Isla Animalia

[Lea_G]

Hi fellow zookeepers,

I have just declared my zoo "Isla Animalia" to be completed and would like to share this project with you now, since I've put all my heart into it. It has been grown organically in challenge mode since the beginning of January. I'm now in year 183 with all the species I had planned to add, 217 happy animals, happy staff and happy guests (limited to 3000) - and still making profit. After many failures, I'm a bit proud now

Initially, I had planned to create different islands for the different sections, hence the name, but it just didn't happen with the terraforming Anyways, these are the themed sections of the zoo:

1) Entrance, Piazza, Food Court, Microhouse and Desert Garden
2) Gorgeous Grasslands: Elephants and Giraffes + Cheetahs and Warthogs/Aardvarks + African Lodge and Rhinos
3) Furry Friends: Japanese Macaques and Red Pandas + Giant pandas
4) Powered by Paws: Himalayan Brown Bears and Big Cat's House + Snow Leopards and Siberian Tigers
5) Reptilicious: Pangolins and Tortoises
6) Jumanji: Lemurs, Food Court and Bongos/Okapis + Pigmy Hippos and Gorillas

 

[Lea_G]

Entrance, Piazza, Food Court, Microhouse and Desert Garden

Right next to the entrance, guest are greeted by a few education boards and a "logo":

The first habitat houses peafowls:

After walking over the bridge or around the habitat, guests enter the piazza. To the left, they find a food court. Inside, it is quite simple, with another set of shops on the second floor.

On the opposite side, we have a house with eight exhibits and a souvenir shop.

Next to the food court, you can see the "Desert Garden" which was basically created to fill a blank space - but I like how it has turned out.

Behind the food court and the microhouse, I hid some staff facilities:

 

[HeatherG]

You've made a beautiful zoo!! Wonderful pictures!

 

[Lea_G]

Thank you so much, @heatherg23 and everyone who reacted! More pictures ahead

Gorgeous Grasslands: Elephants and Giraffes

Left to the peafowl enclosure, you enter the section called "Gorgeous Grasslands":

The biggest habitat of this area is the one housing African Elephants and Reticulated Giraffes with several viewing spots, feeding and playing areas and a small river going through the whole enclosure:

The large dome over the river is the shelter and not accessible for visitors, but there are windows facing the feeding area at the front. The river can be crossed by the animals, the elephants love to swim. The little rocky "bridge" is for the keepers The habitat is really large, but people can just "follow" the animals via the viewing spots and almost always get a glimpse.

 

[Lea_G]

Gorgeous Grasslands: Warthogs/Aardvarks and Cheetahs

Opposite to the Elephants and Giraffes is the Cheetah enclosure. It happens to be a bit too small for a family of two adults and offspring, but they are still reasonably okay with it.

Visitors who decided to head to the food court area first, can enter "Gorgeous Grasslands" through another "gate" which leads directly to the shared habitat of Warthogs and Aardvarks.

There are "Don't disturb"-signs hidden in the rocks, so the Aardvarks are usually fine. The babies get stressed at times, but they can hide in their cave. I have really come to love these two species in the game, they are the most underrated in my opinion, and really cute

 

[Lea_G]

Gorgeous Grasslands: African Lodge and Rhinos

And the last part of my "Gorgeous Grasslands"-section The rhinos in the game aren't the African ones of course, but I found them suitable enough for the area. The lodge is offering food, refreshments and an information desk as well as another viewing option for the elephants and giraffes.

 

[RubberKerfuffle]

Great pictures! Very beautiful zoo

 

[Lea_G]

Thank you, @CaptainKerfuffle!

Here comes the next section:

Furry Friends: Japanese Macaques and Red Pandas

On the other side of the peafowl enclosure, guests enter the Asian-inspired region with some really furry friends!

The first to habitats, which face each other, contain the Japanese Macaques and the Red Pandas:

The Macaques can be seen from different angles:

Same for the Red Pandas:

There are some hiding spots, of course:

 

[Lea_G]

And the larger version of the furry friends

Furry Friends: Giant Pandas

They are not really using this part of the enclosure, but it still provides some nice views:

There is also a small indoor area for them:

The sleeping area can also be viewed from the terrace of the little restaurant:

Still working on my indoor decoration skills though

In the next posting, we're going to visit some other furry, but not necessarily equally friendly guys!

