Which in-game species have you seen IRL?

[Andrew Norman]

This is going to be a long one, strap yourselves in! Even with as many species as I've seen in zoos, I've also been lucky enough to see some of them out in the wild (those ones are in bold). As long as this list is, there are still species in the game that I haven't seen in real-life (yet), and there are species I have seen that aren't in the game at the time I'm writing this. I shall continue to look for places where I can see those that have eluded me!

UPDATE: August 2023 - I have updated the list to include animals that were added to the game in the Tropical Pack and both the Grasslands and Arid Animal Packs. I've also included the 2022 anniversary animal, the Red Deer.

UPDATE: 5th December 2023 - I have updated the list to include the Collared Peccary, Somali Wild Ass and Tasmanian Devil, as well as several of the animals that are coming in the recently-revealed Eurasia Animal Pack.


Cats

• African Lion
• Bengal Tiger
• Siberian Tiger
• Jaguar
• Amur Leopard
• Snow Leopard
• Cheetah
• Caracal
• Sand Cat
• Clouded Leopard
• Cougar
• Eurasian Lynx

Canids

• African Wild Dog
• Timber Wolf
• Arctic Wolf
• Maned Wolf
• Dhole
• Spotted Hyena
• Red Fox
• Arctic Fox
• Fennec Fox

Bears

• Grizzly Bear
• Polar Bear
• Giant Panda
• Sun Bear
• Asiatic Black Bear (not sure if the ones I've seen are specifically the Formosan sub-species like the ones in-game, but thought I'd better include them here)
• Sloth Bear

Birds

• Greater Flamingo
• Indian Peafowl
• Red-crowned Crane
• African Penguin
• King Penguin
• Common Ostrich
• Southern Cassowary
• Emu
• Mute Swan

Marsupials

• Koala
• Red Kangaroo
• Red-necked Wallaby
• Tasmanian Devil

Ungulates and Large Mammals

• African Bush Elephant
• African Buffalo
• Southern White Rhinoceros
• Black Rhinoceros
• Hippopotamus
• Plains Zebra
• Reticulated Giraffe
• Common Warthog
• Red River Hog
• Black Wildebeest
• Blue Wildebeest
• Sable Antelope
• Gemsbok
• Springbok
• Addax
• Scimitar-horned Oryx
• Bongo
• Okapi
• Pygmy Hippopotamus
• Indian Elephant
• Indian Rhinoceros
• Malayan Tapir
• Babirusa
• Bactrian Camel
• Wild Water Buffalo
• Przewalski's Horse
• Moose
• California Sea Lion
• Collared Peccary
• Reindeer
• Grey Seal
• Wisent
• Wild Boar
• Red Deer
• Fallow Deer
• Giant Anteater
• Giant Otter
• Capybara
• Llama

Small Mammals

• African Crested Porcupine
• Asian Small-clawed Otter
• Black-tailed Prairie Dog
• European Badger
• Wolverine
• Aardvark
• Meerkat
• Fossa
• Binturong
• Red Panda
• Raccoon
• North American Beaver
• Striped Skunk
• Egyptian Fruit Bat

Primates

• Western Lowland Gorilla
• Western Chimpanzee
• Bonobo
• Bornean Orangutan
• Siamang
• Lar Gibbon
• Japanese Macaque
• Mandrill
• Ring-tailed Lemur
• Red Ruffed Lemur
• Black and White Ruffed Lemur

Reptiles and Amphibians

• Saltwater Crocodile
• Gharial
• Spectacled Caiman
• Cuvier's Dwarf Caiman
• Komodo Dragon
• Nile Monitor
• Aldabra Giant Tortoise
• Galapagos Giant Tortoise
• Hermann's Tortoise
• Boa Constrictor
• Green Iguana
• Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
• Axolotl

Invertebrates

• Brazilian Salmon-pink Tarantula
• Mexican Red-kneed Tarantula
• Goliath Birdeater
• European Peacock Butterfly
• Menelaus Blue Morpho Butterfly

 

[Doran]

This is mine.

 

[yoav_r]

View attachment 330077
This is mine.

You've never seen a penguin???

 

[Doran]

African Penguin is between fennec and binturong. Only seen this penguin species.

 

[hudsonbear]

Here's my list - to be honest I'm not sure on a number of them, particularly the exhibit animals, I may have seen them before but just can't remember.

