Asia seems so huge and biodiverse that I have no idea how you could ever narrow down four species to pick for a DLC. So I really hope we’ll get a broad selection of Asian species.
Ignoring for now the likelihood of what we will actually get, I’d love a Japan DLC.
We already have the Japanese macaque of course and the Asiatic black bear - although it’s the Formosan subspecies I’m more than happy to use it more generally. And we have the grizzly bear which is close enough to the Ussuri or Ezo brown bear found in Hokkaido. I wouldn’t suggest another brown bear subspecies when there are still bear species missing from the lineup...
So what would my four wishes be?
Japanese serow
This is the most unique animal in this lineup and although they are now increasingly rarely seen outside of Japan they have in recent years been held at zoos including Vienna, Berlin, Edinburgh, Highland Wildlife Park, Los Angeles, San Diego and Woodland Park Zoo. I love caprinae in general and would always welcome more species.
Sika deer
Native to much of East Asia and with introduced populations in other parts of the world they are common in captivity and I think would make a great addition to the game. We don’t have much representation of Asian ungulates and another deer species could be useful in all kinds of zoos from city zoos to European 'wildpark' collections with a focus mainly on native species.
Red-crowned crane
Although it’s sometimes called the Japanese crane, this beautiful bird is found in other East Asian countries and like the flamingo could work well within the current restraints of the game. We could definitely do with more birds and this would go nicely with East Asian themed areas, wetlands and other habitats.
Raccoon dog
Sometimes referred to by their Japanese name of tanuki, these small carnivores are significant in Japanese folklore and are very cute. They are found in other parts of the world too, sometimes as an introduced pest and there inclusion could have a good educational narrative. Some more small carnivores would also be useful for the game. They are often found in smaller zoos but could be a great addition to Asian sections of larger collections.
The Japanese giant salamander could be an exhibit animal if we had more aquarium-style exhibits.I’d say a wild boar and red fox would complete the lineup of the most iconic Japanese animals but these could equally be associated with Europe. The fox’s role in Japanese folklore is very interesting though and could lead to some interesting themed objects.
All these species have rigs and animations which are consistent with animals we already have and they could all be easily accommodated in the kind of habitats it’s possible to build at the moment although the crane would benefit from a large aviary set up.
I think these animals would complement the current line up of East Asian species and be great additions to all kinds of zoos.
Ignoring for now the likelihood of what we will actually get, I’d love a Japan DLC.
We already have the Japanese macaque of course and the Asiatic black bear - although it’s the Formosan subspecies I’m more than happy to use it more generally. And we have the grizzly bear which is close enough to the Ussuri or Ezo brown bear found in Hokkaido. I wouldn’t suggest another brown bear subspecies when there are still bear species missing from the lineup...
So what would my four wishes be?
Japanese serow
This is the most unique animal in this lineup and although they are now increasingly rarely seen outside of Japan they have in recent years been held at zoos including Vienna, Berlin, Edinburgh, Highland Wildlife Park, Los Angeles, San Diego and Woodland Park Zoo. I love caprinae in general and would always welcome more species.
Sika deer
Native to much of East Asia and with introduced populations in other parts of the world they are common in captivity and I think would make a great addition to the game. We don’t have much representation of Asian ungulates and another deer species could be useful in all kinds of zoos from city zoos to European 'wildpark' collections with a focus mainly on native species.
Red-crowned crane
Although it’s sometimes called the Japanese crane, this beautiful bird is found in other East Asian countries and like the flamingo could work well within the current restraints of the game. We could definitely do with more birds and this would go nicely with East Asian themed areas, wetlands and other habitats.
Raccoon dog
Sometimes referred to by their Japanese name of tanuki, these small carnivores are significant in Japanese folklore and are very cute. They are found in other parts of the world too, sometimes as an introduced pest and there inclusion could have a good educational narrative. Some more small carnivores would also be useful for the game. They are often found in smaller zoos but could be a great addition to Asian sections of larger collections.
The Japanese giant salamander could be an exhibit animal if we had more aquarium-style exhibits.I’d say a wild boar and red fox would complete the lineup of the most iconic Japanese animals but these could equally be associated with Europe. The fox’s role in Japanese folklore is very interesting though and could lead to some interesting themed objects.
All these species have rigs and animations which are consistent with animals we already have and they could all be easily accommodated in the kind of habitats it’s possible to build at the moment although the crane would benefit from a large aviary set up.
I think these animals would complement the current line up of East Asian species and be great additions to all kinds of zoos.
