Wetland discussion and predictions

[Spiderhawk]

Hey there everyone
I’m sure we are all excited for our new wetlands animals and all that is coming April 12th.
I am personally glad we have animals from all over the world (Missing NA) and I have been looking at my zoos to determine where these new animals will go.
I have been thinking about habitat requirements and wanted to bring up my opinion on some of these animals, plus I’d like to hear your opinion as well.

Capybaras: everyone is excited to see them use their enrichment and bathing. Really hoping they get a habitat bonus with other animals as it seems they like to hang with many SA animals.
10-20 animals.
Small sized habitat.
Guests can enter habitat.
Tropical aquatic biomes

Platypus: another highly requested wetland animal. Finally Australia gets some love after almost 1.5 years!
shy.
2-4 per habitat.
Guests can enter habitat.
Small sized habitat.
Aquatic,grassland Biome.

Asian Small Claw Otter: highly requested animal.
Tropical, grassland, aquatic biome.
Small sized habitat.
2-10 family based groups?

Asian water buffalo: a requested animal.
Tropical, grassland, aquatic biomes.
Medium large sized habitat.
1-10. 1 male 9 females.

Red crowned crane: a requested animal. Been a while since we had a bird.
Taiga, Grassland, aquatic biomes.
Guests can enter.
3-6 per habitat. Mate for life.
Medium sized habitat.

Spectacled caiman: now for the odd balls of this dlc. I don’t recall seeing them on the meta list ever. Personally I don’t think we need another caiman but w/e.
Considering habitat size of the dwarf caiman I’m going to guess spectacled will medium sized habitats.
Tropical, aquatic biomes.
1-2 per habitat.

Nile Lechwe: another odd ball, I never knew of these animals or recall them on the meta list. Personally I figured the African animal addition would have been the Red River hog or Shoebill.
1-10 per habitat. 1 male 9 females.
Medium sized habitat.

Danube Newt: I don’t check the exhibit meta list so I’m not sure how requested they are, but nice to see another European animal and our first newt.
Guessing 2-6.

thoughts? Comment?

 

[Antimony96]

Platypuses are venomous.

 

[jcp011c]

I'm wondering, can the capybara also fit in a grassland biome?
Also I'm doubting the guests will be able to enter the platypus habitat, unless they've explicitly said so.

Otherwise I either definitely agree, or don't know enough about the animals to even ask, but I think over all the list is pretty good.

 

[coatifan]

Hey there everyone
I’m sure we are all excited for our new wetlands animals and all that is coming April 12th.
I am personally glad we have animals from all over the world (Missing NA) and I have been looking at my zoos to determine where these new animals will go.
I have been thinking about habitat requirements and wanted to bring up my opinion on some of these animals, plus I’d like to hear your opinion as well.

Capybaras: everyone is excited to see them use their enrichment and bathing. Really hoping they get a habitat bonus with other animals as it seems they like to hang with many SA animals.
10-20 animals.
Small sized habitat.
Guests can enter habitat.
Tropical aquatic biomes

Platypus: another highly requested wetland animal. Finally Australia gets some love after almost 1.5 years!
shy.
2-4 per habitat.
Guests can enter habitat.
Small sized habitat.
Aquatic,grassland Biome.

Asian Small Claw Otter: highly requested animal.
Tropical, grassland, aquatic biome.
Small sized habitat.
2-10 family based groups?

Asian water buffalo: a requested animal.
Tropical, grassland, aquatic biomes.
Medium large sized habitat.
1-10. 1 male 9 females.

Red crowned crane: a requested animal. Been a while since we had a bird.
Taiga, Grassland, aquatic biomes.
Guests can enter.
3-6 per habitat. Mate for life.
Medium sized habitat.

Spectacled caiman: now for the odd balls of this dlc. I don’t recall seeing them on the meta list ever. Personally I don’t think we need another caiman but w/e.
Considering habitat size of the dwarf caiman I’m going to guess spectacled will medium sized habitats.
Tropical, aquatic biomes.
1-2 per habitat.

