Even though the game has probably ended now, I figured I would still put some animal ideas here:
Prevost’s squirrel
Callosciurus prevostii
Continents: Asia
Countries: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand
The purple area is a non-native introduced population on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi
Biomes: Tropical
Prevost’s squirrels live primarily in tropical rainforest, including dense primary forest, regrowing secondary forest and plantations of coconut and oil palm.
Red List status: Least Concern, with a declining population
Captive presence: According to Zootierliste, there are no fewer than 124 zoos around the world currently keeping this species – these include 88 locations in Europe and Russia, 25 zoos in North America, 9 zoos in Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Israel) and 1 zoo each in South Africa and Argentina. They are probably among the most commonly-kept of all tree squirrels in captivity.
Reasoning: As well as their commonness in captivity and their obvious beauty, there are other things that make Prevost’s squirrels, I think, the most suitable species of tree squirrel to add to Planet Zoo (or a sequel).
These squirrels are surprisingly versatile when it comes to how they are exhibited – while the standard does seem to be a standard mesh or wire cage, they can be kept free-roaming in large tropical halls and also in large open-topped outdoor enclosures with access to live trees.
Prevost’s squirrels are very friendly animals that are amenable to living in mixed-species enclosures. Of the animals in Planet Zoo, they have successfully been mixed with Asian small-clawed otters and binturongs – indeed, there have been enclosures where all three species live together. They can also be mixed with all sorts of birds, tortoises and other small mammals. Their placidity would also make them an ideal animal to allow visitors to enter their enclosure.
Although they are less social than ground squirrels, the Prevost’s squirrel can and does live in small groups both in the wild and in captivity, so they would not feel lost in an enclosure. They are certainly big enough to be a habitat species, as they are similar in size to the meerkat. They are also fairly long-lived for such small mammals – on average, they live fifteen years but can reach a maximum age of twenty-one.
Variations (if any): This species has one of the most impressive ranges of coat pattern of any squirrel – as well as the famous red, white and black form, where the amount of each colour can differ in some populations, there are easily over a dozen other colour forms, incorporating brown, orange and grey colours alongside or replacing the standard tricolour. This picture shows just a few of the colour morphs that appear in northern Borneo alone:
Any number of morphs would be very welcome indeed, but I do think the standard red, white and black form should predominate, as that is the most common form in captivity.
References:
A large open-topped outdoor exhibit for Prevost’s squirrel and binturong in France:
A smaller all-indoor exhibit for Prevost’s squirrel and elongated tortoise in the Netherlands:
The Asia Dome at Randers Zoo in Denmark, which has Prevost’s squirrels among its free-roaming species (the second picture being an ID board for all free-roaming animals in the Asia Dome):
An indoor mixed-species enclosure for Prevost’s squirrel, binturong and Asian small-clawed otter in the USA:
An indoor mixed-species enclosure for Prevost’s squirrel, chevrotain and Victoria crowned pigeon in Singapore:
Prevost’s squirrel
Callosciurus prevostii
Continents: Asia
Countries: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand
The purple area is a non-native introduced population on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi
Biomes: Tropical
Prevost’s squirrels live primarily in tropical rainforest, including dense primary forest, regrowing secondary forest and plantations of coconut and oil palm.
Red List status: Least Concern, with a declining population
Captive presence: According to Zootierliste, there are no fewer than 124 zoos around the world currently keeping this species – these include 88 locations in Europe and Russia, 25 zoos in North America, 9 zoos in Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Israel) and 1 zoo each in South Africa and Argentina. They are probably among the most commonly-kept of all tree squirrels in captivity.
Reasoning: As well as their commonness in captivity and their obvious beauty, there are other things that make Prevost’s squirrels, I think, the most suitable species of tree squirrel to add to Planet Zoo (or a sequel).
These squirrels are surprisingly versatile when it comes to how they are exhibited – while the standard does seem to be a standard mesh or wire cage, they can be kept free-roaming in large tropical halls and also in large open-topped outdoor enclosures with access to live trees.
Prevost’s squirrels are very friendly animals that are amenable to living in mixed-species enclosures. Of the animals in Planet Zoo, they have successfully been mixed with Asian small-clawed otters and binturongs – indeed, there have been enclosures where all three species live together. They can also be mixed with all sorts of birds, tortoises and other small mammals. Their placidity would also make them an ideal animal to allow visitors to enter their enclosure.
Although they are less social than ground squirrels, the Prevost’s squirrel can and does live in small groups both in the wild and in captivity, so they would not feel lost in an enclosure. They are certainly big enough to be a habitat species, as they are similar in size to the meerkat. They are also fairly long-lived for such small mammals – on average, they live fifteen years but can reach a maximum age of twenty-one.
Variations (if any): This species has one of the most impressive ranges of coat pattern of any squirrel – as well as the famous red, white and black form, where the amount of each colour can differ in some populations, there are easily over a dozen other colour forms, incorporating brown, orange and grey colours alongside or replacing the standard tricolour. This picture shows just a few of the colour morphs that appear in northern Borneo alone:
Any number of morphs would be very welcome indeed, but I do think the standard red, white and black form should predominate, as that is the most common form in captivity.
References:
A large open-topped outdoor exhibit for Prevost’s squirrel and binturong in France:
A smaller all-indoor exhibit for Prevost’s squirrel and elongated tortoise in the Netherlands:
The Asia Dome at Randers Zoo in Denmark, which has Prevost’s squirrels among its free-roaming species (the second picture being an ID board for all free-roaming animals in the Asia Dome):
An indoor mixed-species enclosure for Prevost’s squirrel, binturong and Asian small-clawed otter in the USA:
An indoor mixed-species enclosure for Prevost’s squirrel, chevrotain and Victoria crowned pigeon in Singapore:
