of the seabed or partially buried and very rarely move unless to catch food – this is ideal for an exhibit animal that does not move. The long snouted seahorse (Hippocampus guttulatus) is listed as Data Deficient and occurs along the coasts of the Mediterranean and Western Europe as far north as Scotland. Like all seahorses, these are not strong swimmers and tend to anchor themselves to aquatic vegetation – a seagrass enrichment item would allow them to display this behaviour. The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is listed as Critically Endangered but has not been successfully reared in captivity. Despite this, the eel remains a popular exhibit in aquaria that can represent either fresh or saltwater habitats, as they move between both habitats during their breeding cycle.
New biome – Temperate
The other consideration of course is if a new exhibit biome is added in the Europe pack. Among the most pressing requirements for an exhibit biome is a temperate woodland-type display, which could be used not only for European species but also those from large parts of North America, eastern Australia, the wider parts of Eurasia and southwest South America. The European common adder (Vipera berus) is mostly from the more northern parts of Europe and is the most northerly species of snake. This venomous snake is listed as Least Concern but is declining in places. By far the most-requested exhibit animal from Europe is the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) and this new exhibit would be necessary. These amphibians are currently of Least Concern but this may soon change, as a new disease is rapidly wiping out wild populations; zoos are running breeding programmes for these salamander. The Olimpia’s ground beetle (Carabus olympiae) is a large beetle (up to 4cm) that occurs only in Italy. They are listed as Vulnerable and have been the subject of captive-breeding programmes. The Eurasian giant mantis (Hierodula tenuidentata) is an odd case – it ranges from as far East as Sumatra and has only recently arrived in Europe, with insects crossing from Western Asia to Greece in 2015. Since then they have spread through Greece to Bulgaria and Albania.
I believe this shows just how diverse Europe is for potential exhibit animals – I believe any of the above twelve species would work very well in the game.
A major consideration is the biome. There is no tropical rainforest in Europe and a European pack would feel a bit odd if the sole exhibit species was in a rainforest display. While there are no true deserts in Europe, there are semi-arid areas particularly in the Mediterranean region as well as sandy heathlands further north. This exhibit will be considered further. There is also the recently released estuarine aquarium, currently only housing the diamondback terrapin. There are several potential species of brackish water that will also be considered here. For each exhibit biome, four species will be considered.
Arid biome
The leopard snake (Zamenis situla) is one of the most boldly-coloured of Europe’s reptiles and occurs mainly in the Balkans with isolated populations in Turkey and southern Italy; this nonvenomous snake is currently considered Least Concern. The ocellated lizard (Timon lepidus) closely rivals the leopard snake as a boldly patterned European reptiles – they are the largest European lizard and occur almost entirely on the Iberian Peninsula. These lizards are currently listed as Near Threatened in the wild. The natterjack toad (Epidalea calamita) is one of the more dry-adapted of Europe’s amphibians; they live in Western Europe and occupy semi-deserts, heaths and coastal dunes. For this species to be included, a small water pool would need to be added as an enrichment item to the arid exhibit. The Crau Plain grasshopper (Prionotropis rhodanica) is the rarest of these four species, being listed as Critically Endangered. They are a large grasshopper that grows to 4.5cm long and only lives on the Crau Plain of France. There is currently a fledgling captive breeding project being run by Thoiry Zoo and Bristol Zoo. Unlike many grasshoppers, this species is ideal because it is wingless and sedentary – one wild individual was recorded moving only 24m over an 11 day period.
Estuarine biome
The dice snake (Natrix tessellata) is a nonvenomous water snake that ranges across the Mediterranean from Italy eastwards; they also occur in Asia and Egypt. While they mainly inhabit freshwater habitats, this snake has rudimentary salt glands and hunts in marine habitat around the Mediterranean coast. The other options are all fish – the greater weever (Trachinus draco) has a formidable reputation because of its painful venomous sting. These fish are almost sedentary during daylight, either laying on the surface of the seabed or partially buried and very rarely move unless to catch food – this is ideal for an exhibit animal that does not move. The long snouted seahorse (Hippocampus guttulatus) is listed as Data Deficient and occurs along the coasts of the Mediterranean and Western Europe as far north as Scotland. Like all seahorses, these are not strong swimmers and tend to anchor themselves to aquatic vegetation – a seagrass enrichment item would allow them to display this behaviour. The European eel (Anguilla anguilla) is listed as Critically Endangered but has not been successfully reared in captivity. Despite this, the eel remains a popular exhibit in aquaria that can represent either fresh or saltwater habitats, as they move between both habitats during their breeding cycle.
New biome – Temperate
The other consideration of course is if a new exhibit biome is added in the Europe pack. Among the most pressing requirements for an exhibit biome is a temperate woodland-type display, which could be used not only for European species but also those from large parts of North America, eastern Australia, the wider parts of Eurasia and southwest South America. The European common adder (Vipera berus) is mostly from the more northern parts of Europe and is the most northerly species of snake. This venomous snake is listed as Least Concern but is declining in places. By far the most-requested exhibit animal from Europe is the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra) and this new exhibit would be necessary. These amphibians are currently of Least Concern but this may soon change, as a new disease is rapidly wiping out wild populations; zoos are running breeding programmes for these salamander. The Olimpia’s ground beetle (Carabus olympiae) is a large beetle (up to 4cm) that occurs only in Italy. They are listed as Vulnerable and have been the subject of captive-breeding programmes. The Eurasian giant mantis (Hierodula tenuidentata) is an odd case – it ranges from as far East as Sumatra and has only recently arrived in Europe, with insects crossing from Western Asia to Greece in 2015. Since then they have spread through Greece to Bulgaria and Albania.
I believe this shows just how diverse Europe is for potential exhibit animals – I believe any of the above twelve species would work very well in the game.
