Hey all, I thought it might be fun to do a deep dive on some of the communities most requested animals. I find myself not knowing about plenty of animals that you all love, and I like learning about them. I thought it might be nice to share what I find out about each animal. I am adding a section where I speculate what kind of packs these animals could fit into too. I will share every few days. Please feel free to add feedback!
List of animals here so you can click directly to skip the chatter if you like:
I'm going to start with the most wanted animal from the 2023 Meta Wishlist:
The Wolverine (2023 Wishlist #1)
The wolverine is the largest terrestrial Mustelidae species, cousin to the giant otter and the badger. It is a strong and muscular Carnivore, with incredible strength for its size.
Scientifically know as Gulo gulo, there are two sub species - the American wolverine Gulo gulo luscus, and the Eurasian Wolverine Gulo gulo gulo. (Let's not talk about Logan aka James Howlett.)
Its current Conservation Status is Least Concern Globally, but it is listed as Vulnerable in Europe due to trapping, human activity, and habitat fragmentation. There is a push to see the Wolverine listed as endangered due population and range reduction.
Habitat wise the Wolverine is found in Boreal Forests, Subartic, and Alpine Tundra. The Geographical spread is Canada, Northern USA (Alaska), Northern Europe, Russia, Siberia, the Baltic countries, Northeast China, and Mongolia.
These guys are known for eating alot, and with gusto - they are called a variation of "glutton" across multiple cultures and languages
They are long mammals that are also low to the ground, with heavy muscling, strong limbs, a broad and round head, and round little ears. They have thick jaws and a dense hide . Paws are large and they have five toes with strong claws for climbing. They are roughly the size of a medium dog, ranging 65-113cmin body length, 36-45cm tall, and with a tail length of 17-26cm. Weights range from 8-18.1kg (that's heavier than my husky!) with males typically larger and heavier.
Their fur is hydrophobic due to being oily, and thick. Their dark coat is resistant to frost and this has driven popularity in hunting for pelts. They have a silvery mask on their face and a pale buff stripe running up from their bellies over their flank and rump, ending on the beginning of the tail.
Wolverines are scavenger animals that mostly eat carrion, which they find for themselves. However they will also steal food from other predators or feed on the leftovers from other predators. They are capable hunters, and do eat live prey. While they tend to prefer hunting small to medium mammals they have been known to take down adult deer including moose and elk. Wolverinea try to go for easier options like animals that are vulnerable from injury, trapped, or otherwise immobilised. Supplementary foods include berries, eggs, insects, roots, and seeds. Eurasian Wolverines hunt more actively than the north American counterpart, due to smaller predator competition field.
The Wolverine loves to chow down - its eating style is voracious, hence the name "glutton". They cache their food too which helps them survive through times of food scarcity, especially in winter. Lactating females in particular benefit from this.
There is a number of animals that predate on the wolverine, the most significant of which is the grey wolf. Other predators include the American black bear, brown bear, cougars, and the golden eagle.
Seeking solitude, Wolverines are for the most part solitary animals. Successful males will have two to three females that he cosies up with, while unsuccessful males remain solitary. Mating occurs early summer, with embryo implantation not occuring until early winter - so that kits can be born in spring when food is plentiful. If food is scarce during winter the female will often not produce. Gestation is 30-50 days, and there is an average of 2-3 kits per litter. Fathers will visit the kits until they are weaned at 10 weeks, and after 6 months some young are known to reconnect with the father and travel together. The average lifespan of a wild wolverine is 8-10 years with captive wolverines living 15-17 years.
Wolverines require very large territories - the male has a home range of 620km2, and the female has a smaller range of roughly 200km2. They try to keep their territories from overlapping - an adult wolverine can travel hundreds of kilometres in a month.
Females burrow into snows in February to create a den and stay there until mid May, so they do need areas with slow snow melt. There is concern regarding Global Warming affecting their ability to reproduce.
There is threat to the Wolverine from human development, hunting and trapping, and global warming. Their natural range has diminished and there is a push to try and get them listed as an endangered species. Current population numbers are not known due to difficulty with accurate surveying. They have been showing up in places that they have been absent in for long periods of time, with notable sightings in Colorado, North Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Michigan.
There is a captive population of approx 100 Wolverine across zoos in north America and Europe, and while they can be bred in captivity success rates are low with high offspring mortality.
In planet zoo terms they are currently the #1 most wanted animal in the game as per the 2023 meta wish list, recently receiving the batton from the Tasmanian Devil due to the release of the Oceania pack.
