Big Things Have Small Beginnings

[(Designer)Vondell]

Jan is right, this is all really well put-together. I have to say, it makes me happy to see those incline pieces from the Aquarium path set in action! I recognized them immediately.

[YoungerPrinceLothric]

Hello everyone! Today's update is more of an 'exhibit repurposing' than something new. Updates will come slower as we inch closer and closer to Christmas and New Years. 

 

This exhibit used to house the Chinese Pangolins and Sichuan Takins, but all animals eventually passed away, leaving only one takin by itself. As I wanted to make this a cervidae-focused zoo, I sold the last takin and adopted some Kashmir Stags - Hawwkeye again, as well as a few of his Western Tragopans.

 

We'll start with some overhead shots. 

 

I hope that one day we will see more cliff wall covering options. The cobblestone cliff walls are very well made but feel out of place in this particular exhibit. I used some snowy rock-themed walls along the shorter edges.

I had to do some extensive terrain changes after adopting these guys and the Chinese temple didn't seem to suit them, so I sold it and gave them a more modest stable. Their foliage requirements were greater, but not difficult to fulfill. 

the male stags from this species have very impressive racks and I enjoy watching them amble about. These guys aren't swimmers, so I have no swimming shots to share.

the Tragopans are tiny and very easy to miss! Due to their nature as highland animals and needing higher elevation than other biomes, I couldn't use those aviary pieces to create a believable, well, aviary. I don't consider it a massive letdown, though. Sometimes you can't have everything and you need to work with what you've got and there's nothing wrong with that. Like the wild turkeys from last time, we will pretend these birds have had their wings clipped and can no longer maintain flight.

Total Kashmir Stags: 6 (2 adult males, 2 adult females and 1 child were initially adopted. They give birth to 1 at a time.)

Total Western Tragopans: 4 (2 adults and 1 child initially adopted. They give birth to 1 at a time.)

As this is exhibit is still fresh and in its infancy, I can't make an accurate observation about birthing rates and group sizes.

 

An amusing update on the Vietnamese Pot-Bellied Pigs: There are a total of 87 at the time of writing this entry. Because I built this exhibit so large to begin with, they aren't complaining at all about exhibit size and only report that they need more shelters from time to time. All the same, I have sold off all of the other species who shared this exhibit with them and have decided to leave the pigs to their own devices. I love these guys to death - they're definitely in my Top Five Favorite Hawkkeye Animals, and I want to see just how big their herd can get. 

 

Before I close out this post I want to share a link to the hack mod that I use to delete animal feces, trash, and even animal food, as people in the past have asked me how I keep after such massive exhibits and animal herds. This is how. I still have zookeepers assigned to my exhibits but they do not work fast enough to get to every pile of poop. Your animals, including modded animals, can get very angry if their exhibits are dirty and eventually you just have to do all the cleanup yourself. It's an Essential mod for me. I will never take it out of my dlupdate folder. It's saved my sanity.

Goodnight all, and thanks for tuning in for this update! If you don't hear from me for a while after this, I've either become inundated with holiday prep, or I'm passed out in bed due to chronic illness fatigue. Either way, I still have plenty ideas for this zoo, and the zoos to come after, so keep an eye out!

Whatever you guys are celebrating, I wish you all well.

[HeatherL]

Beautiful exhibits.

 

I've been told there are more cliff wall faces in the works, so I've been trying to wait patiently.

 

I agree that Jordan's Superhack is a must-have mod for my zoos - I tend to make really big exhibits, too.

[(Admin)Savannahjan]

87 pigs?  Good gravy!

 

Love this project. 

[pukkie]

some breathtaking zoodesign YoungerPrinceLothric

[YoungerPrinceLothric]

Happy New Year, everyone! I hope you are all well. Today we have the beginnings of an exhibit for Hawkkeye's Arctic Caribou! 

