Essential animals for your country, meta-wishlist

yoav_r · Jun 22, 2021

Inspired by the meta wishlist, I want to sum up the most important animals for people from each country, as most zoos tend to have local fauna exhibitions, and so are necessary for recreating local zoos.

This could help us see which animals are most required for each region/country, for future updates and for inspiration.

I will later sum up the animals in a list like the meta-wishlist, with the country(ies) that they represent. If an animal represents more than one country all its countries will be listed.

The rules:

Must be animals from your country (not necessarily endemic), preferrably that are also found in local zoos
No animals which are already in the game
No aviary birds, no fully aquatic, no exhibit mammals (mice, shrews...)
Must choose 4 habitat animals and an exhibit
Explain the choices, why are these representing
You can add a theme, but it will not be presented in the final list

Australia:

Emu
Bennet's Wallaby
Perentie
Platypus
Exhibit - Thorny Devil

The lists:

Rank	Animal	Votes	Representing
1	Cougar	9	Canada, Chile, Brazil, USA
	Red deer	9	Canada, Czech, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland
	Red fox	9	Czech, France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, UK, USA
	lynx (Eurasian 6, Iberian 2, Canada 1)	9	Germany, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, USA
	Wild boar	6	France, Germany, Netherlands, Switzerland, USA(introduced)
	Beaver (American 3, European 2)	5	Canada, Germany, UK, USA
	Moose	5	Canda, Sweden, USA
	Fallow deer (European 2, Persian 3)	5	Israel, Germany, Spain
	Sea lion (Californian 4, Galapagos 1)	5	USA, Guatemala
10	European badger	4	Czech, France, Netherlands, UK
	European Otter	4	Germany, Spain
	American alligator	4	USA
	Capybara	3	Brazil
	Wolverine	3	Canada, Sweden
	Rock hyrax	3	Israel
	Striped hyena	3	Israel
	White-tailed deer	3	USA, Mexico
	Emu	2	Australia
	Tasmanian devil	2	Australia
20	Wallaby (Yellow-footed 1, bennett's 1)	2	Australia
	White-nosed Coati	2	Brazil, Guatemala
	Elk (wapiti)	2	Canada, Sweden
	American black bear	2	Canada, USA
	Flamingo (american 1, Chilean 1)	2	Chilean, Mexico
	Eurasian capercaillie	2	Germany, Montenegro
	ibex (iberian 1, Alpine 1)	2	Germany, Spain
	Roe deer	2	Germany, Spain
	Black howler monkey	2	Guatemala, Brazil
	Ocelot	2	Guatemala, Mexico
30	Nine-banded armadillo	2	USA, Guatemala
	Argentinian tegu	1	Argentina
	Yacare caiman	1	Argentina
	platypus	1	Australia
	Southern hairy-nosed wombat	1	Australia
	Maned wolf	1	Brazil
	Tamandua	1	Brazil
	Musk Ox	1	Canada
	Guanaco	1	Chile
	Southern pudu	1	Chile
40	Common genet	1	France
	Atlantic Gannet	1	Germany
	Wisent	1	Germany
	Arabian oryx	1	Israel
	Dromedary	1	Israel
	Japanese Serow	1	Japan
	Raccoon dog	1	Japan
	Red-crowned crane	1	Japan
	Sika Deer	1	Japan
	Northern tamandua	1	Mexico
50	Chamois	1	Montenegro
	Dalmatian pelican	1	Montenegro
	Golden jackal	1	Montenegro
	Kunekune pig	1	New zealand
	Little blue penguin	1	New zealand
	North island little kiwi	1	New zealand
	Takahe	1	New zealand
	Eurasian brown bear	1	Spain
	Eurasian crane	1	Sweden
	European wildcat	1	UK
60	American white pelican	1	USA
	Black footed ferret	1	USA
	Collared Peccari	1	USA
	Coyote	1	USA
	North American river otter	1	USA
	Racoon	1	USA
	Sandhill crane	1	USA
	Sea otter	1	USA

