Diff - animals and welfare - Planet Zoo 2 Wiki

11 Animals are the heart of Planet Zoo 2. Every species is a realistically simulated creature with its own needs, and a habitat only thrives when those needs are met. The sequel rebuilds animal behaviour around what Frontier calls an improved animal brain, producing more natural and varied actions such as herding, grazing, and reacting to the world around them.

44 Welfare is tracked through clear on-screen indicators, and animals now show more obvious physical reactions to their surroundings and condition, making problems easier to spot. Frontier highlights a generational leap in fidelity, with detailed fur, feathers, and scales, along with authentic breathing and sounds.

66 Behaviour is also more expressive. Layered animations communicate an animal's mood and emotional state at a glance, without the player needing to open a menu, and species show off newly detailed actions such as more dynamic climbing and jumping, resting on raised frames, and rubbing against their surroundings.

8+The Animal Brain

10+Underneath those expressions sits what Frontier calls the animal brain, the set of systems that decides how a creature behaves across its zoos and reserves. It works as a reactive brain that sorts everything an animal can do into four kinds of action and lets it shift between them smoothly as the situation around it changes.

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12+Behaviour TypeWhat It CoversRoutinesThe animal's default actions, such as exploring, resting, and using enrichments.PeriodicsReactions to changes in the environment between routines, such as finding shelter or escaping a predator.DistractionsReactions that change how an action is carried out, such as joining a herd while exploring or answering a social call while resting.InterruptionsReactions that stop the current action for another, such as playing with a member of the same species or waking from sleep when disturbed.

13+Mood feeds into all of this. An animal that is happy, sad, angry, or scared carries out the same actions in a different manner, shown through its appearance rather than a readout, whether that is a hot lion panting or an angry tiger flattening its ears. Those moods can spread, so a scared zebra alerts the rest of its herd to danger. Animals also read their surroundings, reacting to the time of day, the weather, the seasons, and the presence of predators, and seasonal fertility shapes when they court and breed.

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815 Care, breeding, and conservation

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1017 Players raise animals from their earliest moments and can breed them across generations, while enrichment items help keep animals stimulated and healthy. Conservation is a central theme: animals can ultimately be released, and that effort extends beyond the zoo through the new Wildlife Reserves.

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1219 Cohabitation returns from the first game and takes on a larger role in management, letting compatible species share a single habitat. Frontier has said it will detail how cohabitation works closer to launch.

1320

1421 New kinds of animal

1522

1623 For the first time in the series, zoos can keep fully aquatic species in aquariums and free-flying birds in aviaries, greatly broadening the kinds of life on display.

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1825 Confirmed species

1926

20-Frontier has not yet revealed the full animal roster, but the in-game Zoopedia is now live as a reference for the animals shown so far, with new species added in weekly drops ahead of launch. Twenty-eight animals were catalogued as of mid-July 2026, and successive drops have expanded the list well beyond the announce trailer. Recent additions include the Lion, Plains Zebra, Blue Wildebeest, Eurasian Brown Bear, Red Deer, Common Bluetongue, Hawksbill Turtle and Golden Poison Frog, joining the European Peacock butterfly, the first invertebrate shown for the game. The species confirmed so far, grouped by type:

27+Frontier has not yet revealed the full animal roster, but the in-game Zoopedia is now live as a reference for the animals shown so far, with new species added in weekly drops ahead of launch. Forty-five animals were catalogued by late July 2026, and successive drops have expanded the list well beyond the announce trailer. Recent additions include the Spotted Eagle Ray, Gharial, Boa Constrictor, Gila Monster, and Springbok, alongside reef fish such as the Red Lionfish and Schooling Bannerfish, grassland mammals like the Aardvark and Gemsbok, and the Giant Malaysian Leaf Insect, which joins the European Peacock butterfly among the game's invertebrates. The species confirmed so far, grouped by type:

