Opinions on the Ethiopian wolf?

Narwhaler

Narwhaler
Okay so you all know a Highlands pack has chances to appear this year (maybe fall, maybe winter, who knows), one of the species, while not as often requested, is the Ethiopian wolf.
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For those who don't know this animal, the Ethiopian wolf (Canis simensis) is a medium-sized African canid from the Simien mountains of Ethiopia (same region as the Gelada). We can all agree that it is a very pretty animal, but I want to know your personal opinion of it as an addition in a potential pack. Would you welcome this species? I would appreciate to hear your opinion down below just like I'm gonna share mine.

The good aspects I find for this animal are the following:
  • It's endangered, which aligns with the conservation aspect of the game
  • It has a nostalgia factor as it was one of the animals in the Zoo Tycoon 2 African Adventure expansion.
That's... pretty much it unfortunately.

Now the not so good aspects:
  • It's a canid, a group that is already very well represented in the game (we got timber wolf, African wild dog, arctic wolf, dhole, dingo, 3 foxes, maned wolf, that makes 9 species, which is a huge number for such a small animal group), to put it into perspective, there are 35 species of canid, of which 9 are in the game vs 147 species of bovids, 17 of which in the game (less than double of the canids despite having 4 times more species).
  • In terms of niche, compared to other canids, it doesn't bring anything truly new either, as it has the same size as the dhole and it is an African species like the wild dog.
  • It's honestly not that much of a requested animal because it is obscure aside from appearing in ZT2.
  • It is non-existant in captivity, so it is not gonna be favoured to all those people who like to house animals found in captivity.

Overall, while I am fond of this animal because of its beauty and for being in ZT2 (it was one of my favorite animals to use) I honestly don't care if it's not added to the game, I rather have a more common and unique animal into the game. What do you think?
 

AlexSea

AlexSea
Ehh, it's another wolf, would it really be that unique? I think our current canid roster is pretty good right now, maybe even perfect, and the Ethiopian Wolf wouldn't bring anything different.
 

jcp011c

jcp011c
Aramar said:
In a standard pack, I don't want it at all.

In an animal pack, I wouldn't be too mad if the other 6 animals are among my most wanted.

In short, it has a very low priority for me and I'm not interested in that animal.
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That's my thought too. Even though I'm a canid lover and have several non-wolfs on my wants, I'm not that interested in having another wolf.
 

Matyej167

Matyej167
I think, the Ethiopian wolf it would be a good idea! This canid are critically endangered and the Ethiopian highlands needs representation in the game.
 

becks474

B
Despite its name it is not a Wolf. At least no subspecies from the normal Wolf. At the Moment we have three wolves within the Game, the Timber Wolf, the Dingo and the Arctic Wolf. Also the Maned Wolf despite its name is not really close related to the normal Wolf. Animals Like the Coyote and Golden Jackal are closer related to the Common Wolf than the Ethiopian Wolf and especially the Maned Wolf for example. But nevertheless I also prefer other animals over the Ethiopian Wolf for a Highlands Pack.
 

TheYeti

TheYeti
I know I wouldn't use it as we have plenty of canids that suit better in the regions I build for. Next to that, I would much prefer animals that are actually in zoos and honestly I don't think we need more canids (maybe the bush dog).

I'm also honestly not expecting this species to come, as mountains have much to offer that is actually found in zoos. And while a vast majority of interesting mountain species is ungulate, the Arid pack shows that this is not a problem for Frontier.
 

FoxyDee

FoxyDee
I agree with most people here, as much as I love canids and this is a beautiful and majestic animal in real life, as far as PZ animals go, it is really low on my list of carnivorans (or even canids tbh).

For another canid, I would much prefer either the Bush Dog or Raccoon Dog (zoo Prague recently had Bush dog pups, just look at it, it does not even look like a dog).
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biggest_dreamer

biggest_dreamer
There’s still a handful of reasonably popular canids that have at least a passing presence in captivity, including other African species. Bush dog, tanuki, coyote, a jackal species, bat-eared fox. I’d take every single one of those before a species with 0 captive presence whose biggest selling point is that it was in a game I have no nostalgia for.
 

leehonglocal

L
I don't and won't accept that opinion. I won't agreed with the latest zoo building game having the ones that couldn't last and breed in captivity in real-life.
 

zoomaster1994

Z
Don't really want it, but knowing frontier, it might make an appearance. It's a Zootycoon2 animal, and I've seen quite some Zootycoon2 animals appear. There is a good chance it'll appear in a mountain/highlands animal pack :)
 

The_Riot22

The_Riot22
I remember in the early years of PZ, the Ethiopian Wolf was requested with some form of regularity. Not so much now that we got both Dingo and Dhole.
I personally would love it to be added, but highland regions are so poorly represented in PZ that I would prefer a Highlands Animal Pack first without the Ethiopian Wolf, and then we can talk about it afterwards.
 

Marvinb

Marvinb
I think its a really cool animal in real life, but a somewhat pointless inclusion for PZ imo. Like in game its just another largebodied canid, something we have plenty of already, especially since its also pretty similar in color to the maned wolf, dhole and dingo so it would even really stand out in that regard.
 

BananaLeech

B
i don’t think the Zoo Tycoon theory and nostalgia justifies the addition of the Ethiopian wolf. I am not too bothered with the idea of having another canine given that it is a unique looking species like bush dog or bat-eared fox. But another wolf is just a tough sell for me (sorry red wolf fans.) If we need Ethiopian representation then the gelada (and maybe the rock hyrax) would suffice.

If there was a similar discussion for the Iberian lynx on the basis of ZT theory then I would also reject it as well. While the Iberian lynx has a “greater” captive presence than the Ethiopian wolf, there are better felines to choose from.
 
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