Big Things Have Small Beginnings

[YoungerPrinceLothric]

I use a hack that allows me to delete feces and garbage that guests leave behind.

[YoungerPrinceLothric]

I was out of commission for a few days while I recovered from my covid + flu vaccines on Monday, but now I'm back with an update on my 'new' cervidae-focused zoo and it's a big update! Some of these are screenshots I completely forgot to show the first time.

Let's start with the hornbills.

The overarching theme for this section of the zoo is to create the illusion that all four of these hornbill species were living together in a single aviary, separated from each other with the invisible fence mod:

^ Hawkkeye's Great Hornbills. I've showed off these guys before, and I still love them. They breed very large flocks. As of writing this thread I have 7.

^ Hawkkeye's Knobbed Hornbills. These one's were programmed to fly! and they love to gather around the water. It's possible that their food was placed there by the zookeepers and I just can't see it because of the extra foliage I placed there. They're excellent breeders as well, though slightly slower paced. As of writing this, I also have 7.

^ Borsato's flying Rhinoceros Hornbills! I fear I may run out of space for these guys eventually. At present time, I have 8 of them.

^ and finally, Hawkkeye's Helmeted Hornbills. They seem content with there being only 3 of them.

 

Back to ungulates, here's another combined exhibit featuring Hawkkeye's Eld's Deer, his Vietnamese Pot-Bellied Pigs, Khaydar's Water Buffalo, and finally Hawkkeye's Ayam Cemani – a species of hypermelanistic black chickens, which are the reason for them all being housed in an aviary:

^ I had used the pot-bellied pigs before and was perfectly happy with the prospect of using them again alongside a deer species. Good, chunky bois. They're great breeders, too. At the time of writing this, I have 12. 

^ the Ayam Cemani. Very well-behaved birds. I have no issues with them. The babies are so tiny though that you can miss them if you aren't looking hard enough.

^ Khaydar's Water Buffalo, lounging by the ponds.

^ Hawkkeye's Eld's Deer. This guy was hidden around a large cluster of grass so I pulled him out into the open so we could get a better look at him. The males have gorgeous antler racks, but they can be hard to see against certain terrain. Regardless, I like them a lot.

 

As for what I built today, on Wednesday, here is an exhibit for Hawkkeye's Schomburgk's Deer. I decided to take a break from the multi-species aviary exhibits and just give these guys one of their own. They're swimmers, like the Barasingha, so I went ahead and built them an adjacent tank with land access. I just love watching them kick their little legs under the water's surface:

Sometimes when the deer swim, depending on the angle you're watching them from, it can appear as though they're completely submerged. It's an amusing little glitch. I don't consider it anything too distracting.

 

Here are some close-up shots of the tank's viewing area, still a work-in-progress:

^ this 'staircase' you're seeing is a combination of two path's: RDingFT's 'Dark Rock Tile Path' for the flat pieces, and Vondell's Carpet Path for the stair textures. I wanted the incline to actually look like steps, so I placed asphalt terrain underneath and voila. I personally think it turned out great. They go well together.

 

 

^ Here is my second attempt at making a graphically suitable area for Savannahjan's Bygone Era Frosty Palace. Asphalt terrain was placed down first, as I felt Vondell's Paved Path, while a great path in its own right, wasn't giving me the look I really wanted. I placed the invisible path mod on top of the terrain so guests would know to walk on it. Using the white curb mod from ZTCDD and the grey recolored sand walls, I was able to make a parking area that looked similar, if not 100% identical, to a parking lot in real life. Vondell's Road Paint mod went a long way in helping to make the area look more realistic and believable, and I topped it off with some Route 66 vans from here on Zoo Tek, as they had similar fun colors that I felt matched the vibes of the Frosty Palace.

^ I applied the same principles to the multiplex theater area, right next to the Frosty Palace. It looks much more presentable than my previous attempt in my last zoo. Guests can buy a snack or two before going inside to watch their favorite movie. I am a little perturbed as to why I'm seeing this thought from guests, however. 😆 both mods exist in my game.

 

^ Both of these are Easter-themed buildings from mod author Devona: an 'Inn' where guests can create their own meal, and an 'Egg Hunting' house for fun. Both buildings are so brightly colored that I thought they'd fit in perfectly with the Frosty Palace. 

