Most Underrated Asian Animal

[FlameWizard492]

Which Asian animals, both in the game and not in the game, do you believe does not get enough recognition in the Planet Zoo community? Here are some of mine:

• Rhesus Macaque - One of the most common monkeys in Asia, and yet they don’t get much respect. Also, while I don’t condone interacting with wild animals for fun or social media clout, I am often entertained by the videos of people interacting with Rhesus Macaques in Indian communities. Also, they’re an invasive species in Silver Springs State Park in Florida, my home state.
• Slow Loris - One of the very few venomous mammals deserves more recognition.
• Asian Palm Civet - A very underrated carnivore.
• Sambar Deer - If we don’t get Père David’s Deer, then this should be a good second choice.

 

[SuzieSky]

My thoughts of the ratings/rankings of Asian Animals (as a NA resident):
Indian Subcontinent:
I feel like this region use its own separate post. I'm glad there is some consensus that India needs an animal pack soon. There are many deeply underrated animals from India. The honey badger and sloth bear have decent support, which is good to see. Both would make good additions to the game. India desperately needs a monkey, and while the votes are split mostly between two good favorites (I actually think we should aim for both), the lion tailed macaque and grey langur still seem deeply underrated. India could also use an antelope or two, and while I think the nilgai and blackbuck as favorites seems appropriate, they are still lacking in general for votes. The fishing cat is the community's 4th favorite cat right now, which feels appropriate. While there are other more pressing deer needs right now, India could probably use one, too. The chital and sambar deer are brought up sometimes as good options. One would be nice to see. Guar are kind of cool, but given their niche seems sort of met by the water buffalo, their lower popularity makes sense. India also has some cool and underrated options for habitat birds, including the bar-headed goose, painted stork, and demoiselle crane.
Most Underrated: Indian Monkeys and Antelope (we really need these, too, but they seem to have a bit more support)

Himalayas: I'm glad the iconic markhor and Pallas's cat are decently appreciated. The monal also has some votes, and the yellow throated marten (also in East Asia) is catching up, which seems good. I think the tahr is a bit underappreciated, but the favorite species seem more important to me as well.
Most Underrated Tahr

Southeast Asia: While the region seems nicely filled out right now, it is still lacking in monkeys. The red shanked douc is my favorite for all of its beautiful colors, and of course I think it's underrated. It does have a longer history in captivity, but now it's only kept in its native range. The East Javan langur is another cute and underrated choice with an adorable golden morph. The lowland anoa is a decently appreciated option that could pair nicely with babirusas. The giant Asian pond turtle and cloud rat are underrated, too. If they aren't adding domestics, the red junglefowl is deeply underrated and would give us a chicken. Though their niche is covered by binturongs, palm civets are an underrated variety pick for a small carnivore. I also like tarsiers, but I don't think they're as important for a zoo game.
Most Underrated: Red Shanked Douc and Giant Asian Pond Turtle

East Asia: I'm glad the takin is appropriately appreciated. While I understand the desire for more internationally-kept monkeys, I also think the golden snub nosed monkey is also underrated and very important for representing East Asian zoos. I like the Chinese alligator's cute face, and I think this endangered buddy is also somewhat underrated. East Asia is home to some popular choices for ornamental birds, including the golden pheasant and Mandarin duck. There are some other pheasants that would be nice, including the silver and Lady Amherst's. All of the birds are underrated. I might call the Pere David's deer overrated due to niche overlap with the red deer, but its interesting conservation story makes it seem fine where it is. However, I think the small fanged deer of Asia are much more unique and very deeply underrated. The Reeves's muntjac is my top missing ungulate, which can be paired with red pandas. It is endangered and a common zoo animal. Other options include the tufted deer, water deer, and Siberian musk deer. This seems to be the biggest ungulate gap for me.
Most underrated: Reeves's Muntjac (wins most underrated overall for me)

Central Asia: There isn't really anything I need from this region. The saiga is the only animal I sort of want, but I would not call it underrated.

North Asia: The wolverine and musk ox have appropriate support. I don't think I need anything else from here.

Middle East: The wide support for the Hamadryas baboon makes sense. The honey badger and spurred tortoise are also appropriately popular. After that, I would say an ungulate is all that's needed to finish the region off. The Arabian oryx, Nubian ibex, and onager, would all do this well. Personally, I would probably go with the iconic oryx, but they all have their merits. The Nubian Ibex is the main ibex kept in my country, and horses seem to do well with the broader playerbase.
Most Underrated: Ungulate Variety Pick(s) (at least one would be nice, but none are necessary)

Small Exhibit Animals: While Asia mostly has a decent amount of habitat animals, it is very lacking in exhibit animals. The coolest and probably most underrated is the Philippine Sailfin Dragon. The cobra is appropriately appreciated for its iconicism, though I have some doubts about how good it will actually look in an exhibit. One will need to have its hood up at least sometimes. For some colorful snakes, the white lipped island pit viper comes in an unusual blue, and the red bamboo rat snake is bright red. The Chinese crocodile lizard also underrated. The blue tokay gecko and beautiful orchid mantis have some appreciation, which is good to see. I would also say the Emerald Swallowtail is deeply underrated. This butterfly would complement the colors of our existing ones by adding some black and green.
Most Underrated: Sailfin Dragon Lizard and Emerald Swallowtail Butterfly

