Both the North American Pack and the European Pack included many amazing animals.
But both still suffer from the age old problem of Planet Zoo- the habitat requirements of the animals are too specific, limiting the creativity of enclosures while not representing the entire range of the animals.
I already wrote about the North America Pack when it came out, but I forgot to post it…
So I’ll combine it with the Europe Pack in a single post.
I’ll appreciate feedback if I made any mistakes
North America Pack:
American alligator:
Just give it the tropical biome, as southern Florida has a tropical climate, and it is perhaps the place where alligators thrive the most. Perhaps increase the foliage density tolerance even more to fit the bayou, but it already has 0-70%.
Arctic fox:
With this canid, there is only one minor inconvenience. It is iffy with grass, especially long grass (0-40% for short grass and 0-10% for long grass)
In a lot of the Arctic fox’s habitat, the summer tundra leaves wide landscapes of grass utilizing the non freezing temperatures. Because of this, the Arctic fox in the game should have a much higher grass tolerance, perhaps 0-100% for short grass and 0-50% for long grass. (The same problem applies to the other carnivores of the tundra in the game)
Black tailed prairie dog:
Give it the temperate biome, as the climate in a lot of its habitat is well, temperate grassland. The low foliage tolerance would still keep the habitat open like the plains.
In addition, make it able to handle some snow and freezing temperatures, as black tailed prairie dogs do encounter snowfall in their natural range. However, the temperature tolerance should still be low enough to not be ideal for them (for example, 0 degrees Celsius for the lowest ideal), as the cold appears to be unideal for them.
California sea lion:
Give it the taiga and desert tags, as its distribution collides with these biomes.
In addition, a reduction in its sand need by a bit and an increase its rock tolerance would be great, as they are found both on sandy and on rocky beaches.
Cougar:
The cougar in planet zoo has an amazing representation of the biomes it has, all perfectly fitting the adaptable and widespread cat.
But the foliage range, while very wide at 20-80%, doesn’t fully encase the animals’s range.
In South and Central America, pumas can be found both in the dense Amazon rainforest and the relatively barren Andes, fitting a foliage range of 0-100%
In addition, due to being present in dense rainforests, it shouldn’t need grass, though it should indeed tolerate it due to other parts of its range.
(The need for grass with some dense rainforest animals is also present in other post release animals)
Moose:
Increase its temperature tolerance to better fit the taiga clime.
Also, while most of the suggestions here are for increasing the tolerance for animals, this following one is the opposite. Moose are heavily reliant on browsing for their diet, and requires forested areas to survive. As such, it should have some need for plants instead of none. Not much, as it can be found in the open near the forests, but perhaps 15-100% instead of 0-100%.
North American beaver:
Just remove the need for short grass. Nothing else to note.
Europe Pack:
Eurasian lynx:
Remove the need for short grass, as they can be found in forests that prevent the sunlight from reaching the floor.
European badger:
That’s a long one…
This statement follows the assumption that the European badger includes the Caucasian badger in the game, which may or may not be its own species. There’s conflicting evidence to both, as the map includes the Caucasian badger’s range but the country list doesn’t. Since the IUCN counts the Caucasian badger as a part of Meles meles, the European badger species, I’ll act as if they should be included.
If it does indeed include the Caucasian badger, it should include the Asia tag. A lot less important, but it could perhaps also benefit from a desert tag due to how the mustelid’s range reaches inside deserts, but due to being only a fraction of its distribution, it’s understandable why not.
The badgers currently require 20-100% vegetation to be happy. In real life, European badgers can indeed be found deep inside forests, but they can also be found in open environments without a lot of foliage. As such, they should be fine with any amount of foliage, as 0-100%.
In addition, their rock and requirements should be higher than the 0-10% they currently have.
European badgers can be found in mountainous terrain, meaning that they should tolerate some rocks in their habitat. Probably something over 0-30% for the maximum. Perhaps 0-50%.
As they can also can be found in places with a bit of sand, same can be said about it, though for a lesser extent. Probably something like 0-20% or 0-25%.
