Entertainer Around The Zoo

[Seedric]

This Is my suggestion that I've think a lot. What about adding mascots / entertainers From Planet Coaster to Planet zoo.
Example; Princess Amelie, Chief Beef, Gulpy Rex and ETC
and add Entertainer from each themes example
East Asia : Panda
India : Elephant
Africa : Giraffe
South America : Giant Anteater
Australia : Kangaroo
and maybe not just animals, maybe by adding something kind of like Princess Amelie Of Each Themes.
Entertainers will help Boost Guest Happiness
Well this is my Suggestion !

 

[Kolikokoli]

I'm not gonna lie, I'd love to see giant anteater costume walking around my Zoo, lol.

 

[SotF]

I'd also like to see another type of entertainer...the ones that a lot of zoos have for their education shows with some animals. A lot of zoos have their "Animal Ambassador" programs that trains some of the animals to show off in front of guests, or even go out to places like schools with some of the animals to show kids.

 

[Cocolori]

I'd also like to see another type of entertainer...the ones that a lot of zoos have for their education shows with some animals. A lot of zoos have their "Animal Ambassador" programs that trains some of the animals to show off in front of guests, or even go out to places like schools with some of the animals to show kids.

Going to seem a little hypocritical because in the past I have done falconry demos for the public with trained birds and I know animal shows can have a place in education. However, I've also seen behind the scenes with animal parks and zoos and know that the ones with the best attitude to animal welfare and conservation tend to avoid training behaviours for education shows. That doesn't apply to all species but I get uncomfortable with many because to me the important thing is to show natural behaviours and I also know that done wrong it can be a real stressful experience for the animals.

There are a few species where training may be a good tool for either allowing them to do behaviours that aren't possible (if falcons can't go hunting then training them to the lure is the closest mimic you can get and we'd fly them every day whether there was an audience or not) or providing stimultation. BUT I've seen too many animal collections overly keen to hand rear animals who have been 'abandoned' by their parent because they can then use them in public displays. If you create a demand then you need a supply to fulfill it and that can, even unintentionally, lead to a vicious circle where the animal's welfare no longer comes first. There's also always a different dynamic when people feel entitled to an experience which formal 'shows' tend to encourage - sometimes after a demo we would allow people to hold the owl or the hawk and get a picture etc. We tried charging for it once (couple of quid) but it totally changed everything - before it was a privilage and people felt lucky to get the chance and when the bird showed any signs of stress we just stopped even if people had been waiting a while. As soon as we charged and it became a formal 'offer' we were under pressure to make sure everyone got a go and found it so much harder to say 'no more, he's had enough'.

Talks with keepers doing what they would do anyway without the public but offering commentary are fine and I'm aware that my opinion is pretty unique and this is a game so it isn't going to hurt anything. But I thought I'd mention why I'm not that keen on the idea personally because I think zoos have a duty to promote the idea that seeing animals is a privilage and that animals are not there just to entertain us - they have autonomy that we should respect. But it's not like I would be annoyed if they did this.

 

[Kolikokoli]

I hate kids in Zoos, especially the younger ones. They don't understand animals beyond "cute kitty" but they usually cry a lot (which cannot really be that comfortable for animals), they bang on habitat windows to attract the animals (though I saw some adults to do the same) and in pet Zoos they kick animals, scream etc. I guess I understand that families with kids make most money for the Zoos so what can we do..
That said, I'd like to avoid any "entertainment" from the animal part - trained skills more than attracting them to the staff member with food.

 

[NZFanatic]

Snip

You raise some excellent points, Cocolori.

Most of the times I've been involved in a similar thing we've used reptiles or birds that are already common in the pet trade, such as blue-tongued skinks, macaws, and cockatoos. I know a lot of zoos do have limited animal experiences where you can go into the habitat with, for example, lemurs or meerkats to interact with them more closely, but I don't think such a thing is really possible in PZ. Taking very exotic animals out of the habitat in order to interact with guests is a whole other story.

