I'm really curious about the people who are desperate to get a certain animal in the game, be it a porcupine, grey wolf, musk ox or walrus (you know who you are!) For me it was raccoons and I was so SO excited when the Twilight pack came out. I'd love to know where these attachments come from because I am sure that some of us, like me, have really deep personal reasons for them.
So, not just in the game, but IRL, what's your favourite animal and why? I'll go first. Trigger warning: grief and loss.
I'm English but my dad was American. He grew up in California and his family did lots of mountain hiking. One time out on a hike they found an abandoned baby raccoon, and he and his sister rescued it. They bought it up in their house and named him Rocky Raccoon. When Rocky got older, they found a really good rehabilitation programme that gently introduced him to a wild raccoon family and eventually released him back into the wild with them. When I was born, my dad gave me a 'Fluppet' raccoon called Rocky - do you know those 80's puppet soft toys? And when I was little, he would put on puppet shows with all my soft toy animals and Rocky was always the star of the show. Many times when I was growing up, Dad took me to America, and we went mountain hiking in the Sierras and he told me stories about the real Rocky and other adventures. He would play me 'Rocky Racoon' and other Beatles songs on the guitar to sing me to sleep. Rocky came with me everywhere, I told him all my thoughts and feelings, and would smuggle him to school up my sleeve. I gave him 'haircuts' and combined with all the snuggling, he had a particularly well-worn 'loved' look that was entirely, uniquely Rocky.
When I was 17, my dad suddenly died, and my world shattered. Strangely, just before he passed away, I also lost Rocky on a trip to the states to see family. It was like a bad omen. Somehow the two losses seemed intertwined and my childhood was well and truly over. A lesson I learned was that when you lose someone important like that, you never get over it, it lives with you, and you learn to live with it. You learn that loss is a part of life, and one that we all have to live with eventually - we are truly unusually lucky if it's not too often, or too young. "At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can", as Frida Kahlo tells us. Even when it happened, I knew that I was so, so grateful to have had my dad for the time I'd been able to have him, rather than have any other dad for my whole life.
Earlier this year, I was experiencing another big loss, and I was thinking about Dad, and Rocky. And for some reason, I googled 80's raccoon fluppets, and omg, THERE was Rocky on ebay! Just one, with the same scruffy haircut and looking just as love-worn as my Rocky had! These toys were discontinued long ago and this was the only one on the whole freaking internet that is exactly the same as the one I'd had. Just a click away. A part of me, the magical-thinking child part, just knew that somehow, Rocky had travelled the world, gained some independence and was now able to return to me. I bought him, there was no bidding involved, and he arrived through the post a week later...as easy as that. My eyes could hardly process. It was like a tiny fragment of my childhood back. A little hello from my dad.
So. I know they're not everyone's favourite, and for many of you, it's just a backyard pest. But for me, it was really important to have raccoons in the game. I've made little woodland enclaves and playgrounds for them and they're my favourite animal to watch on camera mode, shuffling about and washing their food. Obviously I have named many of my favourites 'Rocky'! They're also a creature I can relate to - nocturnal, playful, a bit naughty - and they love their snacks!
So, if you feel comfortable sharing, I'd love to know your stories. Why are porcupines divine? What is the beauty of the walrus? What box is ticked by the grey fox or ox? What creature is the main feature and why?
Rocky Returned
So, not just in the game, but IRL, what's your favourite animal and why? I'll go first. Trigger warning: grief and loss.
I'm English but my dad was American. He grew up in California and his family did lots of mountain hiking. One time out on a hike they found an abandoned baby raccoon, and he and his sister rescued it. They bought it up in their house and named him Rocky Raccoon. When Rocky got older, they found a really good rehabilitation programme that gently introduced him to a wild raccoon family and eventually released him back into the wild with them. When I was born, my dad gave me a 'Fluppet' raccoon called Rocky - do you know those 80's puppet soft toys? And when I was little, he would put on puppet shows with all my soft toy animals and Rocky was always the star of the show. Many times when I was growing up, Dad took me to America, and we went mountain hiking in the Sierras and he told me stories about the real Rocky and other adventures. He would play me 'Rocky Racoon' and other Beatles songs on the guitar to sing me to sleep. Rocky came with me everywhere, I told him all my thoughts and feelings, and would smuggle him to school up my sleeve. I gave him 'haircuts' and combined with all the snuggling, he had a particularly well-worn 'loved' look that was entirely, uniquely Rocky.
When I was 17, my dad suddenly died, and my world shattered. Strangely, just before he passed away, I also lost Rocky on a trip to the states to see family. It was like a bad omen. Somehow the two losses seemed intertwined and my childhood was well and truly over. A lesson I learned was that when you lose someone important like that, you never get over it, it lives with you, and you learn to live with it. You learn that loss is a part of life, and one that we all have to live with eventually - we are truly unusually lucky if it's not too often, or too young. "At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can", as Frida Kahlo tells us. Even when it happened, I knew that I was so, so grateful to have had my dad for the time I'd been able to have him, rather than have any other dad for my whole life.
Earlier this year, I was experiencing another big loss, and I was thinking about Dad, and Rocky. And for some reason, I googled 80's raccoon fluppets, and omg, THERE was Rocky on ebay! Just one, with the same scruffy haircut and looking just as love-worn as my Rocky had! These toys were discontinued long ago and this was the only one on the whole freaking internet that is exactly the same as the one I'd had. Just a click away. A part of me, the magical-thinking child part, just knew that somehow, Rocky had travelled the world, gained some independence and was now able to return to me. I bought him, there was no bidding involved, and he arrived through the post a week later...as easy as that. My eyes could hardly process. It was like a tiny fragment of my childhood back. A little hello from my dad.
So. I know they're not everyone's favourite, and for many of you, it's just a backyard pest. But for me, it was really important to have raccoons in the game. I've made little woodland enclaves and playgrounds for them and they're my favourite animal to watch on camera mode, shuffling about and washing their food. Obviously I have named many of my favourites 'Rocky'! They're also a creature I can relate to - nocturnal, playful, a bit naughty - and they love their snacks!
So, if you feel comfortable sharing, I'd love to know your stories. Why are porcupines divine? What is the beauty of the walrus? What box is ticked by the grey fox or ox? What creature is the main feature and why?
Rocky Returned 
. Then we went to Bristol Zoo and saw it, fascinated by it.
Recently I learned that owls' eyes are tube shaped and basically binoculars. Mind. Blown.