Future packs we could potentially see the wolverine in include:
cold
mountains/highlands
Tundra
forests
arboreal
Asia - due to them being in Mongolia, Siberia, and greater China
and more, there are infinite possibilities.[/SPOILER]
List of animals here so you can click directly to skip the chatter if you like:
Wolverine (below)
Secretarybird
Secretarybird
I'm going to start with the most wanted animal from the 2023 Meta Wishlist:
The Wolverine (2023 Wishlist #1)
The wolverine is the largest terrestrial Mustelidae species, cousin to the giant otter and the badger. It is a strong and muscular Carnivore, with incredible strength for its size.
Scientifically know as Gulo gulo, there are two sub species - the American wolverine Gulo gulo luscus, and the Eurasian Wolverine Gulo gulo gulo. (Let's not talk about Logan aka James Howlett.)
Its current Conservation Status is Least Concern Globally, but it is listed as Vulnerable in Europe due to trapping, human activity, and habitat fragmentation. There is a push to see the Wolverine listed as endangered due population and range reduction.
Habitat wise the Wolverine is found in Boreal Forests, Subartic, and Alpine Tundra. The Geographical spread is Canada, Northern USA (Alaska), Northern Europe, Russia, Siberia, the Baltic countries, Northeast China, and Mongolia.
These guys are known for eating alot, and with gusto - they are called a variation of "glutton" across multiple cultures and languages
They are long mammals that are also low to the ground, with heavy muscling, strong limbs, a broad and round head, and round little ears. They have thick jaws and a dense hide . Paws are large and they have five toes with strong claws for climbing. They are roughly the size of a medium dog, ranging 65-113cmin body length, 36-45cm tall, and with a tail length of 17-26cm. Weights range from 8-18.1kg (that's heavier than my husky!) with males typically larger and heavier.
Their fur is hydrophobic due to being oily, and thick. Their dark coat is resistant to frost and this has driven popularity in hunting for pelts. They have a silvery mask on their face and a pale buff stripe running up from their bellies over their flank and rump, ending on the beginning of the tail.
Wolverines are scavenger animals that mostly eat carrion, which they find for themselves. However they will also steal food from other predators or feed on the leftovers from other predators. They are capable hunters, and do eat live prey. While they tend to prefer hunting small to medium mammals they have been known to take down adult deer including moose and elk. Wolverinea try to go for easier options like animals that are vulnerable from injury, trapped, or otherwise immobilised. Supplementary foods include berries, eggs, insects, roots, and seeds. Eurasian Wolverines hunt more actively than the north American counterpart, due to smaller predator competition field.
The Wolverine loves to chow down - its eating style is voracious, hence the name "glutton". They cache their food too which helps them survive through times of food scarcity, especially in winter. Lactating females in particular benefit from this.
There is a number of animals that predate on the wolverine, the most significant of which is the grey wolf. Other predators include the American black bear, brown bear, cougars, and the golden eagle.
Seeking solitude, Wolverines are for the most part solitary animals. Successful males will have two to three females that he cosies up with, while unsuccessful males remain solitary. Mating occurs early summer, with embryo implantation not occuring until early winter - so that kits can be born in spring when food is plentiful. If food is scarce during winter the female will often not produce. Gestation is 30-50 days, and there is an average of 2-3 kits per litter. Fathers will visit the kits until they are weaned at 10 weeks, and after 6 months some young are known to reconnect with the father and travel together. The average lifespan of a wild wolverine is 8-10 years with captive wolverines living 15-17 years.
Wolverines require very large territories - the male has a home range of 620km2, and the female has a smaller range of roughly 200km2. They try to keep their territories from overlapping - an adult wolverine can travel hundreds of kilometres in a month.
Females burrow into snows in February to create a den and stay there until mid May, so they do need areas with slow snow melt. There is concern regarding Global Warming affecting their ability to reproduce.
There is threat to the Wolverine from human development, hunting and trapping, and global warming. Their natural range has diminished and there is a push to try and get them listed as an endangered species. Current population numbers are not known due to difficulty with accurate surveying. They have been showing up in places that they have been absent in for long periods of time, with notable sightings in Colorado, North Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Michigan.
There is a captive population of approx 100 Wolverine across zoos in north America and Europe, and while they can be bred in captivity success rates are low with high offspring mortality.
In planet zoo terms they are currently the #1 most wanted animal in the game as per the 2023 meta wish list, recently receiving the batton from the Tasmanian Devil due to the release of the Oceania pack.
Future packs we could potentially see the wolverine in include:
cold
mountains/highlands
Tundra
forests
arboreal
Asia - due to them being in Mongolia, Siberia, and greater China
and more, there are infinite possibilities.[/SPOILER]
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