New Zealand Pack

This has been burning a hole in my brain, so I wanted to put it out there.

It occurs to me that a 4+1 New Zealand pack is completely possible.

- North Island brown kiwi (not the largest species, but the most prominent, and the primary focus of Operation NESTEGG).
- Takahe (a large species of rail, pronounced "taka-hey", flightless).
- Little blue penguin (otherwise known as the korora, the world's smallest penguin and plausible now that we have deep diving and small animals).
- Kunekune pig (a domestic breed, but iconically New Zealander, and since we have the llama this wouldn't be in the least out of place).
- Tuatara (of course this would be the exhibit animal).

For a building set, I'd look at traditional Maori architecture, and modern takes on it, such as the marae (community meeting house). Maori art is beautiful and rooted in tradition. And for foliage, New Zealand has some of the most gorgeous flora in the world, I think - the kowhai tree, the giant punga (tree ferns), the cabbage tree, and pohutakawa.

Naturally I'm biased towards this idea. 😅 Anyway, I seriously doubt this would ever happen, but I had to put it out there anyway.
 
If we ever get non-ground dwelling birds it would be even better. Personally in that case I would add the kea over the takahe.
 
If we ever get non-ground dwelling birds it would be even better. Personally in that case I would add the kea over the takahe.
Well, yeah. In that case I'd replace both the takahe and the kunekune pig with the kea and the kereru (NZ wood pigeon).
 
Kiwi is my favourite bird, and your other choices are also great (had to googles some of them though 😅). Would buy in a heartbeat.
I've always said that even if we just got the kiwi and the tuatara I'd consider that an acceptable level of completion for New Zealand. It's easy enough to create a fake nocturnal house (lighting issues aside) for kiwi, and the tuatara is pretty much NZ's most iconic reptile. As it stands, without either I simply can't bring myself to build a zoo in New Zealand, because it's literally a requirement here that zoos have to have a primary focus on conserving our own native fauna above all else.
 
I've always said that even if we just got the kiwi and the tuatara I'd consider that an acceptable level of completion for New Zealand. It's easy enough to create a fake nocturnal house (lighting issues aside) for kiwi, and the tuatara is pretty much NZ's most iconic reptile. As it stands, without either I simply can't bring myself to build a zoo in New Zealand, because it's literally a requirement here that zoos have to have a primary focus on conserving our own native fauna above all else.

Would the tuatara be an exhibit animal? I think I've never seen one in real-life. I guess they would get the iguana treatment.
 
I like the kiwi and tuatara. I think it's a shame the Australia pack focused solely on Australia, that region desperately needs a second dlc, and I think that Oceania could easily add 8 more animals! But a NZ specific pack personally I think I'd pass on that one.
 
But a NZ specific pack personally I think I'd pass on that one.
In another thread you said you'd "love an NZ pack" :unsure:.

Anyway I don't think this is something that would ever happen. Not enough people outside of New Zealand know anything about New Zealand or its animals. I mean, a lot of folks think the kiwi bird is the size of the fruit.
 
In another thread you said you'd "love an NZ pack" :unsure:.

Anyway I don't think this is something that would ever happen. Not enough people outside of New Zealand know anything about New Zealand or its animals. I mean, a lot of folks think the kiwi bird is the size of the fruit.

I absolutely said that! I think this game has so much more potential for animal packs, but seeing it on paper there are literally no mammals in New Zealand. Except bats (which arent in the game) and seals/sea lions. Either way seeing it laid out in a pack it doesn't really appeal to me. Personally I don't want domesticated pigs in the game. But I can't speak for anyone else. I'd be more interested in an Oceania pack with Tree Kangaroos, Kiwi, Tuatara and some missing Australian species. I'd buy that 100%. But that's hilarious I've never heard anyone say a kiwi bird is the size of the fruit before!
 
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A pack specific to New Zealand definitely doesn't interest me compared to a broader Oceania pack, because we still need some many important Australian animals. I think a somewhat optimal solution would be an Oceania Animals DLC with:
  • Wombat species (AUS)
  • Tasmanian devil (AUS)
  • Bennet's wallaby (AUS)
  • Fairy penguin (Both)
  • Takahe (NZ)
  • Kiwi species (NZ)
  • Tuatara (NZ)
That gives each country 3 endemic animals each, and one shared.

I just personally find this solution more likely than getting a NZ specific pack, be it 4 + 1 or 7 + 1. It might even be slightly more likely than just a straight up Australian Animals DLC.
 
I just personally find this solution more likely than getting a NZ specific pack
To be clear, I have said twice that I don't actually think such a thing would happen. I just wanted to highlight that it's actually possible to do it if by some miracle the Fates decree that Planet Zoo should go on forever. 😅

I can easily get behind a mixed pack (well, I can't get behind calling the little blue penguin the fairy penguin - that's Aussie-centric nomenclature; the accepted species name is just 'little penguin' I think). I could also see the kiwi included in a general groundbird pack, but then without the tuatara NZ is still incomplete. The kiwi and the tuatara are the cornerstones of a "good enough" representation. I'd also love to see Maori art make it into the game, and NZ foliage.

Edit: Oh, on a similar note, my gut is telling me we'll see the Tasmanian devil show up in an Endangered Animals pack (such a theme makes sense for the game; it promotes the message, and it gives Frontier an excuse to toss in some highly-requested animals such as the leopard, devil, and even something like the African wild donkey).
 
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Keas and kakas too. And perhaps make it a semi-historic park with ground owls and moas, perhaps the Haast eagle as well?

:D S
 
They will destroy everything, playfully. They will be fun!

And kakapo, of course. They don't fly.

:D S
Nah, no kakapo. They aren't in captivity anywhere, not even in NZ. It's part of their conservation. There are also so few of them that every individual is literally named by the Department of Conservation. They'll never be in zoos outside of New Zealand, and only injured birds are kept until they recover (which IIRC has only happened in the long-term once). Putting the kakapo in the game would be a lot like putting in the Javan rhinoceros.
 
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