Creature Feature: Wildlife Reserves
In today's Creature Feature we'll be digging into Wildlife Reserves - a brand new feature for Planet Zoo 2, introducing a totally new way for you to build and support an international conservation network.
Hayo Zookeepers!
In today's Creature Feature we'll be digging into Wildlife Reserves - a brand new feature for Planet Zoo 2, introducing a totally new way for you to build and support an international conservation network.
Without further ado, let's head beyond the zoo and into the world of Wildlife Reserves!
A whole new world
In the original Planet Zoo, releasing your animals to the wild was quite abstracted, simply earning you some conservation credits and bidding a fond farewell.
As reintroducing species into the wild is so critical to real conservation efforts, this felt like a natural area for us to build on and expand for Planet Zoo 2.
Within Planet Zoo 2's new Wildlife Reserves you'll now have a hand in establishing Ecosystems, reintroducing animals to the wild and completing research to support your conservation efforts back at the zoo.
Instead of pushing a button and seeing your lovingly cared for animals whisked away, you can now join them on their journey beyond your zoo, supporting them from afar as they live out their lives in the wild.
Evolving ecosystems
Wildlife Reserves in Planet Zoo 2 can be found in locations around the world, from the rainforests of Sumatra to the grasslands of the Great Rift Valley, each offering potential diverse Ecosystems for your zoo animals to call their new home.
These Ecosystems will vary depending on where in the world the Wildlife Reserve is based, such as watering holes in the grasslands or lowland marshes in broadleaf reserves. You can define and create different Ecosystems in Wildlife Reserves to suit the animals you're releasing.
As part of your rewilding efforts, you'll have to contend with various elements that have made these Wildlife Reserves less suitable for their native animals, including environmental pollutants and invasive flora. Before an Ecosystem can be a good home for your animals, you'll need to invest in cleaning them up, removing invasive plants and adding the right ratio of environmental factors, such as water, foliage and terrain.
Once an Ecosystem has been established, you're ready to start reintroducing animals, but there's another layer to consider if you want these Ecosystems to really flourish.
Animals in Planet Zoo 2 perform different roles in their wild Ecosystems, such as rooting in the soil, browsing from the trees or even acting as predators. To help the Ecosystem flourish and stand the test of time, it's important to fill each of these roles with a suitable population of animals to improve the biodiversity and in turn the overall rating of the Wildlife Reserve.
Heading home
Now the Wildlife Reserve has suitable Ecosystems, it's time to start welcoming animals.
Animals from your zoos can be released into Wildlife Reserves through release groups, which are essentially different groupings of a given species. These will vary from species to species, but generally range from solitary animals to breeding pairs and larger groups.
Different animals and release groups will have various requirements to meet and you'll need to make sure your animals fulfill these before attempting to release them into the wild.
These can include the animals meeting a certain level of longevity, fertility or genetic diversity - all of which make it even more important to maintain good animal welfare in your zoos.
Once your animals have been released into the Wildlife Reserve, they'll live out the rest of their lives in a natural environment, filling their niche in the Ecosystem, raising their young and increasing the wild population of their species.
Wild research
Aside from their important role in reintroducing animals into the wild, Wildlife Reserves are also a critical part of your global network in Planet Zoo 2.
Wildlife Reserves provide new insights into how animals behave naturally, earning Conservation Credits, unlocking higher levels of species research, learning more about the animals you care for in your zoos and providing new opportunities to help them thrive.
To support your conservation efforts and enable more species to be released, you'll need to build Research Networks within Wildlife Reserves.
The core of your Research Network will be a Research Outpost, complete with its own Research Vehicle (more on that shortly!), but you can also place various pieces of equipment around the Wildlife Reserve to capture important data on the animal's behaviour.
These include Observation Platforms for keen eyed staff to catch glimpses of wildlife, Acoustic Monitors to discretely pick up audio, and Camera Traps to snap footage of animals. Just as when building in your zoo, you can choose from a selection of premade Blueprints or create your own designs when building in Wildlife Reserves.
Once set up, this Research Network allows you to improve the Biodiversity Rating of the Wildlife Reserve.
Roaming the wilderness
On top of creating a home in the wild for your animals and supporting an international conservation network, Wildlife Reserves are a great opportunity for Zookeepers to explore and observe animals in their natural habitat.
The Research Vehicle allows you to traverse Wildlife Reserves on four wheels, driving across the terrain and seeing the Ecoystems for yourself. If you want to get more up close and personal, you can also hop out of the Research Vehicle and explore on foot.
To help with your exploration, you'll be armed with a handy compass to guide you to the nearest animals and a camera to snap photos - do your best not to disturb the animals and try to capture some shots of diverse animal behaviour!
A new frontier
Wildlife Reserves bring a whole new layer to the Planet Zoo experience, creating new horizons for your conservation efforts and a home for your animals in the wild.
With entirely new mechanics and creative opportunities to discover, we're incredibly proud to be bringing Wildlife Reserves to Planet Zoo 2 and look forward to seeing how you build a wilder world for all at launch this October.
Planet Zoo 2 is available to pre-order now on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Join the conversation and keep in touch by following our social channels, subscribing to our mailing list (for an exclusive in-game reward) and watching closely for updates on the website.
