Planet Zoo: Arid Animal Pack Releasing 20 June 🐪

[Cynogale bennettii II]

Was I the only one hoping for a Black Tailed Jack Rabbit to be included in a arid pack when it came out?

Part of me was hoping for a southwest American rabbit species, but my preference was for the desert cottontail above the jackrabbit. This picture shows an exhibit in the Desert Dome at Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, which has not only a lot of desert cottontails (I count ten in the picture) but also prairie dogs and armadillos. That would have made for a fun little display in Planet Zoo.

https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/omahas-henry-doorly-zoo-desert-dome.13147/full?lightbox=1&last_edit_date=0

 

[markun]

I have to say that I am feeling extremely positive about this pack in terms of animals (whilst feeling very negative about the update).

I really don’t care what they call it, ultimately for me it’s most important to get a good selection of animals that I will probably use and in this respect it works for me.

I guess there is a lot of anxiety at this stage that we might only get 2 more packs which makes the lineups more important to people and I understand it but the drama is a bit much at times.

One thing that does bother me is when people say “we don’t need another…”, in other words “I don’t want another…”

In my opinion people saying we don’t need the black rhino is like saying we don’t need a lion because we have a tiger. Or maybe we don’t need a leopard because we have a jaguar.

White rhinos are social, black rhinos aren’t. Their basic enclosure needs might be similar but the infrastructure needed is different.

You generally need multiple enclosures and housing if you are going to keep and breed black rhinos.

White rhinos do better in mixed species enclosures than black rhinos do - mixed habitats with black rhinos aren’t unknown but are rare.

White rhinos graze, black rhinos browse.

And it’s far from unusual for zoos to have multiple rhino species, especially older style zoos which had a focus on keeping as many species as possible for comparison.

The one really positive development in the game from my point of view is that our zoos can now have some individuality when in the beginning we were all using the same relatively limited selection of animals.

We can have a zoo and have a meaningful choice between species which adds variety and personality to our builds. And for me that’s the biggest argument in favour of adding another rhino.

 

[Old Country]

Part of me was hoping for a southwest American rabbit species, but my preference was for the desert cottontail above the jackrabbit. This picture shows an exhibit in the Desert Dome at Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, which has not only a lot of desert cottontails (I could ten in the picture) but also prairie dogs and armadillos. That would have made for a fun little display in Planet Zoo.

https://www.zoochat.com/community/media/omahas-henry-doorly-zoo-desert-dome.13147/full?lightbox=1&last_edit_date=0

I would love to see either desert cottontail or jackrabbit added to the game! Obviously the American southwest is severely lacking and same with Mexico and Central America as a whole. But the good thing that came out of this pack for me is that they aren't afraid to make packs that only add in animals from one continent even if the Africa pack for example already exists. It leaves the door open for so many possibilities. Like a highlands pack that covers animals within the highland regions of South America like Peru or a Taiga pack with animals only from the Taiga regions of Asia, I think the possibilities are endless now. Obviously I'd love to see packs that focus on getting the most highly requested South America and Australian animals out of the way and into the game first. I would never turn down a South America animal pack or Australian Animal Pack.

 

[Nioell]

I have to say that I am feeling extremely positive about this pack in terms of animals (whilst feeling very negative about the update).

I really don’t care what they call it, ultimately for me it’s most important to get a good selection of animals that I will probably use and in this respect it works for me.

I guess there is a lot of anxiety at this stage that we might only get 2 more packs which makes the lineups more important to people and I understand it but the drama is a bit much at times.

One thing that does bother me is when people say “we don’t need another…”, in other words “I don’t want another…”

In my opinion people saying we don’t need the black rhino is like saying we don’t need a lion because we have a tiger. Or maybe we don’t need a leopard because we have a jaguar.

White rhinos are social, black rhinos aren’t. Their basic enclosure needs might be similar but the infrastructure needed is different.