 

 

 

^ This exhibit was originally going to be for Hawkkeye's North Chinese Leopard, but instead I thought it would look better with ungulates, so I purchased his Sichuan Takins and Borsato's Chinese Pangolins. The general idea of this exhibit is centered around that magnificent Chinese temple, again from RDingFT, in the corner there. By putting Toodlepop's gate shelters up against it, I hoped to create the illusion that the animals were going inside the temple to rest and recuperate. 

^ Some close-ups of the animals. They get along wonderfully together.

 

I think that covers everything for today! Have a wonderful Holiday weekend, everyone!

[fountain]

Beautiful exhibits, great planning, and very educational about how to use the newer animals. Thank you for sharing the beauty!

P.S. YoungerPrinceLothric, I hear you about those simultaneous injections. I was surprised on Wednesday by the offer of getting Covid and flu vaccines at my General Physician appointment. Lesson learned: do not get vaccine(s) the day before an important holiday. Naps Wednesday. Wanting to nap and don't bother me Thursday. Better Friday

[pukkie]

Beautiful how you dress the zoo where there is hight differences

Love how you inbuild things in the terrain too

Clever and skilled zoobuilding I love it!

[YoungerPrinceLothric]

Update in the cervidae zoo:

I created an exhibit for Hawkkeye's Persian Fallow Deer!

^ They're pretty, easy to take care of, and have given me no issues whatsoever. They have a slow-ish birthing rate. At the time of writing this, I have 7.

^ Beside the PFD's and Schomburgk's Deer exhibit, I placed a Space Needle museum, created by Jane, I think.

^ (Buildings set to hidden) Adjacent to the Space Needle is the garden, showing a mix of RDingft and Lowenfrau items. I sank the aqueduct and Slavic pillar pieces into the ground to make it look like water was supplying the flowerbeds with fresh water. If you look closely at the Slavic pieces, there are two small holes in the graphic. the general illusion here is to make it appear as though the water is flowing out of them.

^ Beside the Schomburgk Deer tank viewing area, I created a small forest section and put in a few wooden lodges, one of them functioning as a restaurant. I think the log cabin design of both buildings really complements the AOE wooden fence pieces from RDingFT.

^ A Stegosaurus mini-golf course. This zoo does not have any dinosaurs in it right now, but it will eventually. I just can't not have dinosaurs in any zoo that I make, even though I'm centering this one's focus on deer. Perhaps Borsato's Carnotaurus or one of Zarawatto's pterosaurs, to add some variety.

^ My biggest labor of love for this week: a Mixed African Wildlife exhibit for Borsato's Chital, Hawkkeye's Zebu, his Indian Star Tortoise, and his Rhesus Macaque — the macaque is the reason I have, once again, placed everything in an aviary. While the Chital were the reason I built the exhibit in the first place, the number of toys and enrichment items from Lowenfrau make it apparent that the monkeys are the star of the show. They have been given rope swings, trampolines, and a rope gymnasium to keep entertained. 

^ They are tiny, and easy to miss! Regardless, everyone is well-behaved, easy to please, and gets alone famously with each other. 

I have a total of 4 Macaques (2 adults and 1 child was initially adopted. They give birth to 1 each time)

4 Zebu (2 adults and 1 child were initially adopted. They give birth to 1 each time)

5 Chital (2 adults and 1 child were initially adopted. They give birth to 2 each time)

5 Tortoises (2 adults and 1 child were initially adopted. They give birth to 2 each time)

This is still a 'fresh' exhibit and in its early stages. I cannot yet comment on the average speed + yield for each.

 

That's it for today!

[Truly_happy]

How many times can I hit the "love" reaction? Simply. Beautiful. Let me shake your hand on a job well done!

[pukkie]

You know ZT2 has a bush antlered deer they are part of the dino expansion pack but they are still deer

Perhaps you can ask a designer to create one of those for you

I bet they fit in perfectly in this zoo

Outstanding scrrenshots and the look you tried to create with the pillars with the freshwater supply to these lovely flowerbeds?

You nailed it YoungFriendLothric Prince of zoocreators

[YoungerPrinceLothric]

Today we have two new exhibits: One focusing on Hawkkeye's Sambar and the other on Borsato's Mastodon. We'll start with the Sambar first.

^ Here I have combined them with Hawkkeye's Bornean Bearded Pig and Khaydar's Gaur. The idea behind this exhibit was to provide animals for the guests to watch while they're eating in 'Jane's Bistro.' The building has an outdoor 'patio' of sorts, purely graphical, but I wanted to play into the illusion so I sank the exhibit into the ground for premium viewing.  