The idea for this exhibit plan was to simulate a winter valley sunken into the ground with a large herd of caribou found within. I've yet to begin work on the outside of the exhibit, but as far as the inside, it is pretty much finished. Here are four overhead shots of the area, which is found beside the White Tailed Deer exhibit:

 

Areas with darker colored terrain have been accented by darker colored rock walls while the snowy terrain was complemented by the, well, snowy rock walls lol. I could not place rock walls all the way around due to size limitations, so in areas where there are blank spots, I placed down trees and rocks to camouflage them.  

Because I had just finished this exhibit, I cannot give an accurate observation of breeding rates and offspring output, but I will tell you that I have initially adopted 4 adult males, 4 adult females, and 1 child with the 'purchasing young hack.'

 

I am expecting them to yield more children as time goes on 😊

 

Some updates on the other animals in this zoo: 

There are currently 23 of Borsato's Chital (they breed slowly but their herds have the potential to be VERY large)

7 of Hawkkeye's Japanese Macaques (slow breeding rates, slow child output)

6 of Hawkkeye's Zebu (slow breeding rates, slow child output, they are content to have small herds based on what I have witnessed)

16 of Borsato's Rhinoceros Hornbill (very fast and large breeding rates based on what I've witnessed, I have yet to receive any updates about their exhibits being 'too small')

23 of Hawkkeye's Knobbed Hornbills (fast breeding rate, large potential for massive flocks and they're content with the size of their exhibit for the time being)

17 of Hawkkeye's Great Hornbills (similar in scope to the Knobbed species)

19 of Hawkkeye's Barasinghas (slow-to-average breeding rate. Herds are large but they are in no rush to make them as big as possible)

9 of Khaydar's Indian Rhinoceros (similar to the Barasinghas. They're fine with building a herd at a smaller rate than other animals)

A whopping 34 of Hawkkeye's Sarus Cranes (fast and aggressive breeders, love to build large flocks, not for casual players who build small exhibits)

A staggering 102 of Hawkkeye's Vietnamese Pot-Bellied Pigs (I've already waxed poetic about these guys in the past but, seriously, don't adopt these guys unless you're willing to build a large exhibit for them and keep an eye out because they can and will overwhelm you if you aren't prepared for it lol.)

8 of Hawkkeye's Schomburgk's Deer (they don't feel compelled to build large herds, very slow birth rate even at their happiest. perfect for casual players.)

17 of Hawkkeye's Persian Fallow Deer (average herd-building speed. Might be fine for casual players.)

24 of Hawkkeye's Bornean Bearded Pigs (fast and aggressive herd-building capabilities, similar to the VPBP's. Do not build small exhibits for them)

5 of Hawkkeye's Sambar (small herds, content to keep small families. Casual players should be just fine.)

7 of Hawkkeye's Appaloosas (slow birthing rate, small to average-sized herds seem to be their goal)

22 of Hawkkeye's White-Tailed Deer (explosive birthing rate, do not build small exhibits for them. Keep abreast for messages about the exhibit 'not being big enough.' Mine are content for the time being.)

17 of Hawkkeye's Wild Turkeys (fast breeding rate. Not too overwhelming but definitely up there.)

Finally, 10 of Borsato's Superb Lyrebirds (slow birthing rate but with a potential to build large flocks. Keep an eye on them.)

[(Admin)Savannahjan]

What a gorgeous exhibit!  It looks great.   Could you please identify the wooden building, I don't remember seeing it before.  And some close shots of the exhibit features, if you please. 

 

 

[YoungerPrinceLothric]

1 hour ago, Savannahjan said:

What a gorgeous exhibit!  It looks great.   Could you please identify the wooden building, I don't remember seeing it before.  And some close shots of the exhibit features, if you please. 

 

 

The wooden building comes from this pack! It is a massive shelter that holds up to 20 animals

Here are some more close up shots

I probably should have mentioned in the original post that these objects, foliage, and some of the rocks come primarily from RDingFT
 

[YoungerPrinceLothric]

Oh, and those extravagant flocked evergreen trees were made by Genki!

[(Admin)Savannahjan]

Thanks, I don't know why I don't remember that shelter since I've used that pack so many times.   Don't you just love those huge snow crested rocks, especially the one with the staircase!