You generally need multiple enclosures and housing if you are going to keep and breed black rhinos.

White rhinos do better in mixed species enclosures than black rhinos do - mixed habitats with black rhinos aren’t unknown but are rare.

White rhinos graze, black rhinos browse.

And it’s far from unusual for zoos to have multiple rhino species, especially older style zoos which had a focus on keeping as many species as possible for comparison.

View attachment 357976


The one really positive development in the game from my point of view is that our zoos can now have some individuality when in the beginning we were all using the same relatively limited selection of animals.

We can have a zoo and have a meaningful choice between species which adds variety and personality to our builds. And for me that’s the biggest argument in favour of adding another rhino.

I think the main issue with several "copy-paste" animals is that while in RL they might be very different in terms of character and needs, ingame all those aspects don't matter at all. They're just gonna be the exact same thing as any other rhino or gazelle, except maybe for tiny differences in terrain needs. That's just boring and so I totally get why some (myself included) could really do without yet another of those and would instead prefer something way more unique looking, so you at least have a bit more variety there.

It's why I'll keep screaming for actual new game mechanics instead of all that other stuff, because without those it's all just more of the same. Build dry habitat with maybe some water in it, thorw in whatever animal you want, rinse and repeat. I don't have to take any of those RL husbandry needs and characters into account and tbh it's getting stale and this new update does not help it at all.

Not saying the animals don't look great and amazing work's been done on them, mind you. But in the end it just doesn't really add much when everything else around it just stays the same.

 

[FoxyDee]

Just my usual post with the cute cubs/calves/kittens/whatever are all the babies called. Be amazed by the cuteness, regardless how you feel about the pack:

 

[abigenius]

I am often somewhat "meh" about animals that I have never seen in real life

Sadly if I would apply this to 60% of the game animals I would consider them meh, very few game animals I have seen in person and the others exist in Mexico, but the rest are nonexistent here , For example, I'm very excited about the ass but I've never seen it and it doesn't exist in Mexico

 

[FoxyDee]

Sadly if I would apply this to 60% of the game animals I would consider them meh, very few game animals I have seen in person and the others exist in Mexico, but the rest are nonexistent here , For example, I'm very excited about the ass but I've never seen it and it doesn't exist in Mexico

Yeah, I can understand that some locations over the world do have limited animals species in zoos. I have been lucky that my country (Czech Republic just at the heart of Europe) has some very diverse animal collections over our limited number of zoos. But for example, North American animals are quite rare around here, so it really depends. I have never seen a Cougar, Grizzly or Nine-Banded Armadillo for example.

 

[Aramar]

Just my usual post with the cute cubs/calves/kittens/whatever are all the babies called. Be amazed by the cuteness, regardless how you feel about the pack:

Just killed me

 

[markun]

I really hope the baby rhinos are the correct size

 

[Utahraptor Arcanus]

One thing that does bother me is when people say “we don’t need another…”, in other words “I don’t want another…”

In my opinion people saying we don’t need the black rhino is like saying we don’t need a lion because we have a tiger. Or maybe we don’t need a leopard because we have a jaguar.

White rhinos are social, black rhinos aren’t. Their basic enclosure needs might be similar but the infrastructure needed is different.

You generally need multiple enclosures and housing if you are going to keep and breed black rhinos.

White rhinos do better in mixed species enclosures than black rhinos do - mixed habitats with black rhinos aren’t unknown but are rare.

White rhinos graze, black rhinos browse.

And it’s far from unusual for zoos to have multiple rhino species, especially older style zoos which had a focus on keeping as many species as possible for comparison.

View attachment 357976


The one really positive development in the game from my point of view is that our zoos can now have some individuality when in the beginning we were all using the same relatively limited selection of animals.

We can have a zoo and have a meaningful choice between species which adds variety and personality to our builds. And for me that’s the biggest argument in favour of adding another rhino.