Rank	Animal	Votes	Representing
1	Fire salamander	3	France, Germany
	Green toad	2	Sweden, Germany
	Alligator snapping turtle	2	USA
	California Kingsnake	2	USA
	Frilled lizard	2	Australia
	European adder	2	Netherlands, Spain
	Mediterranean chameleon	1	Spain
	Sinai Agama	1	Israel
	Hellbender	1	USA
10	Green anaconda	1	Brazil
	Cottonmouth	1	USA
	jararaca	1	Argentina
	Green anole	1	USA
	Tuatara	1	New Zealand
	Axolotl	1	Mexico
	European pond turtle	1	Germany
	Sand lizard	1	UK
	Mata mata	1	Brazil
	Black widow spider	1	Canada
20	Ornate Mastigure	1	Israel
	Northern crested newt	1	Sweden
	Puerto Rican wetland frog	1	USA
	Darwin's frog	1	Chile

I Will attempt to update this once a week. Species that would fill the same place in the roster (lynxes, sea lions...) were unified in votes, and elaborated in parentheses.

Edit: List last updated 29.06.2021

markun · Jun 22, 2021

Nice idea.

None of these are completely unique for Sweden but here are my picks.

1. Elk (moose) There are more in Sweden per square kilometre than any other country in the world! It's also the national animal.
2. Wolverine It is a good example of an animal that was persecuted due to conflict with humans but is now protected.
3. Eurasian lynx Also victim of hunting which is now spread across much of the country although hardly ever seen.
4. Eurasian crane Up to 30,000 birds gather at one lake every year and their arrival is a sign of spring.

5. Green toad

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qKwadQBZvI

Aramar · Jun 22, 2021

Spain is one of the European countries with more biodiversity, so I have plenty of options to choose from. However, I think the most iconic ones apart from the grey wolf are:

1) Iberian lynx
2) Iberian ibex
3) Eurasian brown bear
4) Red deer
E) Mediterranean chameleon (well this is not the most iconic, but I want a chameleon haha)

yoav_r · Jun 22, 2021

My country, Israel, a cross between 3 continents, with 3 climates (desert, mediteranean scrub, temperate forest).
So I will choose one for each biome:

Arabian Oryx - Previously extinct in the wild due to hunting, successfully brought back and the population is now thriving
Persian Fallow Deer - same reason, succesfully reintroduced to the wild. Also the national animal.
Rock Hyrax - Extremely common in Israel, cute and friendly
Striped Hyena - common throughout the country, endangered and unique in appearence
Sinai Agama - bright blue desert lizard, very impressive to look at

All these animals were chosen because they are also common in Israeli zoos

biggest_dreamer · Jun 22, 2021

United States here.

California sea lion - They’re from the exact opposite side of the country from me, but they’re also inarguably a zoo staple and one of the most glaring omissions remaining in the animal lineup.
Cougar - A somewhat visually distinct and iconic big cat with a range spanning the majority of the country. Easy pick.
American alligator - It would wrap up the 4 branches of crocodilia, and give us another popular reptile. They’re super important in the iconography of the coastal southeast.
North American river otter - I really want to say raccoon here, but these guys are the one native species that’s genuinely common around here (most of the closest zoos to me only incidentally feature North American species, if at all) that it’s impossible to not call them “essential”. It also helps that they’re adorable and incredibly fun.
Hellbender - Not my personal cup of tea, but their status and conservation efforts for them throughout the southeast can’t go understated.

Actually, I’m halfway tempted to replace the sea lion (as blasphemous as that feels) to turn this into a truly southeastern focused pack considering that’s my specific location. Raccoon, coyote, beaver, red or gray fox, or alligator snapping turtle would all fit that role extremely well. But ehhh I’ll keep the sea lion. It is just TOO essential.

nrg_2001 · Jun 22, 2021

For my country (US), it was hard to narrow down to 5 animals, but these are what I think would be essential additions to the game from the US:

American black bear: Quintessential bear species found in much of the US, near universal in American zoos.
Cougar: Largest of the non-pantherine cats, very common throughout the Americas and feature in most American zoos.
Moose: Largest cervid, abundant in the northern US, and though hard to keep in captivity due to their diet, would be a very good addition into the game nonetheless.
California sea lion: Most common pinniped in zoos here, very playful and ubiquitous with marine mammal exhibitions.
Alligator snapping turtle: An interesting large turtle found in aquatic habitats throughout the southern US.