Wellington Zoo does have (or used to have, at least) a trained otter which they had taught to throw away litter on stage as some kind of environmental message. They also have hand-reared dingos (not hard to do since dingos are descended from domestic dogs anyway) which they will sometimes walk around the zoo on leashes. I also know that Auckland Zoo does their elephant walks, but guests aren't allowed to touch the elephants (I have an amusing story about that, actually - me, my ex-girlfriend, and my best mate went to Auckland for my birthday one year. We were lounging on one the lawns in the zoo, half asleep (big night the night before) when I opened my eyes and found an elephant towering over me. The keepers thought it was really funny!), and this is mostly done to enrich the elephants and keep them stimulated since they're so highly intelligent.

In any case, I think there are degrees of usefulness, and it can certainly be a double-edged sword.

 

[NZFanatic]

I hate kids in Zoos, especially the younger ones. They don't understand animals beyond "cute kitty" but they usually cry a lot (which cannot really be that comfortable for animals), they bang on habitat windows to attract the animals (though I saw some adults to do the same) and in pet Zoos they kick animals, scream etc. I guess I understand that families with kids make most money for the Zoos so what can we do..
That said, I'd like to avoid any "entertainment" from the animal part - trained skills more than attracting them to the staff member with food.

I don't blame the children. I always blame the parents. Kids are innocent and lack empathy - that's just how undeveloped brains are - so they don't know any better. The parents should know better, however, and should use zoos as an educational facility. If a kid is banging on the glass, the parent should stop them and explain to them why that's not a good idea. If the parent doesn't know why it's not a good idea, then they should learn themselves.

 

[Kolikokoli]

I don't blame the children. I always blame the parents. Kids are innocent and lack empathy - that's just how undeveloped brains are - so they don't know any better. The parents should know better, however, and should use zoos as an educational facility. If a kid is banging on the glass, the parent should stop them and explain to them why that's not a good idea. If the parent doesn't know why it's not a good idea, then they should learn themselves.

True, you are right. I actually hate irresponsible parents at Zoos.

 

[PeppyPepp]

I hate kids in Zoos, especially the younger ones. They don't understand animals beyond "cute kitty" but they usually cry a lot (which cannot really be that comfortable for animals), they bang on habitat windows to attract the animals (though I saw some adults to do the same) and in pet Zoos they kick animals, scream etc. I guess I understand that families with kids make most money for the Zoos so what can we do..
That said, I'd like to avoid any "entertainment" from the animal part - trained skills more than attracting them to the staff member with food.

Unrelated, but when I was a kid and went to the zoo I was always there to look and learn about the animals (it was like a mini adventure for me and it still is!), nowadays I see kids playing on the playground (that's in the middle of the zoo) and I'm like "You guys know there are animals here?". I hate the fact that families go to the zoo only to spend 3/4 of their time on the playground with their kids. Nothing wrong with taking a little break, but come on.

 

[SotF]

Going to seem a little hypocritical because in the past I have done falconry demos for the public with trained birds and I know animal shows can have a place in education. However, I've also seen behind the scenes with animal parks and zoos and know that the ones with the best attitude to animal welfare and conservation tend to avoid training behaviours for education shows. That doesn't apply to all species but I get uncomfortable with many because to me the important thing is to show natural behaviours and I also know that done wrong it can be a real stressful experience for the animals.

There are a few species where training may be a good tool for either allowing them to do behaviours that aren't possible (if falcons can't go hunting then training them to the lure is the closest mimic you can get and we'd fly them every day whether there was an audience or not) or providing stimultation. BUT I've seen too many animal collections overly keen to hand rear animals who have been 'abandoned' by their parent because they can then use them in public displays. If you create a demand then you need a supply to fulfill it and that can, even unintentionally, lead to a vicious circle where the animal's welfare no longer comes first. There's also always a different dynamic when people feel entitled to an experience which formal 'shows' tend to encourage - sometimes after a demo we would allow people to hold the owl or the hawk and get a picture etc. We tried charging for it once (couple of quid) but it totally changed everything - before it was a privilage and people felt lucky to get the chance and when the bird showed any signs of stress we just stopped even if people had been waiting a while. As soon as we charged and it became a formal 'offer' we were under pressure to make sure everyone got a go and found it so much harder to say 'no more, he's had enough'.

