Most Likely Animals to Come (or what is most needed)

[jcp011c]

This is a thread that's been done before, but it's been a couple of packs since the last one made the rounds. To clarify, this is not your own most wanted animals. This is not a wishlist. There's plenty of lists for that. That doesn't mean no animal from you wish list can't make this list, it's just not the qualifying criteria. This a list of animals that are probably pretty high on Frontier's radar or are more likely to be made. Some of these may be a generalization based on lack of variety within a particular family. And roll with it....

My own thoughts:

Capybara - sure, I start off with my #1 most wanted animal. But it's not just my most wanted animal. There is almost no doubt these will get in the game. The support for them is tremendous at this point, and they're only being brought up more and more and their popularity is only increasing it's lead in the Meta list. Frontier knows. They know!

A "True" Leopard - Amur? African? Indian? Persian? Possibly any of these, but I think chances are very high that we will see a "real" leopard in the game at some point.

A second Otter - We got two Pennipeds, we got two Penguins. One very popular and one very niche of each. Given we have the very niche Giant Otter, it stands to reasons we'll get a second "less niche" otter at some point as well. I have my preferences, but ultimately, whichever they choose will fit this spot.

A second equidae. I know some families have no representative as yet, and some are only just getting their second species, but I think ultimately we'll get a second horse type species. While it's not a diverse a group as some families, I just don't think Frontier will leave us with just one species from this family.

Another marsupial (or two) - I'm going to say that Frontier's kind of done Oceania dirty in a way. While the Australia pack is still my favorite, for what it did introduce, it's still the area of the world that's conspicuous by its lack of representation. And the family most people do associate Australia with is marsupials. (And you thought it was the Irwins! ) I think it's a very high chance we'll get another marsupial and probably two more eventually.

Another Suidae - We have two species from this family, and given their biome, they're fairly similar, even if they look very different and are on different continents. I think there's a good chance we'll get another species, but the most likely candidate, RRH, occupies that same biome. I wonder if they'll branch to another type of biome like Temperate or Desert. I think this is a less likely probability than the listings above.

Black Rhino, Red Deer, Dromedary - I'm grouping these three together, even though they're very different, because we have props and other construction items that are linked to them. I'm not saying that the animals themselves are needed, though you may disagree, but it's weird to have items for species that are not in the game (excepting the Dodo, for obvious reasons)

Emu/Gibbon - Also grouping these two together, and I think there's a good though maybe not high chance. They are both high profile and iconic animals that are very common in zoos, and have quite a lot of popularity for wanting them. While your own personal wishlist may not be indicative of an animal "needing" to make it into the game, a large number of wishlists together can make a big difference. Example -'m still not convinced Frontier was planning on adding Meerkats in until there was a community push for them. Maybe I'm wrong but I think that's an example of the developers taking important cues from the community, and it should definitely be encouraged.

That's it. There's another couple I'd really like but I'm not sure I'd call them essential. Conversely, there's a few on here I honestly don't have very high on my own radar. But again, this isn't about "my" wishlist. Looking forward to everyone's thoughts and own ideas!

 

[biggest_dreamer]

Overall, I think your list is very much on point.

I definitely get the same vibe about meerkats. I don't really have anything to base it off of, but I can't help but feel that they weren't going to be on the table until the desires of the community were impossible to ignore.

I'm not sure how to feel about the black rhino, red deer, and especially dromedary. I'm willing to accept the first two as base game props that were never intended to coincide with animals, and ultimately got out-prioritized by the white rhino and fallow deer. But the dromedary is particularly weird considering the community made it pretty clear that they weren't too fond of decorations not connected to actual species, yet we still got additional dromedary props almost 2 years into the game's run. Honestly I would've expected the dromedary to come as a free anniversary animal over the lemur (and I vastly prefer the lemur).

I could see us not getting another suid, though, much to my disappointment. I think we definitely need at least one more out of the red river hog and collared peccary, and ideally both, but I can also very easily picture neither happening for some reason.

I think the biggest thing you (and many others) are sleeping on is a baboon (or else the similar gelada). It seems like a lot of people underrate monkeys and how lacking we are in them in general, and nowhere is that more obvious than the lack of discussion surrounding baboons. They're up there with leopards, capybaras, and emus in my eyes in terms of blatant omissions from the current lineup. Maybe more people than I would expect are genuinely lukewarm towards monkeys, but I'd like to imagine that part of the perceived disinterest is because there are simply so many common zoo monkeys that people can't agree on which ones to prioritize.

