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As Jeff gazes upon his photos, he realizes that they're all corrupted. Huh. That's not good. Well, after these initial images for the first year, the rest will not, in fact, be a corrupted mess. I didn't want to trash all the progress shots -- I can't exactly go back in time to take them again-- so alas we will have to deal. I'll try and make them clearer. This was supposed to be a relatively simple thing D: I want to try actually making something zoo-like, since usually I play scenarios and just slap some paths and exhibits wherever. It may not look good, but it gets the job done. I'm not playing a scenario, though, I want to do freeform. So it may not be perfect, but I'd like to try actually making actual zoos with particular focus -- in this case, a set of small zoos of extinct animals. Right now it's only one, but we'll move on to other zoos as I deem them completed. Anyway! Moving on! Into character. Finding funding -- and space -- for a dinosaur zoo is rough, if you weren't aware. Especially if reviving extinct animals is a known practice and not just the work of science fiction novels. Thankfully, we got a small plot of mostly-empty jungle and $20,000 from a kind, public benefactor. One caveat, though -- they didn't want any kind of negative public image reflecting on them if a spinosaurus or some other large theropod managed to escape and eat people. So... we are only allowed, quote, "only small dinosaurs." Very helpful. First order of business: new paths and some kind of amenities. One* amenity. At this point it was determined that we would be getting incisivosaurus -- they are definitely small, and not likely to break out of an exhibit or chew on guests. Plus they are rainforest creatures, so that's one way to cut costs. Basic frame of the exhibit is built, plus a raised viewing platform. Two eggs and a scientist to care for said eggs. At this point, we were running low on money and only had a few thousand to our name. They hatched, and the exhibit was created. The corrupted images make it hard to tell, but they ARE in there. At some point we added another for a total of three. We also fired the scientist because we simply couldn't afford to pay them $1000 a month. The second those eggs hatched, they were gone. Money was very, very tight. We earned some more and even managed to get, at one point, back up to our starting $20,000. Of course the incisivosaurs couldn't just be ignored, but by that point we could buy a compost building to help with paying the scientists. We also built a newsstand for zoo and dinosaur info, though I confess I have no idea when that was added. With a somewhat stable amount of money, the second exhibit was planned out. This would be another member of oviraptorosauria... oviraptor. I assumed rock fencing would be enough to keep them in, as oviraptor species are not exactly large. This would, later, prove to be a bad idea. For now, though, everything seemed to be fine. Oviraptors -- a pair -- hatched. The exhibit was built. Thankfully they are rather low maintenance and don't want a thousand plants. We had to build the exhibit in stages, fence and terrain before pausing to wait to get cash... then the oviraptors, then all their required items when they hatched. Anyway, at this point I wanted a change of pace. I was tired of making oviraptorosaur exhibits. I begged. I cried. I pleaded with our benefactor to please let us put some kind of modern bird in. They're dinosaurs! Everyone knows birds are related to dinosaurs and that's an oft-repeated fact, but they are quite literally therapods in dinosauria. Dinosaurs aren't extinct, technically! Let us show the public this -- these birdlike dinosaurs alongside modern ones! I eventually got them to agree. We could have turkeys. :/ And only turkeys. Honestly I think some family member had birds they didn't want anymore. Whatever the reason, I disappointedly accepted this and made a turkey-aviary. I wanted some kind of bird of prey, but whatever, fine I guess. Except right after accepting the four turkeys, the oviraptors clawed out of the solid rock and into the zoo. That was not pleasant. That led to emergency fence-reinforcements, dinosaur capturing, and guest-soothing. With a grand total of $8 left in the bank. That was mostly because I didn't notice we had run so low on funds. Isn't that kind of person who you want running YOUR zoo? :D Finally, though, here's where I am now (isn't color beautiful?). This is the second year of the zoo, with $2000. This might not seem like a lot, but honestly, the zoo has been sitting at the $4k--$8k mark for most of its operation. The turkeys will get foliage soon, and we can start planning some non-exhibit areas. Maybe a garden? Or some other kind of entertainment? Hm... maybe I'll spend some time just landscaping the area. It's looking a bit bare.

Ah, thank you! I've been having a lot of fun with this zoo so far. Finally gives me an excuse to use all these extinct animals mods I've been hoarding. I wanted to play some more before another post, but I accidentally closed out of the game. Whoops! Posts come early I guess. At least I just saved beforehand. Ahem. With the oviraptor escape over and done with, things are uneventfully chugging along. Our money has returned quickly, thanks to the enthusiastic guests. With it, we were able to landscape a little -- not perfect, but a touch of greenery does a lot for the area and makes it look more complete. Even if it's only ferns and trees. I mean, we're in a jungle! It should feel more lush. And less... well, less like a flat plane with exhibits. More flowers were considered as an option and quickly discarded -- that made it feel too manicured. All the incisivosaurs gathered around the food. Nothing much is happening here, they're just so small and rarely congregate together that I had to snag a photo before they vanished into the rainforest grasses again. There's five -- four adopted, and one that was born. Of course, as fun as it is to look at small dinosaurs, we need to continue our expansion. An added viewing area for the oviraptors, and a food court. It'll be empty for some time, but talking to some guests has revealed that by the time they get over to this area they're hungry and thirsty. With expansions and more exhibits planned and underway, it really feels inevitable that this could potentially become a future problem area. Especially since the only place to get food, drink (and a bathroom but that's not important) is still that one rainforest restaurant. It has to be crowded by now. Though at this point it was determined that we should continue with the oviraptorosaurs. There's quite a few more, and while some of them are definitely larger in scale, the majority of them seem to be on the smaller side. While a zoo only filled with them is probably not viable, it's a fun idea to play with while we can. Maybe I can beg for another modern bird to fill the gaps. After lowering the ground for purely aesthetic reasons and building an equally low viewing area for them, the next oviraptorosaur was added: chirostenotes. I was not aware of how expensive deciduous ground was, which led to an awkward patch of rainforest right in the middle. It was quickly filled in, but the blunder was embarrassing on my part. When the money recovered somewhat, a second scientist was hired. While there are only two chirostenotes(es?) and two oviraptors, there are five incisivosaurs making a mess all the time. I am regularly notified at the exhibit having no food. But with a mostly stable budget, another thousand is no issue. ... make that six incisivosaurs. With a bonus peek at the rapidly-multiplying turkeys. While I lost count at some point, I do believe we are, in the present, up to about twenty of them. If they mind the increasingly small space, they haven't shown any signs of it. This angle also makes it easier to see the fencing that's been added to the path edges! It is year three. I guess I didn't pause to take any photos of the completed chirostenotes exhibit... oops. With a decent amount of money consistently coming in, though, my mind has been on expanding, and when I finished the last exhibit I went almost immediately to the next. When you have money, it turns out, it makes the whole dinosaur zoo thing much easier to manage. The next area under construction is what will be the caudipteryx exhibit. As you may have guessed, it is also a member of oviraptorosauria. It's in a bare-bones state, not even a full exhibit yet... but it's coming along. Construction will be finished soon for sure, seeing as how we presently have more than $2,000 to our name. Here is an overhead view of the entire zoo, where you can see the finished chirostenotes area, the soon-to-be fifth exhibit, and the current turkey horde. I suppose january is a fine enough place to stop for an update, but being briefly kicked out against my will to do so is certainly an irritant. The western side of the zoo will have greenery added sometime after the caudipteryx area is finished.