Talks with keepers doing what they would do anyway without the public but offering commentary are fine and I'm aware that my opinion is pretty unique and this is a game so it isn't going to hurt anything. But I thought I'd mention why I'm not that keen on the idea personally because I think zoos have a duty to promote the idea that seeing animals is a privilage and that animals are not there just to entertain us - they have autonomy that we should respect. But it's not like I would be annoyed if they did this.

A lot of the ambassador animals are smaller ones that are more of something that can be interacted with. Turtles and snakes for instance where they're the less dangerous ones for it, some lizards work as do some other animals...some of the more domesticated Serval lines for example (Which really aren't even wild animals anymore with those lines) are basically a slightly different cat for people behaviorally, and work well for things where the zoo's go to the schools or similar to teach and show off. Or some things like rhino iguanas, llamas, and the like work well in that kind of thing where they're relatively friendly if raised for it.

Other shows are things like the cheetah runs, a long and relatively flat open area that's still separated from the viewers where they've got a wire track above it to drag a toy for the animal to chase and get up to speed. The local zoo has a thing with various big cats that have different tricks that show off their abilities such as some vertical jumps and the cheetah's getting a chance to go full tilt after a target. Most of them aren't going to be handled by visitors for that type, and it gives a glimpse at other behaviors the animals display while letting them have some fun doing it.

Some animal species you can't do it with, but others you can. We already have walkthrough exhibits that let guests interact with some animals, having similar things work for shows would be interesting...and it might mean that doing so means you can't release them into the wild.

Perhaps a fame mechanic that ups the value of the animal with training, but means it can't be released. Throwing in different options there.

 

[DarthQuell]

True, you are right. I actually hate irresponsible parents at Zoos.

Oh yeah. So annoying. Like: "Bro, tell your kid to stop screaming at the animals"

Unrelated, but when I was a kid and went to the zoo I was always there to look and learn about the animals (it was like a mini adventure for me and it still is!), nowadays I see kids playing on the playground (that's in the middle of the zoo) and I'm like "You guys know there are animals here?". I hate the fact that families go to the zoo only to spend 3/4 of their time on the playground with their kids. Nothing wrong with taking a little break, but come on.

Same.

But let's get back on topic. I'd love mascots in the game, but instead of what PlanCo did, how about entertainers that are dressed up as animals? They can have like maybe 4-6 different types (maybe a base entertainer with multiple skins for each one. Example: cat entertainer, but they have 3 skins [Lion, Tiger, Jaguar]). That's an idea. I guess it wouldn't fit the Frontier vision of conservation, though.

 

[Villa11]

Several parks have feeding sessions, either the keeper simply feeds the animals and gives some informatio about it to the public (which is wat the education speaker does in game now) But the other option is that the keeper gives some food to the visitors so they can feed the animals. (In a supervised fashion).It would be cool if the eduction speaker would do this with some animals in a walkthrough habitat (eg. lemurs)
Some zoos have 'shows' that are actually medical training session. So behavior that is trained that helps to monitor an animals health (giving feet, opening mouth, standing on a scale), I don't know how that could be implemented.

I would love a mascot though

 

[LindaBroer]

Going to seem a little hypocritical because in the past I have done falconry demos for the public with trained birds and I know animal shows can have a place in education. However, I've also seen behind the scenes with animal parks and zoos and know that the ones with the best attitude to animal welfare and conservation tend to avoid training behaviours for education shows. That doesn't apply to all species but I get uncomfortable with many because to me the important thing is to show natural behaviours and I also know that done wrong it can be a real stressful experience for the animals.

There are a few species where training may be a good tool for either allowing them to do behaviours that aren't possible (if falcons can't go hunting then training them to the lure is the closest mimic you can get and we'd fly them every day whether there was an audience or not) or providing stimultation. BUT I've seen too many animal collections overly keen to hand rear animals who have been 'abandoned' by their parent because they can then use them in public displays. If you create a demand then you need a supply to fulfill it and that can, even unintentionally, lead to a vicious circle where the animal's welfare no longer comes first. There's also always a different dynamic when people feel entitled to an experience which formal 'shows' tend to encourage - sometimes after a demo we would allow people to hold the owl or the hawk and get a picture etc. We tried charging for it once (couple of quid) but it totally changed everything - before it was a privilage and people felt lucky to get the chance and when the bird showed any signs of stress we just stopped even if people had been waiting a while. As soon as we charged and it became a formal 'offer' we were under pressure to make sure everyone got a go and found it so much harder to say 'no more, he's had enough'.