 

[TheYeti]

Fully agree with most of what is said above, though I would prioritise other animals over a black rhino, red deer and dromedary camel. For me, the most urgent animals right now in order of priority are:

• Pelican: Any species will do, I don't care anymore. I've never seen a zoo without one and they are different from anything we have in the game. They need a type of habitat which will be unique to the game. They can be kept with many other species and can be a great addition to restaurant/playground areas in a zoo. It's honestly unbelievable to me that no zoo game ever included them, while nearly every zoo in the world has them.
• Capybara: Most wished for animal, seen in almost every zoo.
• Baboon: Different from anything we have so far, also very common in zoos.
• Emu: Perhaps the most common animal in zoos worldwide.
• Small otter: Preferably Asian small-clawed. While I don't get the hate for the giant otter, we need one that can fit in small exhibits and is common in zoos everywhere.
• Non-flying birds such as swans, cranes, storks, herons, shoebill, ducks and geese.
• Habitat reptiles such as monitors, softshell turtles and tortoises.
• Preferably an aviary or aquarium set.
• Smaller mammals such as sloths, armadillos, hyraxes, wallabies, coatis, porcupines, new world monkeys, rodents, small carnivores and tree kangaroos.
• Ungulates (yes we have many, but we could use more) such as horses, donkeys, suids, small deer, bovids, duikers, musk ox, takin, markhor, saiga.
• Leopard: Off course we should get one at some point, but we have so many big cats that this one can wait till the end.

 

[jcp011c]

You both make a good point, particularly about a Baboon. Definitely a high profile type of animal.

 

[DarthQuell]

Ok, here's my take:

1. Capybara - I've only recently gotten to enjoy them. As the 1st time I've seen them is back in 2020 when the Houston Zoo opened its South American Pantanal zone. Also, the hype here for them has made me want them. They would be perfect to share an enclosure with Baird's tapirs and giant anteaters, as the H-Town Zoo has them, plus some greater rheas and screamers (birds)
2. Marmosets/tamarins - Ok, small monkeys? These are at the top. Every zoo I've been to has at least 1 of these (sometimes multiple in multiple enclosures). We all agree that, besides birds, primates are lacking, a lot, compared to real-life zoos
3. Greater rhea/emu - I'm on team rhea, as I've never seen an emu. But, it would be good to get a 3rd, maybe 4th ratite, instead of just the ostrich and cassowary
4. True leopard - Yeah, I've never seen one, but we have all the other Panthera cats, and we are missing this guy
5. A 4th deer - I mean, come on. The moose and reindeer are so non-deer looking. The closest is the fallow deer, but it's still not enough, if I do say so myself
6. Wombat - Yeah, another marsupial, another Australian animal, these are important

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

Talking about needed animals just became much more interesting after the last two packs.
I know i started quite a few of these threads, but actually quite a few points have been addressed. SO for now:

• south american monkey
• baboon
• pelican
• domestic goat
• emu

In my humble opinion, these 5 animals would stitch the most glaring holes in the roster.
The most impressive waterfowl thats common in zoos, the most common petting zoo animal, the most common australian animal and 2 monkey, one baboon to fill out the lack of medium sized monkeys and one southamerican one for the small ones. Atleast one of these animals is missing in every zoo right now and all of them would become amongst the most common used animals in the game, im sure of it

 

[DarthQuell]

Talking about needed animals just became much more interesting after the last two packs.
I know i started quite a few of these threads, but actually quite a few points have been addressed. SO for now:

• south american monkey
• baboon
• pelican
• domestic goat
• emu

In my humble opinion, these 5 animals would stitch the most glaring holes in the roster.
The most impressive waterfowl thats common in zoos, the most common petting zoo animal, the most common australian animal and 2 monkey, one baboon to fill out the lack of medium sized monkeys and one southamerican one for the small ones. Atleast one of these animals is missing in every zoo right now and all of them would become amongst the most common used animals in the game, im sure of it

Not bad. Not gonna lie: I've never seen an emu nor a true baboon, so maybe that's why I am not that interested in them

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

And, after thinking shortly about it, the one animal that would have the biggest positive impact on the game is......



The White-faced-whistling duck.

