Zoo Tycoon's Lowland Gorilla isn't as it Seems

[mjmannella]

The gorilla featured in Zoo Tycoon goes by the in-game name of "Lowland Gorilla". To to average zoo-goer, they would imagine this to correlate to the most commonly held type; the Western lowland gorilla (G. g. gorilla). However, there's not a lot of actual evidence for this when you look a bit deeper:

 

• In the animal's information, the Western lowland and mountain types are only mentioned three times each (and only in lists or comparisons). Meanwhile, the Eastern lowland gorilla is mentioned five times and we're even provided information on its group structure and habitat.
• The animal's internal name, right above its NameID, is "Mountain gorilla". Interestingly, this supposed "lowland" species has an elevation preference of 20%.

 

Here's what my verdict is: I think that this animal was intended to be not the Western gorilla (G. gorilla), but rather the Mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei beringei). However, when it came time to research the animal, the developers were hard-pressed for information of this elusive subspecies. They decided to use the next best thing: the Eastern lowland gorilla (Gorilla beringei graueri). Luckily for the developers, they'd get their day in Zoo Tycoon 2, where we see what is undoubtedly a mountain gorilla!

 

But this isn't the full story. If you recall the Beast in Show contest that Blue Fang held during Zoo Tycoon's support, you may be aware that the winner (Magnet the polar bear) was among 10 finalists. One other finalist was Kubi, a Western lowland gorilla. If things had gone just a tad differently, we could've had representation for both gorilla species in Zoo Tycoon! (or something a bit more unique like a koala, fossa, or white rhinoceros )

[Truly_happy]

Interesting. I didn't know why the game had a "Magnet the polar bear", either.

[mjmannella]

You can read more about the Beast in Show contest here!

[Truly_happy]

1 hour ago, mjmannella said:

You can read more about the Beast in Show contest here!

Interesting!