 

[Lea_G]

As I said, the inhabitants of the next area are also furry, but powerful as well! Fluffy predators ahead

Powered by Paws: Himalayan Brown Bears and Big Cat's House

Visitors enter the area either via the food court or, coming from the Asian section, via the bridge:

Opposite to the large sign, there is a viewing platform for the Himalayan Brown Bear habitat:

Another view point is on ground level, where guests can watch the bears swim:

(Of course, the bears can also watch the visitors - if they like!)

Following the main path further, visitors pass the outdoor habitats of the big cats (which I'm going to show you next time) and enter the Big Cat's House:

Indoors, it happens to be a bit vast, but guests can satisfy their needs:

There are inside viewing options for both the Snow Leopards and the Siberian Tiger families:

 

[Lea_G]

And here are the two outdoor enclosures for the big cats

Powered by Paws: Snow Leopards and Siberian Tigers

Not so easy for the guests to spot the snow leopards in their large enclosure:

But they are visible from both the pathway and the bridge:

On the opposite side, the tigers are housed:

 

[Lea_G]

Let's continue: Welcome to the realm of the reptiles

Reptilicious: Chinese Pangolin and Tortoises

The pangolin is no reptile of course, but I still think those guys fit the theme. The whole thing was designed to be one walkthrough-habitat for both species together, but they got stressed as hell. Please devs, give us the possibility to limit the number of guests which can enter a habitat!

I redesigned the whole thing and made a covered viewing area in the center. To the left, there are both the Aldabran and the Galapagos giant tortoises, and the pangolins live in the part to the right.

Before the game, I didn't know much about the pangolins (other than their endangered status), but they're actually so cute and I'd love to see a real one!

I tried to crowd the tortoise habitat as much as possible, because boy, do they move slowly! But the guests love them

 

[sturmovik]

You put more effort into your hard shelters and indoor viewing areas than I ever have. Looks amazing!

 

[Joël]

Thanks for sharing your zoo on the forums. Isla Animalia is looking good so far.

 

[Lea_G]

Thank you so much for your comments, @sturmovik and @Joël! I haven't been around (or in the game) for a while, I was occupied with other things and just didn't feel like gaming. But today I finally took some pictures of the last part of Isla Animalia!

Jumanji: Lemurs, Food Court, Okapis and Bongos

Just to clarify - the area has nothing to do with the movie, other than the name. I just liked it, as it sounds very suitable for the jungle

Anyway, action is guaranteed around the lemur habitat which houses a bunch of ring-tailed lemurs and red varis (forgot the English name):

Right next to it, there is a small food court:

The elevated path is just a small bridge through the trees, as I had to fill up some miscalculated space here... If you follow the main path, you reach a large enclosure with a herd of bongos and an okapi family:

 

[RubberKerfuffle]

Really nice! I really like your attention to detail and the general style of your zoo.

View attachment 180814

Kindly remind your guests that putting their hands near an electric fence is not a good idea.

 

[Lea_G]

Thanks a lot, @CaptainKerfuffle ! I'm glad you like it I didn't have that kind of "concept" in my previous zoos and it really helped me to build this one. And you're right, I MIGHT have placed the fence a bit too close to the path... Guess they're gonna learn it the painful way

Jumanji: Pigmy Hippos and Gorillas

And the last part. Those two species share the dome in the corner of the zoo. The hippos of course have a large water area as well:

I just adore those guys! Inside the dome, they have some more privacy, but can still be observed relatively close. Right next to it, people can have a glimpse into the gorilla habitat.

Unfortunately, the gorillas aren't very active and I haven't seen them using the climbing frames, but the visitors seem to like the habitat so far.

So that was Isla Animalia I'd love to enhance the zoo with the DLC (and upcoming ones), but it already lags a bit - I slammed in too much foliage for my poor computer This is also why I couldn't make the jungle area more dense... So I'm afraid I have to leave it as it is - but I still like it a lot, despite its imperfections. I might share another project sooner or later, thanks for sticking around and being so kind!

 

[Olliarts]

Entrance, Piazza, Food Court, Microhouse and Desert Garden

Right next to the entrance, guest are greeted by a few education boards and a "logo":

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The first habitat houses peafowls:

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After walking over the bridge or around the habitat, guests enter the piazza. To the left, they find a food court. Inside, it is quite simple, with another set of shops on the second floor.

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On the opposite side, we have a house with eight exhibits and a souvenir shop.

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Next to the food court, you can see the "Desert Garden" which was basically created to fill a blank space - but I like how it has turned out.

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Behind the food court and the microhouse, I hid some staff facilities:

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Love the colors you use