Before you all facepalm, hear me out.
These beautiful ducks are not only pretty, but would also serve as a nice and versatile kind of waterfowl, that we could mix with basicly everything.
Also look at this distribution range.
Pretty cool, huh?

So yeah, bird, duck, waterfowl, tropical, gassland, desert kinda that lives in southamerica, africa and madagasca, could be both great for ponds, outdoor habiats, waterfowl habitats, mixed enclosures, tropical houses, aviaries,... the list just goes on and on.

Of all animals that i know of, i do believe that this would be one of the most worthwile addition, because they are just so god darn flexible. Dhole style

 

[SanRazo618]

I agree with most of the choices here. I sincerely hope they add aquariums but it’s seeming more and more unlikely. It’s needed to make realistic zoos for me. I understand the want for a leopard, but I’m personally tired of big cats I want another small cat like the Caracal and then I’m personally done with cat representation

 

[Corail]

The thing we need the most I believe is more small mammals. We only have a capuchin as a small monkey, no tamarin or marmoset, very few middle-sized monkeys (we have three of them, two of which are quite uncommon in zoos) ; the lynx is the smaller cat we have, no ocelot, no caracal, no serval, etc ; we do not have capybaras, maras, coatis, armadillos, sloths, raccoons, porcupines, wallabies, etc. Very often the smaller mammals weren't chosen because the bigger ones are more well-known and as such more popular (we have most apes and big cats, but no small cats and only one small monkey), but most zoos have a lot of those in general.

Then, we also need more habitat birds I believe - pelicans, ratites, storks, cranes are sorely missing. Even the fan favorite secretary bird is absent. They tend to be underestimated because people associate birds in zoos with avaries, but species like the emu, the rhea, the marabou stork or the grey-crowned crane are all quite impressive and very common in zoos.

I think only there are only two emblematic, essential zoo animals left right now - the capybara and the leopard. Every animal besides these two has other species which can fill their niche, or isn't that important in the first place, in my opinion.

 

[MagnoliaMagpie]

So I hope this doesn't come off as a wishlist but I am going both off popularity and also just things that feel like Frontiee would add in to fill in Blanks. As such, most of my predictions are very vague and general.

• Capybara (too popular a pic not to get in)
• Leopard (any kind)
• Baboon (any kind)
• More missing reptiles (pythons/ cobras/ chameleons, etc)
• Aviaries (popular, glaring omission, and new mechanics to play with. DLC tends to be accompanied by new updates with new features so this one makes sense)
• Black Spider Monkey
• Some sort of Equine

That's my contribution. Again, I hope it doesn't come off as wishlisty or too vague.

 

[nutrit]

At this point I’m sure we would be getting leopard and capybara. The rest is the mystery

Although like a lot of you already know my biggest dream is to have proper Malayan tapir and the Red River hog in the game one day. My two absolute favorites

 

[biggest_dreamer]

Pelican: Any species will do, I don't care anymore. I've never seen a zoo without one and they are different from anything we have in the game. They need a type of habitat which will be unique to the game. They can be kept with many other species and can be a great addition to restaurant/playground areas in a zoo. It's honestly unbelievable to me that no zoo game ever included them, while nearly every zoo in the world has them.

Where are you located, if you don't mind me asking? In the US, I've never been to a single zoo that actually keeps them, nor had I even heard anyone consider them a "zoo animal" prior to engaging in discussions surrounding this game.

 

[TheYeti]

Where are you located, if you don't mind me asking? In the US, I've never been to a single zoo that actually keeps them, nor had I even heard anyone consider them a "zoo animal" prior to engaging in discussions surrounding this game.

I'm surprised to hear that. Perhaps they're less common in the US where pelicans are native and abundant. I've heard that raccoons are also rare in US zoos, even though many European zoos have them. May I ask which part of the US you're from?

I've seen them in every zoo in my country, the Netherlands. Outside of that, I know they're in zoos I've visited in Hungary and Singapore and zoos I looked at for inspiration, such as Yangon and Ragunan Zoo.

 

[biggest_dreamer]

I'm surprised to hear that. Perhaps they're less common in the US where pelicans are native and abundant. I've heard that raccoons are also rare in US zoos, even though many European zoos have them. May I ask which part of the US you're from?

I've seen them in every zoo in my country, the Netherlands. Outside of that, I know they're in zoos I've visited in Hungary and Singapore and zoos I looked at for inspiration, such as Yangon and Ragunan Zoo.