Jevana · Jun 22, 2021

I'm half French, half Brazilian, so here are my picks:

France:

Common genet
European badger
Red fox
Wild boar
exhibit: fire salamander

Honorable mentions: red deer, nutria, marten, chamois, Eurasian lynx, alpine marmot, ibex, weasel...

Brazil:

Tamandua
Capybara
Coati
maned wolf
exhibit: green anaconda

Honorable mentions: ocelot, jaguarundi, armadillo, collared pecary, howler monkey...

KönigDerKaffeebohnen · Jun 22, 2021

Im from germany and im just gonna choose what i have personally seen in both zoos and the wild

1. Red fox - charismatic little fellas that are very common over here. My dad works on graves and maintainance on a large graveyard in a mayor cities and knows exactly where their dens are in that little midcity green oasis for them
2. wild boar - a bigger, not so charismatic fella thats black, mean and notorious for wreacking havoc in city parks and forrest, most notably in hamburg and berlin
3. roe deer - they have gotten so common, they are allmost seen as a pest. funfact, germany has on of the highest wild animal to space ratio, and its mostly due to them. Also live in my again big mayor city and can be commonly watched if you wake up early enough
4. red deer - beautifull animals that you can often spot in the fields in between cities while traveling by car or train. super common and an often seen symbol in our culture
5. the common water froh or edible frog - loud. just very loud and obnoxious. if you live near a body of water in late spring or early summer you will hear them. its kinda cool

honorable bird mention:
rose ringed parakeet - a neozoon living in many bigger cities over here. I dont know if they are seen as an invasive species besides ting more then pidgeons (an actual common complain about them) and in my opinion a cool sight living in harmony next to our standard european birds

VioletGrey · Jun 22, 2021

United States

1) Red fox
2) White-tailed deer
3) Canada Lynx
4) Moose
5) Exhibit: Scarlet kingsnake or California kingsnake

DarthQuell · Jun 23, 2021

In Texan, but some of my family is from Argentina, so I'll imitate @Jevana and do 2 (if you only choose 1, feel free to choose the one you find more interesting)

United States - imma do only animals I've personally seen in the wild:

White-tailed deer - I see them all over the place, and even though they're so common, I love all animals (except roaches and mosquitoes)
Coyote - a highly adaptable canine (I would've said red wolf, but the animal I saw could've been a red wolf/coyote hybrid, which is more likely)
Wild boar - not endemic, but they've had a major impact here
Raccoon - a cute little animal I'd want
Cottonmouth (E) - a dangerous, territorial viper that loves water. Also known as water mocassin

Honorable mentions:

American beaver - I mean, it's obvious, right?
Greater roadrunner - although they fly, they prefer the ground. But these new mesh pieces can recreate a roadrunner "aviary"
9-banded armadillo - common, blind, strange looking

Argentina - a land filled with pampas, lots of great food, and mate tea (if y'all haven't tried Argentine food, then y'all have missed out). In this list I'm going to give the local names for these animals:

Carpincho - the capybara. A semi-aquatic rodent that is popular in zoos
Lagarto overo - Argentine black amd white tegu. The largest tegu, although they resemble monitor lizards, they are in fact their own family
Yacaré - the southern spectacled caiman. A stealthy hunter prowling the large rivers in northern Argentina
Cui - wild guinea pigs, aka cavies. I saw these when I visited back in 2013. Fun fact: they eat them down there (Ok, not so fun)
Yarará (E) - a venomous snake, known as the jacaraca in Brazil. I don't remember the English name

Chuditch · Jun 23, 2021

Australia Pack 2? Very hard to squeeze it into another 4+1 list, but here goes!