European Fallow Deer​	Seen in Wild​	​	​
European Badger​	Seen in Wild​	​	​
Red Fox​	Seen in Wild​	​	​
Arctic Wolf​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
African Savannah Elephant​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Grizzly Bear​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
West African Lion​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Plains Zebra​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Timber Wolf​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Ring Tailed Lemur​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Galapagos Giant Tortoise​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Reticulated Giraffe​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Western Chimpanzee​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Pygmy Hippo​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Komodo Dragon​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Thomson's Gazelle​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
African Wild Dog​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Cheetah​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Saltwater Crocodile​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Springbok​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Indian Peafowl​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Boa Constrictor​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Green Iguana​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Bornean Orangutan​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Common Ostrich​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Common Warthog​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Snow Leopard​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Aldabra Giant Tortoise​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Goliath Birdeater​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Yellow Anaconda​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Okapi​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Aardvark​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Mandrill​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Baird's Tapir​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Red Panda​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Western Lowland Gorilla​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Sable Antelope​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Formosan Black Bear​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Bongo​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Siberian Tiger​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Greater Flamingo​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Giant Panda​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Brazilian Salmon Pink Tarantula​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Red Ruffed Lemur​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Gila Monster​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Giant Burrowing Cockroach​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Reindeer​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Llama​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Jaguar​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Giant Anteater​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Red-Eyed Tree Frog​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Colombian White-Faced Capuchin Monkey​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Eastern Blue Tongued Lizard​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
King Penguin​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Grey Seal​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Diamondback Terrapin​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Sun Bear​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Clouded Leopard​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Binturong​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Dhole​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Meerkat​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Fennec Fox​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Moose​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
California Sea Lion​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Cougar​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Arctic Fox​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Eurasian Lynx​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Fire Salamander​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Capybara​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Asian Small-Clawed Otter​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Spectacled Caiman​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Danube Crested Newt​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Amur Leopard​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Axolotl​	Seen in Zoo​	​	​
Giant Tiger Land Snail​	Seen in Zoo (and kept as a pet!)​	​	​
Mexican Red Knee Tarantula​	Seen in Zoo (and kept as a pet!)​	​	​
​	​	​	​
Black Wildebeest​	Unsure​	​	​
Lesser Antillean Iguana​	Unsure​	​	​
Brazilian Wandering Spider​	Unsure​	​	​
Bactrian Camel​	Unsure​	​	​
Lehmann's Poison Frog​	Unsure​	​	​
Indian Rhinoceros​	Unsure​	​	​
Indian Elephant​	Unsure​	​	​
Gharial​	Unsure​	​	​
Giant Forest Scorpion​	Unsure​	​	​
African Buffalo​	Unsure​	​	​
Nile Monitor​	Unsure​	​	​
Golden Poison Frog​	Unsure​	​	​
Nyala​	Unsure​	​	​
Eastern Brown Snake​	Unsure​	​	​
Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion​	Unsure​	​	​
Amazonian Giant Centipede​	Unsure​	​	​
Puff Adder​	Unsure​	​	​
Common Death Adder​	Unsure​	​	​
Goliath Beetle​	Unsure​	​	​
Southern White Rhinoceros​	Unsure​	​	​
American Alligator​	Unsure​	​	​
American Bullfrog​	Unsure​	​	​
Black-Tailed Prairie Dog​	Unsure​	​	​
Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur​	Unsure​	​	​
Red-Crowned Crane​	Unsure​	​	​
Siamang​	Unsure​	​	​
Egyptian Fruit Bat​	Unsure​	​	​
​	​	​	​
Hippopotamus​	Never seen​	​	​
Bengal Tiger​	Never seen​	​	​
Spotted Hyena​	Never seen​	​	​
Titan Beetle​	Never seen​	​	​
Pronghorn Antelope​	Never seen​	​	​
Himalayan Brown Bear​	Never seen​	​	​
Goliath Frog​	Never seen​	​	​
Gemsbok​	Never seen​	​	​
Bonobo​	Never seen​	​	​
Chinese Pangolin​	Never seen​	​	​
Japanese Macaque​	Never seen​	​	​
Polar Bear​	Never seen​	​	​
		​	​
Dall Sheep​	Never seen​	​	​
Red Kangaroo​	Never seen​	​	​
Dingo​	Never seen​	​	​
Southern Cassowary​	Never seen​	​	​
Koala​	Never seen​	​	​
Giant Otter​	Never seen​	​	​
Cuvier's Dwarf Caiman​	Never seen​	​	​
Proboscis Monkey​	Never seen​	​	​
Malayan Tapir​	Never seen​	​	​
North Sulawesi Babirusa​	Never seen​	​	​
Giant Malaysian Leaf Insect​	Never seen​	​	​
African Penguin​	Never seen​	​	​
Sacred Scarab Beetle​	Never seen​	​	​
Alpine Ibex​	Never seen​	​	​
Platypus​	Never seen​	​	​
Wild Water Buffalo​	Never seen​	​	​
Nile Lechwe​	Never seen​	​	​
Przewalski's Horse​	Never seen​	​	​
Scimitar-Horned Oryx​	Never seen​	​	​
Raccoon​	Never seen​	​	​
Common Wombat​	Never seen​	​	​
Striped Skunk​	Never seen​	​	​
North American Beaver​	Never seen (seen European beaver)​	​	​
American Bison​	Never seen (seen European bison)​	​	​
​	​	​	​

I'm planning to make a special trip next year to see polar bears, so hope to add that one to the list at some point

 

[Antimony96]

View attachment 324622
For the bottom three--Sumatran rather than Bornean orangutans, a non-Formosan Asiatic black bear, and what was most likely a southern lion rather than a West African lion.

