Rabbits - Aye or Nay?

jcp011c

jcp011c
In all the talk about "recognizable" animals like sloths and walruses, we've practically ignored one of the most well known wild animal family in the world, the rabbits (and hares, to a lesser degree). There's been discussion here and there but the idea of inclusion didn't seem to get a lot of traction. That is, until the idea of a petting zoo started getting mentioned more and more...indeed, I forgot about them, really, until recently and realized they'd be great for a petting zoo.

So....why have they not had a lot of support for inclusion? Is it that they're just not what many consider zoo animals - that is, what zoos they are in it's probably a petting zoo/farm type of area. Do they have much presence in just the regular zoo sections with all of the other animals? Are they considered too small for habitats? Or too common of animals to include? Is there just more of a feeling there's not a need for them at all? Looking at the meta list, they're ranked very low. the South African Springhare has 14 votes and is around mark 150 on the list; the European Rabbit is the highest ranked rabbit with 8 votes and is below the 200 mark, so they're not a wildly popular idea.

I just wonder why. Could be like me, I think I'd love to have them in a petting zoo or farm pack, but otherwise, not so much? Maybe that's the general thought on them?
 

DarthQuell

DarthQuell
I say aye. Rabbits, I don't see them often in zoos (actually never). But, why should that stop any type of animal from entering into the game?

Rabbits would be perfect I'm a theoretical petting zoo/children's zoo pack. If not wanting domestic animals bothers a player, then a great compromise is to get a domestic breed that looks exotic, you know?
They'd be great additions, very adorable, and also, from a modding standpoint, would bring in loads of new species
 

SuzieSky

SuzieSky
The springhare is the only one I would be excited about. It is also not a rabbit. I don't think I'd hate them, but I would not use them much or purchase a pack for their sake. They aren't common in zoos, and they are too small to look good. I would rather save the small slots for something more interesting or realistic, such as some smaller marsupials. Rabbits are very low priority for me.
 

AlexSea

AlexSea
I'm sorry, but I find rabbits as a whole kind of . . . boring, at least as far as zoo animals go. Aside from domestic rabbits in petting zoos, I really can't recall any zoos that have them.
 

zoosaurus

zoosaurus
Not just a aye, but a YAY! 💛
Rabbits/Hares are actually super high on my wishlist!!
Not just for petting zoos, but because they could probably have interspecies enrichtment (or at least realistically be kept with) with a huge selection of bigger herbivores and make the ground look more lively! I remember seeing guinea pigs with big herbivores all the time :)

Especially if we get a big selection of coat patterns and colors (which honestly is a plus point in and of itself :D), they'd also be very versatile for those of us who don't mind playing pretend with species, allowing us to pretend it is whatever species might fit us lol

Also the hopping animation and little moving nose would be the cutest thing ever 🥰
 
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jcp011c

jcp011c
Captain Callum said:
The only time I ever see rabbits in a zoo is in a petting zoo/children's zoo of some sort. I would want rabbits along with all the other needed domestics to get a great variety although Rabbits are kind of a passing glance animal rather than a whole appeal around them, but even so I'd would love to have a bunch of cute rabbits
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Agree, the idea of a petting zoo or farm pack brings in more domesticated animals that otherwise would not fit in well with a general pack. The Llama gets a lot of flack for being included, so there'd probably be the same sort of reaction. Although it would be lessened somewhat by it being a whole new family.

@zoosaurus Er Mah Gawd I'm just picturing the hopping and nose movements (that would have to be included!!) now and smiling.

@DarthQuell good point about the modding for other species. That'd be a great addition for the modders to work with. Because right now I can't see them getting it just right due to the hopping animations. I'm sure they'd look great until they started moving but that's key for rabbits and hares.
 

DarthQuell

DarthQuell
I'm thinking about the rabbits, and honestly, imagine how much fun watching a whole group of rabbits would be? They'd totally be so much fun watching in a habitat with clover and flowers, and a perfect walkthrough species.
@zoosaurus, what species do you think would be in their interspecies enrichment?
 

jcp011c

jcp011c
DarthQuell said:
I'm thinking about the rabbits, and honestly, imagine how much fun watching a whole group of rabbits would be? They'd totally be so much fun watching in a habitat with clover and flowers, and a perfect walkthrough species.
@zoosaurus, what species do you think would be in their interspecies enrichment?
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I'm gonna give my answer for interspecies...the deer we have and sadly that's probably it. Everything else would want to eat them.
 

zoosaurus

zoosaurus
DarthQuell said:
I'm thinking about the rabbits, and honestly, imagine how much fun watching a whole group of rabbits would be? They'd totally be so much fun watching in a habitat with clover and flowers, and a perfect walkthrough species.
@zoosaurus, what species do you think would be in their interspecies enrichment?
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The picture in my head was always the deer + bunnies lol But just going off of guinea pigs, I've seen those held with camels and kangaroos or wallabys (Not sure anymore) before, but I'm not sure if thats an enrichment or more like roommates that get along haha. I'd also just assume they are one of the many animals that get along fine with capys (my quick google search of course shows them cuddling haha) :D
Maybe bison and moose?

(Maybe I'm just super hopeful for more domestic animals that could be kept alongside them haha Definitely seen rabbits with guinea pigs, geese and chickens before :D)


I just realised it's sort of hard to look this up because there is a lot of search results and illustrations from childrens books with these animals hahaha
 

jcp011c

jcp011c
zoosaurus said:
I just realised it's sort of hard to look this up because there is a lot of search results and illustrations from childrens books with these animals hahaha
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Yeah definitely don't follow the ideas from those books, the game draws a much harder line on what species carnivores can be kept with - pretty much none, and not just for interspecies bonus, but even just at all. Rabbits and foxes definitely don't mix well. Probably just best forgot all the old Disney films too, where the entire forest gets along.
 