The southeast. You're right about raccoons too, I've never seen them in zoos and imagine that any reputable zoos that might hold them are ones that focus strictly on local species/rehabs (and even then, there's two zoos just like that within a few hour range from me, and neither has raccoons despite having somewhat similar species such as foxes, skunks, and weasels). I do have a raccoon that lives somewhere in or near my neighborhood though

 

[jcp011c]

At this point I’m sure we would be getting leopard and capybara. The rest is the mystery

Although like a lot of you already know my biggest dream is to have proper Malayan tapir and the Red River hog in the game one day. My two absolute favorites

Yeah, they're definitely to me the two most notable omissions as far as terrestrial animals go. Along with meerkats I was surprised at base game launch that there was no "true" leopard. No surprise on this either, but since the Africa pack, they've solidly been at the #1 and #2 spot on the meta list. Though granted, the leopard is a combination of several distinct subspecies.

@biggest_dreamer I've also not seen raccoons in a zoo, granted I've only been to ones in North America. It's probably got to do with the whole "familiar and common" animal for the area bit. That and the fact that sadly, they're considered pests by a lot of people.

 

[NZFanatic]

Aside from some of the obvious picks laid in the OP, birds are what are most needed.

I'm not even talking about flying birds. There are a ton of birds in general that could be added that wouldn't need special aviary builds or anything like that. Swans, geese, ducks, pelicans, herons, cranes, these are all birds that often find their way into zoo collections, sometimes by accident but usually on purpose. I like to build lakes, ponds, and rivers, but they always feel empty without birdlife. Most zoos have a lot of bird life even outside of their exotic collections.

Making these species habitat animals (because we know they won't give us ambient animals like there were in ZT or in Planet Coaster) would allow us to create null-barrier habitats that can simulate free-roaming species. I'd love to fill a small lake with swans, ducks, and pelicans, for example.

Then of course there are the pheasants. Pheasants are also extremely common to zoo collections. Right now we have one - the peafowl - but this roster could easily be buffed out with a whole lot; the golden pheasant, Lady Amherst's pheasant, the Japanese green pheasant, the common ringneck pheasant, the great argus, the Bornean peacock pheasant, the Himalayan monal, and so on and so forth. Beautiful birds, often seen in zoos, not in the game.

Then there is the aforementioned emu, another big one, and, dare I say it, more penguins. Two species isn't enough. We need the gentoo to mix with the king, and I'd die a happy man if I got to use my beloved little blue in the game. The southern rockhopper would also be a great addition. We could have all of these, really.

 

[Pentoleaf]

Waterfowl my ponds feel lifeless right now. I have my favorite waterfowl, but at this point I'm desperate. I'll take anything. Even a mallard. I'm filling my waterways with rubber duckies and fake seagulls just to make them feel slightly less dead.

Groundwelling birds - Emu, rhea, kiwi, pheasants, shoebills, grey crowned cranes, secretary birds, Guineafowl... there are so many great possibilities. I wouldn't be adverse to another penguin either, provided it's significantly different looking species like a gentoo.

Small habitat mammals - hyrax, red river hog, asian short-clawed otter, racoon, new and old world monkeys, armadillos, capybara, mara, pudu, ocelot, Pallas cat, dwarf goats... the list goes on. I'm going to put the saiga here to, because of course I have to work then in somewhere. These are the little in between habitats that make a zoo feel real. These are the overlooked animals that a zoo game should be showcasing. I love the SEA pack because it brought us so many of them, but I'm greedy and I want more.

Habitat reptiles - More turtles, especially soft-shelled and snapping turtlea, but I wouldn't be adverse to another tortoise as well. I'd personally like the African dwarf crocodile, because it also fits into that small habitat animal demographic that I can't get enough of.

Exhibit Animals - A chameleon, an anole, and a gecko would be nice. And an axolotl.

I'd also love koi and butterflies, but that's probably just wishful thinking at this point.

 

[DarthQuell]

@NZFanatic, how many New Zealand species are common in zoos outside of New Zealand? I am really asking

 

[NZFanatic]

@NZFanatic, how many New Zealand species are common in zoos outside of New Zealand? I am really asking

None really. The only ones with an international presence are the North Island brown kiwi, tuatara, and the kunekune pig (which is a domestic breed though relatively iconic to New Zealand - for PZ this would be a similar tier to the llama). Australia of course has little blue penguins, which are also a New Zealand species.