Flying Birds: The Bali mynah, Steller's sea eagle, and hornbills are brought up most frequently, which seems appropriate. Beyond them, Asia would also benefit from the golden eagle, raven, peregrine falcon, and Eurasian eagle owl. I think the rose ringed parakeet is the most underappreciated flying bird. It can be found in India as well as Africa and has a lovely blue morph.
Most Underrated: Rose Ringed Parakeet

 

[Swjosdotschka]

Tanukis. Underrated. Love them. Rather common in zoos, at least from my perspective but I didn't check yet if I just were lucky enough to have a lot in the zoos around me.

The Rhesus Macaque would be so good for educational reasons.

 

[Marvinb]

Easily pheasants as a whole
They are just ubiquitous in zoos and rarely come alone with most zoos keeping multiple species.
Looking at zootierliste you can find multiple species that have like 300 or more Holdings in the eaza with even more in the 50-200 range.
There are so many species to choose from all of which are incredibly colorfull and beautifull.
And they should be relativly easy to base on the peafowl which rig is still unused to this day.

With all that said i think its mind boggling to me that we dont even have a single one, let alone the nice selection of species that most zoos have.
And its baffeling that pheasants as a whole are so underrated in the community


Honorable mentions to grey langur and red jungle fowl

 

[Cynogale bennettii II]

Eight habitat species with six or fewer votes on the meta wishlist that I would love to see come to the game:

Bar-headed goose - One of my top five most wanted animals, but it only has six votes in total. This is the most commonly-kept exotic goose in both European and American zoos, can be kept in all manner of different enclosures (from mixed-species paddocks and walkthroughs to ornamental lakes, fountains and moats) and would add an ideal bird representative that could represent regions across Central Asia, the Himalayas and India.

Northern Luzon giant cloud rat - A big fluffy rat trying to be a panda is definitely an exciting choice, but it has only five votes at the moment. They can be kept in larger enclosures, are sociable and are as big as meerkats, so they could definitely work as a habitat species in the game. They would add the first species endemic to the Philippines to the game.

Owston's civet - Another of my top five most wanted animals, although with only four votes altogether. They are a beautiful small carnivore endemic to the Annamite Mountains of Vietnam and Laos, which are suitable for keeping in both indoor and outdoor enclosures and are one of the few carnivores which are thought by conservationists to need captive breeding in order to survive long-term - adding these would definitely boost their profile.

Visayan spotted deer - Only three votes for these guys. My local zoo has a breeding herd of them and they are beautiful animals that are also rather unusual - their legs seem slightly too short for the rest of their bodies, which showcases perfectly how they are adapted to live in dense tropical rainforests. I definitely think a deer from a tropical ecosystem would add a lot to the game. They would also add a second Philippine species, as well as the rat mentioned above.

Giant Asian pond turtle and Indian star tortoise - both have just two votes each. The turtle would add a new animal unlike any other in the game, being a semi-aquatic herbivore that is large enough and tolerant enough of temperate climates to be kept in outdoor enclosures. The tortoise would add a new smaller tortoise, which is widely-kept and very pleasing in appearance.

Four-horned antelope - One of my most-wanted Asian antelopes alongside the blackbuck, except this species only has a single vote on the meta wishlist. This is the only wild bovid species to have four horns, would add a mid-sized solitary antelope to stand out from the more sociable species in the game and, while they are no longer kept in Europe, they are a commonly-kept species in Indian zoos so would definitely work for me.

Indian spotted chevrotain - The only species on my list without any appearance on the meta wishlist. They would add a completely new family of ungulates to the game, which are also pretty common in Indian zoos and are able to live in both indoor and outdoor enclosures. I also have visions of mixing them with the four-horned antelope - when I see photos of the two species, I just really like the contrast between the orangey-brown antelope and the brown and white chevrotain.

I'd be tempted to say the yellow-throated marten is still underrated, but that's probably just because I want it so much - it certainly is doing a lot better than it did in the first meta-wishlist. At that point, it was the very last animal on the 461-long list, but it is now in the top 80 of 715 species.

 

[jcp011c]

Oooh this one's much tougher than the others. So many of the Asian animals in the game have what I feel is near the right amount of interest - be it very little or a lot.

I think I may go with the Japanese Macaque but it's not like hidden in the roster comments. But it's very unique looking compared to the other primates in the game and I guess it could be talked about a little bit more?

As for not in the game, that's tough too. I have my own niche want but I also recognize it's extremely niche and would never expect it to have much support at all. I guess the Blackbuck? The Saiga antelope gets a lot of the "asian antelope" talk, because it's so unique looking, and the Blackbuck seems to get an automatic second place in that whole discussion. It still gets mentioned though.