Timber wolves in optimum conditions not mating for entire lives - why?

[AirToob]

Never seen this before

Two females, one male, each acquired young:

* Genetics all near top of green range
* 99% welfare throughout
* No existing mate
* Choice of two partners for one male
* Not on contraceptives
* Space, temperature etc just fine - room for more timber wolves if they were there
* Compare mates has always shown 100% chance of breeding in current conditions

and yet the wolves live out their entire lives without mating...

and my carefully set up breeding plan fails dismally (and at the cost of many c credits).

The three animals I am having trouble with are sharing the habitat with another successful couple, whose offspring are back in my Trade Centre, if that's relevant (** seems to be, see my reply below).

Any ideas most gratefully received (not included in the * list above).

[AirToob]

Update... when I removed the successful couple to the TC, one of the other females *immediately" and finally mated (at 9.1 years old) with one of the other two males.

Is there some rule I don't know about?

[K.. La Sorcière]

Only the female alpha and male alpha will mate as indicaed in the Zoopedia.

[NewMetaGreta]

curious about the alpha stuff: do the animals with the best stats become alpha or is it pure random?

[AirToob]

KGB La Sorcière eredeti hozzászólása:

Only the female alpha and male alpha will mate as indicaed in the Zoopedia.

Thanks!
Is the alphas-only rule a general one, or does it depend on the species?

(I'm a long way from Zoopedia right now.)

[K.. La Sorcière]

NewMetaGreta eredeti hozzászólása:

curious about the alpha stuff: do the animals with the best stats become alpha or is it pure random?

no it doesn't seem so

AirToob eredeti hozzászólása:

KGB La Sorcière eredeti hozzászólása:

Only the female alpha and male alpha will mate as indicaed in the Zoopedia.

Thanks!
Is the alphas-only rule a general one, or does it depend on the species?

(I'm a long way from Zoopedia right now.)

yes it depend on the species, those who are monogamous and alpha.

[grampers62]

Note that two wolves will bear offspring. Three generally will not four the chance is better and with six it usually does happen that you get a male and female alpha. Learned that in a scenario that required wolf pups.

[iloveyourzoos]

One "trick" for being able to choose which animals will become the alphas is to put only your desired male and female into the habitat (placing everyone else in the trade center temporarily). Once the main couple has achieved alpha status, you can then move other animals in as desired, and the main couple will usually stay the same. But you should check back every once in a while (particularly if you've reloaded the zoo or restarted the game), since it will occasionally recalculate.

[AirToob]

grampers62 eredeti hozzászólása:

Note that two wolves will bear offspring. Three generally will not four the chance is better and with six it usually does happen that you get a male and female alpha. Learned that in a scenario that required wolf pups.

iloveyourzoos eredeti hozzászólása:

One "trick" for being able to choose which animals will become the alphas is to put only your desired male and female into the habitat (placing everyone else in the trade center temporarily). Once the main couple has achieved alpha status, you can then move other animals in as desired, and the main couple will usually stay the same. But you should check back every once in a while (particularly if you've reloaded the zoo or restarted the game), since it will occasionally recalculate.

Thanks guys. Really helpful.

[AirToob]

iloveyourzoos eredeti hozzászólása:

One "trick" for being able to choose which animals will become the alphas is to put only your desired male and female into the habitat (placing everyone else in the trade centre temporarily). Once the main couple has achieved alpha status, you can then move other animals in as desired, and the main couple will usually stay the same. But you should check back every once in a while (particularly if you've reloaded the zoo or restarted the game), since it will occasionally recalculate.

Just to record, I emptied the habitat and reintroduced the two animals I wanted to breed. After maybe 7 day/night cycles they achieved alpha status but several more day/night cycles before they mated. Then I added back some more Timber Wolves from storage. Awaiting developments...

I guess I am using storage unrealistically, but in the absence of another habitat (which I can't easily fit in this zoo) it's the best I can do.

{ I tell myself that the Trade Centre is unrealistic anyway, in that all animals there are apparently in cryogenic suspension... }

Having been pointed at the breeding description in Zoopedia, which I have to read using the Microsoft magnifying glass (Windows button together with "+"), Timber Wolves seem to have quite a complex social system for mating. If PZ implements all of it then successfully raising Timber Wolves seems quite a challenge, probably needing plenty of space in 2 habitats.

[grampers62]

Yeah, they need way more space than one would think. And the society setup in game can cause unexpected things to happen. But given one has things setup well and the species fully researched, breeding can be successful. And yes, A true breeding program for any species will require multiple habitats to get good results without generations of inbreeding.