But both still suffer from the age old problem of Planet Zoo- the habitat requirements of the animals are too specific, limiting the creativity of enclosures while not representing the entire range of the animals.
I already wrote about the North America Pack when it came out, but I forgot to post it…
So I’ll combine it with the Europe Pack in a single post.
I’ll appreciate feedback if I made any mistakes
North America Pack:
American alligator:
Just give it the tropical biome, as southern Florida has a tropical climate, and it is perhaps the place where alligators thrive the most. Perhaps increase the foliage density tolerance even more to fit the bayou, but it already has 0-70%.
Arctic fox:
With this canid, there is only one minor inconvenience. It is iffy with grass, especially long grass (0-40% for short grass and 0-10% for long grass)
In a lot of the Arctic fox’s habitat, the summer tundra leaves wide landscapes of grass utilizing the non freezing temperatures. Because of this, the Arctic fox in the game should have a much higher grass tolerance, perhaps 0-100% for short grass and 0-50% for long grass. (The same problem applies to the other carnivores of the tundra in the game)
Black tailed prairie dog:
Give it the temperate biome, as the climate in a lot of its habitat is well, temperate grassland. The low foliage tolerance would still keep the habitat open like the plains.
In addition, make it able to handle some snow and freezing temperatures, as black tailed prairie dogs do encounter snowfall in their natural range. However, the temperature tolerance should still be low enough to not be ideal for them (for example, 0 degrees Celsius for the lowest ideal), as the cold appears to be unideal for them.
California sea lion:
Give it the taiga and desert tags, as its distribution collides with these biomes.
In addition, a reduction in its sand need by a bit and an increase its rock tolerance would be great, as they are found both on sandy and on rocky beaches.
Cougar:
The cougar in planet zoo has an amazing representation of the biomes it has, all perfectly fitting the adaptable and widespread cat.
But the foliage range, while very wide at 20-80%, doesn’t fully encase the animals’s range.
In South and Central America, pumas can be found both in the dense Amazon rainforest and the relatively barren Andes, fitting a foliage range of 0-100%
In addition, due to being present in dense rainforests, it shouldn’t need grass, though it should indeed tolerate it due to other parts of its range.
(The need for grass with some dense rainforest animals is also present in other post release animals)
Moose:
Increase its temperature tolerance to better fit the taiga clime.
Also, while most of the suggestions here are for increasing the tolerance for animals, this following one is the opposite. Moose are heavily reliant on browsing for their diet, and requires forested areas to survive. As such, it should have some need for plants instead of none. Not much, as it can be found in the open near the forests, but perhaps 15-100% instead of 0-100%.
North American beaver:
Just remove the need for short grass. Nothing else to note.
Europe Pack:
Eurasian lynx:
Remove the need for short grass, as they can be found in forests that prevent the sunlight from reaching the floor.
European badger:
That’s a long one…
This statement follows the assumption that the European badger includes the Caucasian badger in the game, which may or may not be its own species. There’s conflicting evidence to both, as the map includes the Caucasian badger’s range but the country list doesn’t. Since the IUCN counts the Caucasian badger as a part of Meles meles, the European badger species, I’ll act as if they should be included.
If it does indeed include the Caucasian badger, it should include the Asia tag. A lot less important, but it could perhaps also benefit from a desert tag due to how the mustelid’s range reaches inside deserts, but due to being only a fraction of its distribution, it’s understandable why not.
The badgers currently require 20-100% vegetation to be happy. In real life, European badgers can indeed be found deep inside forests, but they can also be found in open environments without a lot of foliage. As such, they should be fine with any amount of foliage, as 0-100%.
In addition, their rock and requirements should be higher than the 0-10% they currently have.
European badgers can be found in mountainous terrain, meaning that they should tolerate some rocks in their habitat. Probably something over 0-30% for the maximum. Perhaps 0-50%.
As they can also can be found in places with a bit of sand, same can be said about it, though for a lesser extent. Probably something like 0-20% or 0-25%.