Nile Lechwe: another odd ball, I never knew of these animals or recall them on the meta list. Personally I figured the African animal addition would have been the Red River hog or Shoebill.
1-10 per habitat. 1 male 9 females.
Medium sized habitat.

Danube Newt: I don’t check the exhibit meta list so I’m not sure how requested they are, but nice to see another European animal and our first newt.
Guessing 2-6.

thoughts? Comment?

I also predict the following for interspecies enrichment:

• Capybara: Capuchin, Tapir, Anteater, maybe Llama
• Asian Small-Clawed Otter: Orangutan, Binturong, Rhino, Babirusa, Tapir, Buffalo and maybe the Proboscis Monkey, Sun Bear, Indian Peafowl and Red Panda
• WWBuffalo: Potentially Elephant, Tapir, Otter, Orangutan, Peafowl and PMonkey, but not sure
• Red-Crowned Crane: Potentially Macaque, Red Panda, and a few Asian ungulates, but I'm not sure.
• Nile Lechwe: Most likely all of the existing African savannah animals (Rhino, Zebra, Gazelle, etc)

The other two won't get any.

 

[Spiderhawk]

Ah I did not know platypus are venomous
Is there any reason to suggest injury or danger to humans? I know of one case of loris venom killing a human, could a platypus venom being lethal?
cranes and macaques should make a good team
Llama and capybara? While that sounds fun, I think their biomes are too different.
seems most of the tropical Asian animals seem to do just fine together.
I am not sure about otters being cooperative with other animals as I sow a horrific video of an accident of otters and monkeys sharing a habitat.

 

[coatifan]

Ah I did not know platypus are venomous
Is there any reason to suggest injury or danger to humans? I know of one case of loris venom killing a human, could a platypus venom being lethal?
cranes and macaques should make a good team
Llama and capybara? While that sounds fun, I think their biomes are too different.
seems most of the tropical Asian animals seem to do just fine together.
I am not sure about otters being cooperative with other animals as I sow a horrific video of an ancient of otters and monkeys sharing a habitat.

Platypus venom might not be lethal, but they’re shy and generally live in dark, mostly aquatic habitats, and are way too rare in zoos to risk damage. Not a good walk through choice.

The llama and capybara is very unlikely but it could happen IMO.

And yeah, monkeys and otters don’t always get along, but at the very least I think they could be paired with ungulates, since even the babirusa is way too big for them to do anything to it.

 

[Cynogale bennettii II]

In terms of mixed enclosures, these are the in-game species that have been mixed with Asian small-clawed otters; I have only chosen other Asian species - they have been mixed with, among other animals, lemurs, capybaras, capuchin monkeys and Southern cassowary but we definitely won't be getting any mixed species bonuses for those.

Proboscis monkey - at Bronx Zoo, no longer exists; there have been issues with monkeys harassing otters and also being killed by them

Bornean orangutan - at a number of zoos; mostly seems to work well

Binturong - at a number of zoos; mostly successful but it is often noted that the presence of otters causes binturongs to avoid coming down to the ground

Red panda - at a small number of zoos; again mostly successful but has the same problem as the binturong

Malayan tapir - at a few zoos; this mix tends to work well, with any failure of the mix often due to things like water quality

Indian rhinoceros - at Zoo Basel; also with muntjac deer and warty pigs that seems to work well

Babirusa - at Audubon, Jacksonville and Chester; this mix only works if the two species are non-breeding, as they attack and kill each other's young

There's also a plan for one zoo (Paradise Wildlife Park in the UK) to mix otters, binturongs and sun bears together and Taiping Zoo keeps their otters in an aviary with, as well as squirrels, fruit bats and small birds, green peafowl which are quite similar to the blue peafowl.

The pictures and information mostly come from this link:

en/Mixed exhibit Mustelidae Mephitidae

Mixed-species exhibits with Weasels and relatives (Mustelidae) and Skunks (Mephitidae)

zoorope.hu

 

[Aramar]

What about the new enrichment items? Who will use what?

Hot Water Tap
Small Underwater Feeder: will this provide fish or plants?
Underwater Buoy
Natural Water Jet

 

[coatifan]

What about the new enrichment items? Who will use what?

