My general opinion on the subject is this is a fantasy game. A realistic fantasy game, but nonetheless should be allowed to have the freedoms of a "game". Orcas in Zoo Tycoon or Planet Zoo would be fine cause they don't have to be bound by the real limitations Orcas have. Will animal rights advocacy groups pitch a fit, probably. They likely will anyways though over stuff like the elephants already in the game. While it's a sensitive subject people need to realize that it is still a game, and games don't need to obey realistic norms. Since people will ultimately mod Orcas into the game if they aren't in a base aquatic DLC to begin with, I see little reason to not just include them. Give people the option if they want them, if not, no harm no foul. While its nice to want a realistic zoo that obeys modern conservation and morality laws, it is ultimately a sandbox game. People are gonna still want to cram a lion, polar bear, alligator, elephant, and tiger into a small cage and let them fight. People are gonna want to cage off visitors and feed them to tigers. The expectations of sandbox games and the reality of what they are is far different. Limiting creative freedom to be sadistic or push a conservation narrative is what drove Zoo Tycoon Xbox to bomb. Hopefully Frontier doesn't make the same mistakes twice.
