Habitats & Exhibits

There are two kinds of animal homes in Planet Zoo:

• Habitats - Homes for the larger animals like aardvarks or West African lions are referred to as 'Habitats.' These comprise of a habitat barrier and a habitat gate.
• Exhibits - Homes for small animals like the goliath beetle or green iguana are referred to as 'Exhibits.' Unlike habitats, an exhibit is a standalone vivarium and can only house one species at a time.

Building a Basic Habitat

A basic habitat consists of a habitat barrier and a habitat gate. To create a habitat:

1. Open the barrier editor.
2. Select a suitable wall type to house your animal.
3. Build a loop of wall to create a completed space.
4. When you've created a complete loop, select the 'Habitat Gate' from the object browser.
5. Finally, place the habitat gate so that the path goes outwards from the habitat.

You can also start building your habitat by placing the gate and building outwards. If you are not happy with the position of your gate it is possible to move it around the wall.

For an animal to be placed in the habitat, it must meet all of its requirements.

Issues that would make a habitat invalid include:

• The barrier loop is not continuous.
• The barrier is missing a keeper gate.
• There is more than one keeper gate in the barrier loop.
• The habitat is placed inside another habitat.

After constructing a basic habitat, the next steps include acquiring the following:

• Trade Centre
• Keeper
• Keeper hut
• Power source

Once these are in place, ensure that all the facilities – including the habitat gate – are connected together by paths and are powered wherever appropriate.

There you have it, you now have a basic habitat to house an animal!

Barriers

There are many barrier types that can be used to build the perfect habitat, each has its strengths and weaknesses.

Barrier Suitability

When looking at a barrier type and considering its suitability for any given animal, the two most important factors are the resistance grade and climbing status.

• Resistance grade - indicates how tough a wall is and therefore which animals it can hold safely. In some cases, it may be possible to use a barrier with a lower grade to hold an animal, but it is likely to fail and allow the animal to break out!
• Climbing status - indicates whether the wall can be scaled by animals before additional climb proofing is applied.

The opacity of the barrier indicates whether the guests can see animals in the habitat. It also indicates whether the animal can see the guests – and therefore whether they may get stressed due to being viewed.

Barriers that are marked as watertight are suitable for holding volumes of water.

Barrier Dilapidation

With the exception of hedges, electric fences and null barriers, all barriers that are used as a habitat perimeter will deteriorate over time, with the rate of deterioration depending on the makeup of the wall.

As a barrier degrades, it becomes less fit for purpose and at a given point it may be compromised enough for the animal to break out! If a barrier degrades completely, it will simply collapse and any animal that can reach it will be able to escape.

Barriers visually show their degradation, but the exact status of a habitat's barriers can also be seen in the Habitat Info panel. Barriers can be repaired by mechanics either as part of their routine inspection or if specifically called to the habitat.

Gate Types

There are three types of gates that can be inserted into a habitat wall:

• Habitat Gate - Used by keepers, vets, mechanics and caretakers.
• Guest Gate - Used by guests and staff relocating through the habitat.
• Track Airlock -Used by transport rides. A track is required inside the habitat.

Adding Windows

Windows allow guests to view the animals and many walls can support windows. Look for the windows setting and select either windowed or one way glass. For one way glass, the direction of orientation can be flipped if it is facing the wrong way. One way windows allow animals to be viewed by guests without increasing the animal's stress level.

Adding Climbproof Protection

To help prevent escape, climbproofing protection can be added to some walls. Once you have selected the wall, look for the climbproof setting and set it to left, right or both sides of the wall this is useful for situations where two habitats share a barrier.

Barrier Height

Beyond the standard ability to adjust the height of barriers, there are some other options to play with as listed below:

• Height Snap - allows your adjustments to wall height to be made in precise increments.
• Snap to Adjacent Height - active by default and matches a barrier's height to that of its neighbours. The option can be disabled to provide more refined control.

While barriers are being placed the behaviour of the new segments can be adjusted with the following behaviours:

• Undulating – The top of the wall matches the curves of the terrain and keeps the wall at a constant height.
• Flat Top – The height of the wall is changed to maintain a level top surface regardless of the ground's undulation.
• Flat Top and Editable Bottom - As above, but with the additional ability to drag the barrier downward – potentially below the terrain – to help build barriers over unusual surfaces.

Null Barriers

Null barriers are used to create a habitat perimeter without using a physical barrier. Animals will simply walk across a null barrier – and escape if they can! – so they must be used in conjunction with other elements such as a cliff, water feature or ha-ha ditch.