DarthQuell

DarthQuell
jcp011c said:
Yeah definitely don't follow the ideas from those books, the game draws a much harder line on what species carnivores can be kept with - pretty much none, and not just for interspecies bonus, but even just at all. Rabbits and foxes definitely don't mix well. Probably just best forgot all the old Disney films too, where the entire forest gets along.
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You just ruined everybody's dreams🤪🤣. I was hoping for Peter Rabbit and his tricks, or the Trix Bunny...

Seriously though, imma agree with y'all and that so far, it seems that only fallow deer. Maybe, maybe the llamas and camels?
I don't see much online, to be honest. I mean, as pets it's possible to get dogs, cats and rabbits to be friends, but it has to be when they're young
 

zoosaurus

zoosaurus
jcp011c said:
Yeah definitely don't follow the ideas from those books, the game draws a much harder line on what species carnivores can be kept with - pretty much none, and not just for interspecies bonus, but even just at all. Rabbits and foxes definitely don't mix well. Probably just best forgot all the old Disney films too, where the entire forest gets along.
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A mystical talking woodland creature wonderland would definitely give a new use to the giant twilight mushrooms though lmao
 

Captain Callum

Captain Callum
jcp011c said:
Yeah definitely don't follow the ideas from those books, the game draws a much harder line on what species carnivores can be kept with - pretty much none, and not just for interspecies bonus, but even just at all. Rabbits and foxes definitely don't mix well. Probably just best forgot all the old Disney films too, where the entire forest gets along.
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Wait your telling me badgers , foxes and rabbits can't be best buds forever 😣 childhood ruined
 

Cynogale bennettii II

Cynogale bennettii II
I would really like rabbits - they are really very unique and fascinating animals when you find out more about them. While many species have attracted my attention (particularly the volcano rabbit), I think my favoured choice would be the European rabbit.

It has quite a lot going for it, including:
  • Size-wise, they would easily fit into the game; at 50cm long and 2kg in weight, they are considerably bigger than the meerkats or prairie dogs currently in the game.
  • Rabbits are probably one of the most charismatic and most-identifiable mammals not in the game at this point.
  • The European rabbit is now classified as an Endangered species, so it would add another threatened animal to the game.
  • A lot of the enrichments and behaviours (burrows and tunneling) added for other species could be easily repurposed for the rabbit.

I would specify the European wild rabbit, rather than any domestic breed derived from the wild rabbit. Domestic breeds would have far less utility than the wild rabbit. To make up for not having domestic rabbits, I would have several rare colour morphs that do occur among wild rabbits (black, white and ginger definitely), so you could choose to have a display of wild-looking rabbits (to represent them as wild animals) or a display of colour morphs (for a children's zoo section).

1675940099314.png


They could also fit into all kinds of different spaces within a zoo:
1. A European woodland display, showcasing the animals typical of temperate forests in Western Europe.
2. A Mediterranean-themed zone - there aren't a great deal of unique Mediterranean species for such an area, but rabbits are a very important component of these environments.
3. A children's zoo - while wild rabbits aren't often kept in such settings, I would still say they and their colour variants would make them workable in such a space.
4. An Australian section, to showcase the devastating effects rabbits have had on the Australian landscape. Zurich Zoo planned (or plans) to display wild rabbits in a mixed enclosure with koalas for this reason.

Australia - Koala outdoors - ZooChat

The second outdoor enclosure for Koala, the rabbit will also have access to this enclosure.
www.zoochat.com www.zoochat.com
 

YesIndeed

YesIndeed
jcp011c said:
Yeah definitely don't follow the ideas from those books, the game draws a much harder line on what species carnivores can be kept with - pretty much none, and not just for interspecies bonus, but even just at all. Rabbits and foxes definitely don't mix well. Probably just best forgot all the old Disney films too, where the entire forest gets along.
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This made me remeber that the maned wolf has a bonus with capybaras. I'm still yet too but I would love to make them a mixed habitat.
 

KönigDerKaffeebohnen

K
jcp011c said:
In all the talk about "recognizable" animals like sloths and walruses, we've practically ignored one of the most well known wild animal family in the world, the rabbits (and hares, to a lesser degree). There's been discussion here and there but the idea of inclusion didn't seem to get a lot of traction. That is, until the idea of a petting zoo started getting mentioned more and more...indeed, I forgot about them, really, until recently and realized they'd be great for a petting zoo.

So....why have they not had a lot of support for inclusion? Is it that they're just not what many consider zoo animals - that is, what zoos they are in it's probably a petting zoo/farm type of area. Do they have much presence in just the regular zoo sections with all of the other animals? Are they considered too small for habitats? Or too common of animals to include? Is there just more of a feeling there's not a need for them at all? Looking at the meta list, they're ranked very low. the South African Springhare has 14 votes and is around mark 150 on the list; the European Rabbit is the highest ranked rabbit with 8 votes and is below the 200 mark, so they're not a wildly popular idea.

I just wonder why. Could be like me, I think I'd love to have them in a petting zoo or farm pack, but otherwise, not so much? Maybe that's the general thought on them?
Click to expand...
People in these forums are generally anti domestics, ask on facebook or reddit and you will find more then plenty bunny lovers.

Personally id like to see them alot, but for the most likly way to get them, a petting zoo scenery pack id prefer the gunniea pig over them, as id be cool to have the 2 main south american domestics in the game for themed areas.
 

biggest_dreamer

biggest_dreamer
They don't crack the top echelon of domestics I'd like to see, at least. And non-domestic species are exceptionally rare in the US, only doing somewhat better in Europe. I wouldn't be upset if we got domestic rabbits, particularly for how unique they'd be, but I'd also prefer so many other things first.
 
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