2128

22-GroupExamples shown so farMammalsLion, Western Chimpanzee, Plains Zebra, Sumatran Tiger, Grey Wolf, Red Deer, Masai Giraffe, Eurasian Beaver, African Savannah Elephant, European Bison, Common Hippopotamus, Red Panda, Goodfellow’s Tree-Kangaroo, Blue Wildebeest, Eurasian Brown BearReptilesSaltwater Crocodile, Hawksbill Turtle, Common BluetongueAquatic lifeBlacktip Reef Shark, Ocean Sunfish, Pufferfish, Blackspotted Puffer, Humphead Wrasse, Brown TroutBirdsToco Toucan, Secretarybird, White-tailed Sea Eagle, Great Hornbill, African PenguinAmphibiansDanube Crested Newt, Golden Poison FrogInvertebratesEuropean Peacock (butterfly)

29+GroupExamples shown so farMammalsLion, Western Chimpanzee, Plains Zebra, Sumatran Tiger, Grey Wolf, Red Deer, Masai Giraffe, Eurasian Beaver, African Savannah Elephant, European Bison, Common Hippopotamus, Red Panda, Goodfellow’s Tree-Kangaroo, Blue Wildebeest, Eurasian Brown Bear, Aardvark, African Leopard, Gemsbok, SpringbokReptilesSaltwater Crocodile, Hawksbill Turtle, Common Bluetongue, Boa Constrictor, Gharial, Gila MonsterAquatic lifeBlacktip Reef Shark, Ocean Sunfish, Pufferfish, Blackspotted Puffer, Humphead Wrasse, Brown Trout, Blunthead Cichlid, African Tigerfish, Red Lionfish, Schooling Bannerfish, Spotted Eagle RayBirdsToco Toucan, Secretarybird, White-tailed Sea Eagle, Great Hornbill, African PenguinAmphibiansDanube Crested Newt, Golden Poison Frog, Fire SalamanderInvertebratesEuropean Peacock (butterfly), Giant Malaysian Leaf Insect

2330 A further set of six species, including the Golden Eagle, Golden Lion Tamarin, Great Hammerhead Shark, Axolotl, Blue and Gold Fusilier, and Longfin Batfish, is tied to the game's deluxe release rather than the base game.

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2532 The Zoopedia

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2734 The Zoopedia is the game's in-game reference for every animal, and it is also available on the official website. It sorts each species by habitat type, spanning terrestrial habitats, flying aviaries, aquariums, and exhibits for smaller creatures, alongside the biome and continent it is found in and its real-world conservation status. As the roster has grown the taxonomy has broadened to twelve biomes, from Desert, Taiga and Tundra to Reef, Open Sea and Lakes and Rivers, and nine continents including Oceania. The recognised conservation tiers are Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, and Critically Endangered. Each entry covers the animal's appearance, size and weight, taxonomy, wild population, and social and breeding behaviour. Frontier notes the Zoopedia is a work in progress, so its stats and artwork may change before release.

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29-AnimalEditionFound InConservation StatusWild PopulationSecretarybirdBaseAfricaEndangered6,700 to 67,000African PenguinBaseAfricaEndangered19,800African Savannah ElephantBaseAfricaEndangered320,000European BisonBaseEuropeNear Threatened2,518Sumatran TigerBaseAsiaEndangered400 to 600Saltwater CrocodileBaseAsia, OceaniaLeast Concern500,000Western ChimpanzeeBaseAfricaCritically Endangered21,000 to 53,000Common HippopotamusBaseAfricaVulnerable115,000 to 130,000Red PandaBaseAsiaEndangered10,000Goodfellow’s Tree-KangarooBaseSoutheast AsiaEndangeredUnknownDanube Crested NewtBaseEuropeLeast ConcernUnknownEuropean PeacockBaseEurope, AsiaLeast ConcernUnknownHumphead WrasseBaseIndo-Pacific reefs and coastsEndangeredUnknownBrown TroutBaseEurope, Asia, North America, South America, OceaniaLeast ConcernUnknownLionBaseAfricaVulnerable22,000 to 25,000Plains ZebraBaseAfricaNear Threatened150,000 to 250,000Blue WildebeestBaseAfricaLeast Concern1,550,000Red DeerBaseEurope, Asia, AfricaLeast ConcernAbundantEurasian Brown BearBaseEurope, AsiaLeast Concern100,000Common BluetongueBaseOceaniaLeast ConcernUnknownHawksbill TurtleBaseWorldwide tropical and temperate oceansCritically EndangeredUnknownGolden Poison FrogBaseSouth AmericaEndangeredUnknownAxolotlDeluxeNorth AmericaCritically Endangered50 to 1,000Golden EagleDeluxeNorth America, Europe, Asia, Northern AfricaLeast Concern85,000 to 160,000Golden Lion TamarinDeluxeSouth AmericaEndangered4,800Great HammerheadDeluxeTropical and warm temperate oceansCritically EndangeredUnknownBlue and Gold FusilierDeluxeIndo-Pacific reefsLeast ConcernUnknownLongfin BatfishDeluxeWestern Pacific reefsLeast ConcernUnknown