Hot Water Tap
Small Underwater Feeder: will this provide fish or plants?
Underwater Buoy
Natural Water Jet

I predict at least the otter and platypus will use the feeder, maybe also the capybara and African penguin. I have no idea about the buoy. Tap will probably be capybara and maybe macaque and some other unexpected species like a primate or something? Water jet will hopefully work for all animals using the existing jet, as well as the otter and maybe platypus.

 

[Spiderhawk]

I also wonder what the gender ratio will be for capybaras. While I know they are highly social, I’m not sure what their groups structure is.

 

[Bearcat9948]

I also wonder what the gender ratio will be for capybaras. While I know they are highly social, I’m not sure what their groups structure is.

They almost always default to one male, x females....I really hope they don't do that this time

 

[Spiderhawk]

They almost always default to one male, x females....I really hope they don't do that this time

Well I had thought perhaps something like the capuchins, 13 males max.
Bonobos who are very social can go 5 males to 5 females.
giraffes 4 males to 8 females.
i know their very different animals just pointing out their ratio.

 

[Spiderhawk]

Oh just read this
“Capybaras are known to be gregarious. While they sometimes live solitarily, they are more commonly found in groups of around 10–20 individuals, with two to four adult males, four to seven adult females, and the remainder juveniles.”

 

[NZFanatic]

Not a good walk through choice.

You say that, but the okapi and giant anteater are walkthrough animals.

The fallow deer wasn't at release.

Neither was the llama, a literal farm animal, no more dangerous to humans than a sheep (but they spit and bite! Only if you annoy them).

 

[coatifan]

You say that, but the okapi and giant anteater are walkthrough animals.

The fallow deer wasn't at release.

Neither was the llama, a literal farm animal, no more dangerous to humans than a sheep (but they spit and bite! Only if you annoy them).

Yes, as well as the dangerous and skittish pronghorn. But I’ve never heard of a walkthrough platypus habitat and I find it hard to believe that even frontier could add it — they’re venomous, shy, rare (and therefore valuable), and they live in the dark, indoors, next to water, in small habitats (ideal scenario for tripping into water, bumping head, etc). They have the same problems as the pangolin and anteater, and some unique ones of their own. Most damningly, Frontier has been a lot less lenient with walkthroughs of late IMO— the Europe pack had only one.

 

[Mjmannella]

I'm of the position of permitting more walkthrough animals. I think platypuses would be fine in this regard, even if it deviates from reality.

Plus, there's the luxury of just not letting guests into a habitat if that's what you want to do.

 

[coatifan]

I'm of the position of permitting more walkthrough animals. I think platypuses would be fine in this regard, even if it deviates from reality.

Plus, there's the luxury of just not letting guests into a habitat if that's what you want to do.

Yeah, that’s true. I’m coming at it from a very realism-oriented perspective in this case but I can’t deny that a walkthrough platypus habitat would be fun to build.

 

[iloveyourzoos]

Any possibility that the Nile Lechwe might be a walk-through animal? Or do their horns make them too dangerous?

Looking at similarly sized ungulates, Pronghorn, Springbok, Thomson's Gazelle, Fallow Deer, Llama and Okapi all are. But the Nyala, Reindeer, Gemsbok, and Sable Antelope aren't.

 

[Bearcat9948]

Any possibility that the Nile Lechwe might be a walk-through animal? Or do their horns make them too dangerous?

Looking at similarly sized ungulates, Pronghorn, Springbok, Thomson's Gazelle, Fallow Deer, Llama and Okapi all are. But the Nyala, Reindeer, Gemsbok, and Sable Antelope aren't.

The animals I've highlighted should not be walkthrough animals. So no, I don't think it will be. But you never know, Frontier is super weird when it comes to choosing what is and isn't.

 

[Markiz]

I'm of the position of permitting more walkthrough animals. I think platypuses would be fine in this regard, even if it deviates from reality.

Plus, there's the luxury of just not letting guests into a habitat if that's what you want to do.

I don't think that animals you could accidentally step on should be walkthrough