As far as the animals go, everyone is famously well-behaved and gets along together. Ridiculously easy to take care of them. 

I've also taken a few screenshots of the Sambar swimming:

in the following shot, I paused the game and quick transported the Sambar over to the Schomburgk's Deer exhibit to see what it looks like in a tank and then made sure to send him back over before he could realize what was going on.

Total Sambar: 4. (2 adults and 1 child initially adopted. They produce 1 at a time.)

Total Gaur: 4 (2 adults and 1 child initially adopted. They produce 1 at a time.)

Total Bearded Pigs: 6 (2 adults and 1 child initially adopted. I wasn't paying the best attention to my messages at a time and I think they give birth to 3 at a time.)

To my shame I did not make the exhibit big enough to accommodate everyone even though they are happy and content for now. In the future I will have to account for the size of the Gaur and the fact that the Bearded Pigs produce large litters. 

 

^ The idea behind this section of the zoo, which is located beside the Chital exhibit, is to treat the guests to an elephant ride and take a look at some previously-extinct mastodons. RDingFT's brick wall setting here, the ones with the elephants on top, act as admission booths for guests to come in and ride some elephants. Behind the rides, the mastodons are situated below, along with Hawkkeye's Bootherium. As you can see, watchtowers have been placed for guests to climb up and catch a bird's eye view of the slowly-growing herd.

^ another overhead view of the exhibit.

^ ambling about with the Bootherium. 

^closeup of the mastodon calves. I just adore baby elephants and mammoths. I've missed seeing these guys.

They're a little temperamental and you have to work quickly to give them a suitable exhibit, but once you've done that they're a joy to have. The Bootherium have never given me any trouble whatsoever. 

Total Mastodon: 4 (2 adults and 2 children initially adopted. No breeding yet. I may adopt more babies because I love them.)

Bootherium: 3. (2 adults and 1 child initially adopted. No breeding yet.)

 

Update on the Eld's Deer exhibit: The Vietnamese Pot-Bellied Pigs who share the exhibit with them have created a massive herd, so much so that I sold the Water Buffalo to compensate them and save room. At the time of writing this, I have 36. They are one of my favorite pigs that Hawkkeye has created and I enjoy watching them flourish.

 

That's all for tonight!

 

 

[YoungerPrinceLothric]

Today, we have a massive exhibit for Hawkkeye's White-Tailed Deer, his Wild Turkeys, and his Appaloosa horses. This exhibit was a labor of love, but was originally going to have more animal species placed in it. The WTD is primarily compatible with several birds, but I feel as though I have exhausted aviaries for the time being. This time, we are going to pretend that the turkeys' wings are clipped and incapable of flight. 

This exhibit was a labor of love for over several hours. I wanted to create the illusion that zoo staff 'quarters' were located in this exhibit, which is why these medieval thatched houses are located here. If you wanted to, you could pretend storage supplies for the animals were housed here. 

 

 

Here are some overhead, zoomed out shots that hopefully convey the lushness I was trying to emulate

 

Over here, we have watchtowers for guests who want more of a 'bird's eye view.' I will be utilizing more of these in the future.

 

Here are the animals gathered around the water troughs.

 

Another corner of the exhibit, dedicated to these lovely Dutch windmills.

 

Finally, we have two different angles of the water feature. Using two different pile wall mods from RDingFT, I think I was able to capture a serene, sophisticated little pond area with impressive architecture. Some pieces were sunk into the ground. This did not negatively affect the animals' suitability or happiness.

 

I am extremely happy with my work and cannot wait to load this save back up again.

Number of animals and group sizes:

White-Tailed Deer: 11 (6 adults and 1 child initially adopted. I am unsure how many fawns they give birth to at a time, as they reproduced as I was building the exhibit. Great potential for building large herds fast if that is what you're looking for. Large exhibits are a must.)

Wild Turkeys: 8 (4 adults and 1 child initially adopted. They give birth to more than 1 chick at a time, but again, I cannot be sure of the exact number. Excellent at building a large flock. Large exhibits are a must.)

Appaloosa: 4 (2 adults and 1 child initially adopted. They give birth to 1 foal at a time. Good for players who don't want a large herd to deal with. Noticeably slower birthing rate than the other animals.)

 

These animals were very easy to take care of and gave me no issues whatsoever. 

That's all for tonight!

[(Admin)Savannahjan]

This zoo is absolutely exquisite, it's truly amazing.  You must be an artist, seriously.  There are so many things used together that I would have never thought of.  Just stunning.