For me, it is the smaller animals that truly make these zoo simulators more unique - Zoo Tycoon 2 for instance was the first zoo game I played where animals like ring-tailed lemurs, red pandas and peafowl could be used and they soon became my favourites. Likewise, in Planet Zoo my favourites are animals like the Chinese pangolin and Nile monitor. As such, all my top five animals are at the smaller end of the scale but still larger than the ring-tailed lemur (smallest habitat animal in the game):
1.
Yellow-throated marten Martes flavigula - The largest marten species which also has extremely striking colouration; they should really have little if any climate intolerance (their range spreads from tropical rainforest in Southeast Asia to the snowy taiga of Eastern Russia) and would be a fantastic addition to most Asian sections of a zoo.
2.
Ocellated turkey Meleagris ocellata - A tie for my most-wanted species - a ridiculously colourful large ground bird from the jungles of Central America; it shares its range with the Baird's tapir and in the game should get some kind of bonus from being kept with the tapir - this species is also the more threatened of the two turkey species and would add another tropical Central/South American species to the game roster.
3.
White-thighed colobus Colobus vellerosus - Would add a tailed monkey to the game, which is critically endangered and was recently recommended to have a captive-breeding programme started in European zoos; it would also possibly be easier to animate than the more commonly kept colobus species, as they lack the mantle of shaggy hair.
4.
Corsican hare Lepus corsicanus - Would add a threatened European endemic to the game, which is simultaneously known (I'm sure most people know what a hare is) and unknown (I'm equally sure most people don't know of the Corsican species); it is also quite pretty for a hare, with visibly contrasting colours, and is kept in at least a few European zoos.
Una lepre tutta italiana Lepre italica (Lepus corsicanus). Prima considerato sottospecie della lepre europea (Lepus eropaeus), questo leporide è oggi ritenuto specie a sé stante, con distribuzione limitata...
www.juzaphoto.com
5.
Black-necked stork Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus - The largest species on this list; a striking waterbird which has a range that covers large parts of South and Southeast Asia as well as northern Australia, so could suit many different areas in a zoo; they are also interestingly one of the only storks with a difference between the sexes - the eyes of males have brown irises while females have yellow irises.
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