Tasmanian Devil (Temperate, Grassland) - Very common in zoos here due to the extensive captive insurance population safeguarding them from DFTD, and one of the most charismatic of all marsupials.
Southern Hairy-nosed Wombat (Grassland, Desert) - Either this or the Common Wombat is completely fine with me, I just really want a wombat. I only chose the southern hairynose here because it's my local species and under greater threat due to severe habitat fragmentation.
Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby (Grassland, Desert) - We really need more macropods, and the Yellow-footed Rock-wallaby is one of the most beautifully patterned. Would also be a very interesting animal to make habitats for due to their boulder-dwelling habits.
Emu (Temperate, Grassland, Desert) - An extremely iconic bird that's widespread in captivity around the world, and is also very versatile in use.
Frilled Lizard (Tropical, Grassland) - Australia's reptile fauna is the most diverse in the world and this makes choosing a single exhibit species very hard. However, the Frilled Lizard is among the most charismatic, distinctive and exciting options.

paul78 · Jun 23, 2021

United States
1) Cougar

2) Moose

3) American Alligator

4) American White Pelican- something unusual for PZ. Plus another bird.

Exhibit- Green Anole

NZFanatic · Jun 23, 2021

Without aviary birds my choices are limited, but I'll just repost the list from my NZ Pack thread;

- North Island brown kiwi.
- Little blue penguin.
- Kunekune pig.
- Takahe.
- Tuatara (exhibit).

Before anyone asks, no, the kakapo is not a good alternative to anything on this list, they are not kept in zoos.

There's a real tossup here between the kunekune and the New Zealand fur seal, but I picked the pig because at least it has an international presence (the takahe does not, but if we had flying birds I'd replace it with the kea). In any case all of the listed species are kept in almost every NZ zoo.

DrAkula87 · Jun 23, 2021

Since my current home (Japan) is reasonably well covered, I will go with my original home (Germany) - although my choices would probably cover a bunch of middle European countries.

Red Deer - Iconic, very common, impressive antlers. And we already have statues in the game, so plz.
Red Fox - Cute, iconic, and I would love some more small animals, especially another predator.
Wild Boar - Another pretty iconic animal for Germany, and was in every Tierpark I visited in my youth. Also quite different from the pigs we have in the game so far!
Alpine Ibex - Pretty high on the overall most wanted list and great representation for the alps.
Exhibit: Fire Salamander - Looks interesting with its black and yellow/red coloring and would most likely bring a new exhibit layout.

Trying to think about what local animals we have in F u k u o k a (lol, the beginning of my city's name is getting auto-censored...) Zoo, I think there would be better alternatives elsewhere. I'd rather have Red or Fallow Deer than Sika Deer, Inoshishi are just smaller Wild Boars, monkeys are already in. Tanuki would be nice, though!

jcp011c · Jun 23, 2021

United States here, I think the two most obvious (to me) missing animals are the Moose and the Mountain Lion/Cougar/Puma. They're both iconic for their own parts of the country; when people say Alaska, if they're not thinking Polar Bear or Grizzly the Moose is probably next on the list. They would also give us an animal that represents other parts of the north. For the Rockies and middle America, though they're not contained to that, the Mountain lion is also instantly the most recognizable animal not in the game currently. So that's two.. the only thing with the Moose is I don't believe it's found in a lot of zoos, but it's simply too recognizable to leave off.

The other two are a bit harder. I know what I'd like to see, and I think I can get by with saying that the California Sea Lion is a fairly instantly recognizable animal for the Coastal areas, specifically the west coastal areas. The other I'd like to see I won't add (you can check out the top 20 list if you want though), but will instead replace it with the American Alligator to give us a representative of our southeast region, which is the area I live in.

So trying to be diverse in animal selection I also tried to make it represent four distinct areas of the country. Though I could easily pull another 3 and say "this should be the fully iconic North American pack" to give a more varied representation, I won't do that here. Suffice to say that I like a lot of the other United States based selections and it was hard to not include a couple of more.