 

[DarthQuell]

View attachment 357979

So not me. I actually enjoyed the spectacled caiman. The only DLC animal that I wasn't fond of was the Arctic fox, but now that we have the red fox, I'm actually happy with it (although I would've preferred the gray fox by far)

 

[Swiftie_Midnights_]

Just my usual post with the cute cubs/calves/kittens/whatever are all the babies called. Be amazed by the cuteness, regardless how you feel about the pack:

we already have look on probably one of the cutest babies in this dlc with the Sand Cat

isn't the most ADORABLE THING i have ever seen??? SO true

and also I found a peek on the Babies Camels, which they looks so cute but the issue is you can't really see it

also I found another new plant!!! so gonna get died bushes! NICE!

 

[Captain Callum]

View attachment 357979

Spectacled caiman > dwarf caiman

 

[Utahraptor Arcanus]

Spectacled caiman > dwarf caiman

i have a different view:

broad-snouted caiman > spectacled and dwarf caiman

 

[Marvinb]

Just my usual post with the cute cubs/calves/kittens/whatever are all the babies called. Be amazed by the cuteness, regardless how you feel about the pack:

Why do have baby antelope such a thing for offensively oversized ears?

 

[TheHippoGirl]

There's a lot of praise for the sand cat. I must be the only person who thinks it's the bottom-ranked pick.

I suppose it's just an animal I've never really cared about for the game.

No, you're not the only person. It's the only animal of the pack I'm not excited for. I would have put the secretary bird or baboon instead. But I'm not gonna complain when I love everyhing else about this pack. And many people are excited about it so I'm happy for them.

 

[TheHippoGirl]

I have to say that I am feeling extremely positive about this pack in terms of animals (whilst feeling very negative about the update).

I really don’t care what they call it, ultimately for me it’s most important to get a good selection of animals that I will probably use and in this respect it works for me.

I guess there is a lot of anxiety at this stage that we might only get 2 more packs which makes the lineups more important to people and I understand it but the drama is a bit much at times.

One thing that does bother me is when people say “we don’t need another…”, in other words “I don’t want another…”

In my opinion people saying we don’t need the black rhino is like saying we don’t need a lion because we have a tiger. Or maybe we don’t need a leopard because we have a jaguar.

White rhinos are social, black rhinos aren’t. Their basic enclosure needs might be similar but the infrastructure needed is different.

You generally need multiple enclosures and housing if you are going to keep and breed black rhinos.

White rhinos do better in mixed species enclosures than black rhinos do - mixed habitats with black rhinos aren’t unknown but are rare.

White rhinos graze, black rhinos browse.

And it’s far from unusual for zoos to have multiple rhino species, especially older style zoos which had a focus on keeping as many species as possible for comparison.

View attachment 357976


The one really positive development in the game from my point of view is that our zoos can now have some individuality when in the beginning we were all using the same relatively limited selection of animals.

We can have a zoo and have a meaningful choice between species which adds variety and personality to our builds. And for me that’s the biggest argument in favour of adding another rhino.

This picture is crazy. Is it real? Where does it come from?

 

[markun]

This picture is crazy. Is it real? Where does it come from?

Yes, it is real. It is the old rhinoceros house at Berlin Zoo. It opened in 1964 and at that time had two white rhinos, two black rhinos, two Indian rhinos, tapirs and okapi. Very much a reflection of the 'postage stamp collection' mentality of large zoos at that time.

 

[TheHippoGirl]

Yes, it is real. It is the old rhinoceros house at Berlin Zoo. It opened in 1964 and at that time had two white rhinos, two black rhinos, two Indian rhinos, tapirs and okapi. Very much a reflection of the 'postage stamp collection' mentality of large zoos at that time.


View attachment 357993

Yeah, I know a little bit about zoo history but I had never seen that picture. Thanks for the info. Berlin Zoo is a zoo I still need to visit.

 

[Eternity]

Thank you, Frontier, for the nice DLC. Hope you keep them coming .