Talks with keepers doing what they would do anyway without the public but offering commentary are fine and I'm aware that my opinion is pretty unique and this is a game so it isn't going to hurt anything. But I thought I'd mention why I'm not that keen on the idea personally because I think zoos have a duty to promote the idea that seeing animals is a privilage and that animals are not there just to entertain us - they have autonomy that we should respect. But it's not like I would be annoyed if they did this.

100% agree! I don't mind the animal talks so much though I don't really do them in my projects as I think they are annoying to watch after a few iterations (e.g., it really doesn't make any sense for them to make growly noises when talking about my Peafowl). I would also be in favor of guest feeding stations for some animals like the Peafowl where it makes sense to have such, but don't really want any further guest-animal interaction after that. It's too stressful for the animals usually. I understand that in some countries it is very normal to have these kinds of things in zoos, but we don't have that here in the Netherlands (at least not in any of the zoos I go to and I regularly visit three big and popular zoos). At most it happens very occasionally and unscheduled so guests don't expect anything and it is a complete surprise.

For the same reason I'm glad Frontier chose to put in seals and not sea lions. As soon you put in an animal like a sea lion people want to incorporate the show element and I don't want anything like that in my game. I don't visit zoos (or aquariums) where they put up these shows as I do not agree with them. I know this is just a game, but I like a bit of realism in my simulation games.

 

[Urufu1997]

it really doesn't make any sense for them to make growly noises when talking about my Peafowl

Remembers me about that one Time in one of my Zoos where that Guy did roar and the Reindeer immediately ran away
They should really include a second Audio file without the Roar, so this won't happen with Animals where it doesn't make Sense.

I would also be in favor of guest feeding stations for some animals like the Peafowl where it makes sense to have such

Would be absolutely awesome to have this.

but don't really want any further guest-animal interaction after that

Yesterday I've had a Idea when a young Orangutan in my Breeding Center escaped again. How about Animals interacting with Guests on their own? For Example a escaped Baby Orangutan climbing on a Guest (ok now that I think about it, I don't know if it would be realistic for Baby Orangutans (at least outside of the Enclosure but this could also work with small Primates like Ring Tailed Lemurs)

 

[Atiggerx33]

Going to seem a little hypocritical because in the past I have done falconry demos for the public with trained birds and I know animal shows can have a place in education. However, I've also seen behind the scenes with animal parks and zoos and know that the ones with the best attitude to animal welfare and conservation tend to avoid training behaviours for education shows. That doesn't apply to all species but I get uncomfortable with many because to me the important thing is to show natural behaviours and I also know that done wrong it can be a real stressful experience for the animals.

Depends for me, Seaworld type nonsense is wrong. Refusing to give food for lack of cooperation is wrong. My zoo does showcase some "unnatural behaviors" though. At the 'tiger show' it's not like any circus type , but there are a lot of trained behaviors used for keepers to inspect animals. For example, they have the tiger jump onto a table-heighted platform and stand there, the platform actually doubles as a scale so that they can weigh the animal and it's table height because this allows keepers to detect any hesitancy in a jump or stumbling on ground impact. A healthy tiger can make the jump super easily, but if the tiger was attempting to hide (and they are great at acting fine when they're not) some joint pain for example it would make it more obvious to the keepers and they could immediately have the animal examined by a vet.

Obviously in the wild tigers don't leap onto table-height platforms and then stand motionless until they hear a training clicker go off, but it's a useful behavior for monitoring the animal that the keepers train anyway; in my zoo's case they just do it in front of guests because it gets the tigers to come right up to the glass for better viewing. Obviously there's more to it than just that one trained behavior, you see them do several, but all the behaviors are for inspection/vet treatment purposes and not "look it's gonna jump through a hoop".

So in-game it'd be nice for the keepers to do a 'show' with these simple behaviors that have no negative impact on the animal and are extremely beneficial for keepers when it comes to providing the best care.

 

[MissLegend]

The entertainers could make balloon animals for the guests^^