For the exhibit, I'm of the "snapping turtle as exhibit animal" crowd, and that's always been my pick for North America.

I know it's not to be included because we are not including flying birds, but if there ever came a time flying birds would be a thing in planet zoo, the bald eagle is an absolute must. I'd trade either of my #3 and 4 picks for it. But again, I know that's not what this list is for, just a random extra comment.

abigenius · Jun 23, 2021

Wow it's a good idea, well I'm from Mexico so it's hard to say what animals I want because there are a lots but here is my list
1) Mexican Tamandua: it's a common animal and we need more little mammals
2) Pink flamingos (American flamingos but in Mexico it is his name): I'm from Yucatán, México and all beaches always there are flamingos flying and in Mexico only there are pink flamingos only one zoo has another species of flamingos
3) Ocelot: it's a animal so common in zoos and in the wild, really a like it
4) White-tiled deer : this deer is soooo common and for the game will be good it's beautiful and it's a unique
5) Ajolote: obviously, is so cute and says Mexican in his name, all of us love the ajolotes

nutrit · Jun 23, 2021

1. Wisent (Eurasian bison) - the most iconic polish mammal, saved from extinction
2. Beaver - incredible breeding programs led to spicies thrive
3. Eurasian lynx - iconic for central Europe
2. Red deer, Red fox or European badger all iconic for Central Europe - it’s impossible to decide.
5. Fire salamander

NZFanatic · Jun 23, 2021

abigenius said:
Wow it's a good idea, well I'm from Mexico so it's hard to say what animals I want because there are a lots but here is my list
1) Mexican Tamandua: it's a common animal and we need more little mammals
2) Pink flamingos (American flamingos but in Mexico it is his name): I'm from Yucatán, México and all beaches always there are flamingos flying and in Mexico only there are pink flamingos only one zoo has another species of flamingos
3) Ocelot: it's a animal so common in zoos and in the wild, really a like it
4) White-tiled deer : this deer is soooo common and for the game will be good it's beautiful and it's a unique
5) Ajolote: obviously, is so cute and says Mexican in his name, all of us love the ajolotes

The Mexican spider monkey is also a good pick for a Mexico Pack. Critically endangered and relatively common in zoos, but I suppose it would be hard to do it justice without some ammendments to the climbing system.

markun · Jun 23, 2021

DrAkula87 said:
Since my current home (Japan) is reasonably well covered, I will go with my original home (Germany) - although my choices would probably cover a bunch of middle European countries.

Red Deer - Iconic, very common, impressive antlers. And we already have statues in the game, so plz.
Red Fox - Cute, iconic, and I would love some more small animals, especially another predator.
Wild Boar - Another pretty iconic animal for Germany, and was in every Tierpark I visited in my youth. Also quite different from the pigs we have in the game so far!
Alpine Ibex - Pretty high on the overall most wanted list and great representation for the alps.
Exhibit: Fire Salamander - Looks interesting with its black and yellow/red coloring and would most likely bring a new exhibit layout.

Trying to think about what local animals we have in F u k u o k a (lol, the beginning of my city's name is getting auto-censored...) Zoo, I think there would be better alternatives elsewhere. I'd rather have Red or Fallow Deer than Sika Deer, Inoshishi are just smaller Wild Boars, monkeys are already in. Tanuki would be nice, though!

I think in the context of this thread - which focuses on essential animals for your country - Japan isn’t that well covered.

Compared with other countries and regions it is well represented - although that relies on you ignoring the Formosan part of the Asiatic black bear - but if you’re building a realistic Japanese zoo, as I am (on and off after I accidentally saved over it) I would say you need at a minimum:

1. Japanese serow
2. Sika deer
3. Raccoon dog
4. Red-crowned crane

They aren’t found in every Japanese zoo but most Japanese zoos have at least two or three of these species.

FoxyDee · Jun 23, 2021

Czech Republic here:

1) Red Fox

2) Red Deer

3) European Badger

4) Eurasian Lynx