36+AnimalEditionFound InConservation StatusWild PopulationSecretarybirdBaseAfricaEndangered6,700 to 67,000African PenguinBaseAfricaEndangered19,800African Savannah ElephantBaseAfricaEndangered320,000European BisonBaseEuropeNear Threatened2,518Sumatran TigerBaseAsiaEndangered400 to 600Saltwater CrocodileBaseAsia, OceaniaLeast Concern500,000Western ChimpanzeeBaseAfricaCritically Endangered21,000 to 53,000Common HippopotamusBaseAfricaVulnerable115,000 to 130,000Red PandaBaseAsiaEndangered10,000Goodfellow’s Tree-KangarooBaseSoutheast AsiaEndangeredUnknownDanube Crested NewtBaseEuropeLeast ConcernUnknownEuropean PeacockBaseEurope, AsiaLeast ConcernUnknownHumphead WrasseBaseIndo-Pacific reefs and coastsEndangeredUnknownBrown TroutBaseEurope, Asia, North America, South America, OceaniaLeast ConcernUnknownLionBaseAfricaVulnerable22,000 to 25,000Plains ZebraBaseAfricaNear Threatened150,000 to 250,000Blue WildebeestBaseAfricaLeast Concern1,550,000Red DeerBaseEurope, Asia, AfricaLeast ConcernAbundantEurasian Brown BearBaseEurope, AsiaLeast Concern100,000Common BluetongueBaseOceaniaLeast ConcernUnknownHawksbill TurtleBaseWorldwide tropical and temperate oceansCritically EndangeredUnknownGolden Poison FrogBaseSouth AmericaEndangeredUnknownAxolotlDeluxeNorth AmericaCritically Endangered50 to 1,000Golden EagleDeluxeNorth America, Europe, Asia, Northern AfricaLeast Concern85,000 to 160,000Golden Lion TamarinDeluxeSouth AmericaEndangered4,800Great HammerheadDeluxeTropical and warm temperate oceansCritically EndangeredUnknownBlue and Gold FusilierDeluxeIndo-Pacific reefsLeast ConcernUnknownLongfin BatfishDeluxeWestern Pacific reefsLeast ConcernUnknownAardvarkBaseAfricaLeast ConcernUnknownBlunthead CichlidBaseAfricaLeast ConcernAbundantMasai GiraffeBaseAfricaEndangered35,000Giant Malaysian Leaf InsectBaseSoutheast AsiaNot EvaluatedUnknownGemsbokBaseSouthwest AfricaLeast Concern373,000Fire SalamanderBaseEuropeVulnerableUnknownOcean SunfishBaseWorldwideVulnerableUnknownAfrican LeopardBaseAfricaVulnerableUnknownSchooling BannerfishBaseIndo-Pacific reefsLeast ConcernAbundantBoa ConstrictorBaseSouth America, Central AmericaLeast ConcernUnknownAfrican TigerfishBaseAfricaLeast ConcernUnknownBlacktip Reef SharkBaseIndo-Pacific reefs and coastsVulnerableUnknownGharialBaseAsia (Indian subcontinent)Critically Endangered650Spotted Eagle RayBaseIndo-Pacific reefs and coastsEndangeredUnknownGila MonsterBaseNorth AmericaNear ThreatenedUnknownRed LionfishBaseWestern Indo-Pacific OceanLeast ConcernUnknownSpringbokBaseSouthern AfricaLeast Concern2,000,000 to 2,500,000

3037 Animals listed in the Zoopedia so far, with the real-world conservation data shown for each. The roster is growing through weekly reveals, so this is a partial list rather than the full lineup.

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