Update: have seen raccoons, foxes, and skunks in the wild. Was once charged at by a skunk in the woods at night though it didn't spray.

 

[Chuditch]

Not gonna update my whole list until the next DLC, but the red deer adds another species I've seen both in the wild and in captivity, as I'm sure it will for many European players. The local Monarto Safari Park has a large herd of them (previously kept with the bison but now on their own) and I saw several feral herds when I was in Grampians National Park in 2018.

It's only the third European species added to the game that's kept in Australian zoos, after the fallow and the fox - it's even possible for me to build a "Little Europe" section now, an idea I may consider for my next zoo.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

I have LEGALLY (you should never ever feed animals in a zoos unless the zoo allws it, as the zoo knows best for the animals health) fed big red deer stags with apples on multiple occasions, i say i won this round

 

[SivatheriumGuy]

Well, red deer joins the list.
I'll update the list once the next DLC drops. Btw, the Nile monitor should be on seen, I just forgot I saw them this summer for the first time ahahaha.

 

[biggest_dreamer]

Red deer is an unfortunate "no" for me, but I'll hold off on posting an updated graphic since the next DLC is probably only a month and change away now.

 

[UCKX]

 

[NZFanatic]

I have LEGALLY (you should never ever feed animals in a zoos unless the zoo allws it, as the zoo knows best for the animals health) fed big red deer stags with apples on multiple occasions, i say i won this round

My grandparents' neighbour farms red deer. I used to feed the stags regularly as a kid, and drive through the paddock on a quad bike.

 

[KönigDerKaffeebohnen]

Pardon, mr NZ clearly won this round

 

[NZFanatic]

Pardon, mr NZ clearly won this round

I think that's probably why I never found them very interesting. As beautiful and majestic as they truly are, my earliest experiences with them were seeing them as a farm animal (whereas I only saw fallow deer up close in a zoo, so they ring a little more 'exotic' to me, if that makes sense). I have seen red deer in the wild in Scotland too (and roe deer). There was a small herd of wild red deer that lived near my work in Perth, and I'd often see the stag up on the top of the mound watching over the does as they grazed. Funny seeing them so close to the road but still acting as though they're deep in a valley meadow somewhere.

 

[Chuditch]

As beautiful and majestic as they truly are, my earliest experiences with them were seeing them as a farm animal (whereas I only saw fallow deer up close in a zoo, so they ring a little more 'exotic' to me, if that makes sense).

This is an interesting contrast to my own experience - the only deer I've seen on farms (and quite commonly at that) are European fallow deer, and the zoos I've been to that have them kept them alongside other "farm animals". Farm escapes are how they became established in the wild in my local area in the first place.

The fallow deer is still one of my favourite animals in the game regardless - they've always been my favourite species of deer, and they're quite versatile in use.

 

[NZFanatic]

This is an interesting contrast to my own experience - the only deer I've seen on farms (and quite commonly at that) are European fallow deer, and the zoos I've been to that have them kept them alongside other "farm animals". Farm escapes are how they became established in the wild in my local area in the first place.

The fallow deer is still one of my favourite animals in the game regardless - they've always been my favourite species of deer, and they're quite versatile in use.

Interestingly, the fallow deer at Willowbank Wildlife Reserve are of domestic stock, at least based on their myriad colour variations.

 

[SivatheriumGuy]

Update! I added a bunch of things:

• The Grasslands pack species as well as the red deer. The grasslands animal pack was almost an strike except for three of the butterflies, the armadillo and caracal. I' m pretty sure I'll get to see caracals soon or later but I'll need a dedicated trip over to Natura Parc to see them armadillos! A really cool species, really wish it was widespread over here.
• All exhibit species.
• I forgot I saw Nile monitors this summer at Sigean so I had to move those up.

 

[yoav_r]

For me ingame species I've seen in the wild:
1. Fallow Deer
2. European badger
3. Gray wolf
4. Ibex (but Nubian not Alpine)
5. Red fox
6. Raccoon
7. California sea lion
8. Fire Salamander
9. Scarab beetles


But next week I'm in the Amazon river so I expect the list to maybe grow.

As for my zoo history:
View attachment 329878

Here's my update. With a lot of new wild animals:

 

[biggest_dreamer]

Seen: Bennett's wallaby, emu, blue wildebeest. Armadillo only in the wild. Never seen maned wolf, caracal, or striped hyena. There's a solid chance I've seen red deer at a safari park, but I have no specific memories of it so they're getting thrown under "never seen".

 

[Fallax]

I haven't included exhibit animals as I'm too unsure for a lot of them. I've seen most of the habitat animals but honestly there is still some ones which I'm pretty surprised I am yet to see!