Null barriers provide a clear view for guests and, in areas where walls might be unhelpful or unattractive, also allow habitat construction to occur without wall placement.

Heaters and Coolers

Both heaters and coolers require power to affect a change in the ambient temperature. Placing the object will trigger the Temperature view mode, illustrating the effect of the device on the surrounding temperature. When setting the desired temperature of the heater or cooler, note how hard you're asking it to work – the further from the ambient temperature you set it to, the greater the ongoing running costs.

Water Temperature Regulator

Water Temperature Regulators will change the temperature of connected water bodies to the target temperature over time. Larger water bodies will take longer to change temperature. The water cannot go below freezing temperature. Placing the object will trigger the Water Temperature Regulator view mode, illustrating the effect of the device on the surrounding water.

Animal Escapes

Animals escape when they manage to leave their habitat. The most common reasons for an escape are:

• The animal has climbed or jumped out.
• The animal has crossed a null barrier.
• The animal has swum over a low barrier in the water.
• There is a hole in their barrier wall, either from dilapidation or because the animal has knocked it down.

If an animal can escape it will attempt to do so.

What Counts as an Escape?

It could be a wall or a line in the dirt, but every habitat has a boundary and once an animal crosses it they have escaped. This is true even if they cross from one habitat directly into another; if an animal is not with its assigned habitat, it is considered to have escaped.

Effects of Escape

When an animal escapes, it gets stressed and its welfare is affected. Guests do not want to see an animal in an escaped state and, if the animal is considered dangerous, guests will flee the zoo.

Recovering from Escapes

Animals that have escaped must be captured by a vet. Escapes are treated as high priority incidents and a vet will aim to capture the animal as soon as is possible. If the animal's habitat still exists, the vet will return the escapee to it.

Preventing Escapes

Check the Zoopedia and make sure you have sufficient barriers:

• Make sure the wall is high enough.
• Make sure the wall is strong enough.
• Make sure the wall is in a state of good repair.
• If the animals can climb, make sure you have climbproof barriers or use walls that cannot be scaled.
• Avoid putting climbable objects near to the barrier.

Guests and Habitats

Guests can view animals by standing on a path, sitting on a bench or taking a transport ride. To actually see an animal they must have a line of sight. Barriers, foliage and other objects all reduce the quality of view as does the distance between the guest and the animal. Careful placement of windows, feeders, toys and other habitat items can be used to draw animals to better viewing locations.

A guest that is completely unable to see any animals will relocate to try and find a better view. If this is unsuccessful, after a few attempts the guest will give up on that animal. As guests view animals they gain happiness, the amount of happiness they gain depends on the quality of the view with the best views giving the greatest benefits. The happiness of the guests will be reduced if the animals being viewed are in poor condition.

Building a Good Habitat

Building a basic habitat is easy, but building a habitat which keeps both your animals and guests happy can be a little harder.

Creating a good habitat requires:

• Enough space for your animals.
• Appropriate terrain, plants and decorations for your animals.
• Appropriate, well-maintained barriers to prevent animal escapes.
• Space for your animals to rest and have privacy.
• Nearby and staffed facilities e.g. keeper hut, power etc.
• Good views for your guests.

What works for one animal won’t work for another, so be sure to consult the Zoopedia and experiment to find the best approach for your animals.

Exhibits

Exhibits are predefined habitats with closed walls used to house the smaller 'exhibit' animals.

There are two types of exhibits:

• 4m x 4m Exhibit - for small animals that guests can view from all sides.
• 12m x 20m Walkthrough Exhibit - for animals with more complex behaviours that guests can view from the inside as well.

Each exhibit can hold one species at any given time. As with habitat animals, exhibits and their inhabitants are looked after by keepers.

Setting up Exhibits

The following must be present for an exhibit to be functional:

• Exhibit connected to a path.
• Trade Centre
• Keeper
• Keeper hut
• Power source

Once an exhibit has been established, animals can be acquired from the Exhibit Trading screen and instantly transferred to the exhibit.

Guests and Exhibits

As with habitats, guests will approach the window of an exhibit to get a view of the animal inside and will always prefer to see healthy well looked after animals. To reach a viewing point, the exhibit window must be connected to a guest path. If a window is not connected or if it is closed on the 'Windows' tab, guests will not be able to see the animal and will not try to view it. For the larger walkthrough exhibits, guests can view the exhibited animals both from the interior path, or paths alongside windows that aren't 'closed'.