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Zoo Tycoon is one of those games where I can literally spend hours upon hours playing and it will never stress me out.
I do play sandbox, but hey, that’s just what rocks my boat.
I just feel that maybe there should be a bit more animals that we could choose from. Thankfully, the mod community listened to my prayers once again and created a bunch of mods to enrich the natural habitats of the game.
I’ve tried to make a varied list that includes animals from all regions of the world. I think this list came out looking exactly how I wanted, and you will be able to truly make your zoo feel like a completely different place once all of the mods are installed.
A word of warning though – if you’re a fan of dinosaurs, there are plenty of mods that add them to the game.
Many of them were extremely popular, which is why I’m adding this quick annotation on these too. So jump in and let’s have some fun!
New animals, new behaviors, man more hours of fun.
The Radical Remade mod adds a whole bunch of new African animals to your selection of zoo critters.
Create the safari zone of your dreams and watch those mandrills move around your zoo.
The creator of the mod made sure to add new behaviors to suit the animals better than others that already came in the game.
All in all, I’d say it’s a solid mod. The movements are not developed with the same level of depth as others, but it’s still a great addition to the game.
Alright, this mod adds the one critter. Which is why it’s not higher up on the list.
However I beg you not to be fooled by its apparent simplicity.
The Eurasian Jay model is absolutely fantastic. And as the creator of the mod states, it’s made from scratch.
All of the animations aren’t based on other animals or aspects that the game comes with. They were made from a blank slate and carved into what you see.
The jay moves naturally and everything just feels right about it. Besides, just look at it. It’s super cute.
Yay, cats! The Asian Golden Cat mod literally adds one creature to the game.
But it’s a cat, so I’m putting it above the two other mods since we all love felines.
The Asian Golden cat model is, nonetheless, a very well-made mod which comes with a couple of different skins so it feels like you’re actually adding a few other animals to the game.
It’s cute as heck, though, and that alone earns it a spot on my list.
This mod sounds hilariously scary if you only read its name and avoid the description.
But the Snake Pack mod is a fantastic addition to your game.
You will have the option to select a bunch of new snakes to be displayed in the countless showrooms of your zoo.
The mod adds a total of six new snakes, but the creator of the mod decided to add the scientific names of each snake on the description as well as in-game.
This fantastic mod will add a whole new bunch of trees to your game to keep that vegetation looking unique and avoid the dull look that it can sometimes be when you stare at the same plants for a while.
The mod compiles the work of various modders, so you can rest assured that there are a whole bunch of unique plants in here.
They’re all coded properly so there are no bugs with them from what I could find. Some are a bit too stiff for my taste, but nothing’s perfect in this life right?
New reefs and sea creatures are a must if you’re a fan of the underwater marvels of our planet.
This mod adds a whole bunch of new sea critters to the game as well as a couple new coral reefs, which will improve the underwater sights of your aquarium-style zoo like you can’t imagine.
A simple mod that makes the game look better is always welcome. Additional aquatic animals are even better. And that’s exactly what this one does!
Fauna del Mundo is a mod created by a Spanish-speaking modder that adds a bunch of new animals from all over the world to the game.
He didn’t only focus on creating new animals from South America; he took the time to add animals that inhabit various regions of our nature-rich planet.
I absolutely love Fauna del Mundo (which means Fauna of the World in Spanish), and I’m sure you will too.
There are too many new animals to see and enjoy. Plus this bad boy’s totally free to install so why not give it a try.
I have to admit I’m not too much of a fan of crocodiles.
They’re too scary for my taste.
However, this mod adds a bunch of new crocs to the game and the models are so fantastically well made that it wouldn’t have been fair for me to leave this mod outside the top 5.
The entire body of each crocodile is extremely detailed.
I encourage you to check the models out on the download page before you get it. They’re awesome!
The Project Australia mod adds a fair few animals that inhabit the lands of Australia (and no, I’m not talking about giant spiders or Elder Scrolls-like creatures).
The mod focuses mostly on birds, and I absolutely love the way they look. The models are great too and quite realistic.
Just more birds for your international zoo business.
Born in the first half of the 90s, video games have been a part of my life ever since I was introduced to Age of Empires I by my dad. I'm a Mass Communications graduate with a specialization in Marketing, as well as a hardcore gamer. My aim is to bring you quality content so you can get the best out of your games and take your experience to the next level!
