Shy Animals and Stress

[hashimoto4life]

Hi,

I just got back into Planet Zoo after a long break.

I have built a huge African Savannah habitat with lots of species. It's my best attraction with lots of guests but I don't understand why my Thompson's Gazelle are always stressed. I have lost of tree coverage and shelter but they're stressed all the time. I see them running and hiding which recovers their stress meter but why are they so shy? Springbok and Ostriches are also the same but to a lesser extent.

I have 15 messages telling me my animals are stressed.

What is happening?

[audiolady]

I would try one-way glass. If you haven't researched it, it might need to be researched.
And after you've researched the animals themselves, the toy enrichment has screening plants that help. Plus the signs that say "Please be quiet"

[hashimoto4life]

Oh I had no idea there were 'Please be quiet signs". My habitat is huge - should I use the sign all around?

[Noki_49]

I've also found that raising the height on the barriers helps when all else fails.

[MIGHTYANDYMAN]

You could also try placing some ambience speakers

[SLG]

Are they being stressed by the guests or the other animals in the habitat?

[wpegg]

Keep the viewing area to a minimum for shy animals until you've researched one way glass. Make sure all fences are 2m so that people cannot look over them, or be seen by the animals. I tend to keep 1 or 2 fence panels with windows, the rest blocked out. This also helps focus your education speakers and boards.

The animals will still get stressed even then if the crowds build up, but it will be less often and there's more area for them to retreat to. The keep quiet signs help a bit with this. Long term you need the one way glass, first thing I set a mechanic researching is barriers to lvl5.

[Red Shift]

Originally posted by hashimoto4life:

should I use the sign all around?

You can see the range of the signs using one of the filters in the Security radar - that should help with spacing.

Is the stress being caused by any educational speakers encroaching in to their habitat? Thats my usual cause, and can be easily sorted by reducing their range, or placing them further away.

[Just Kevin]

Make sure the animals are compatible for a start. many are not. The animals get more stressed until they mature also. The animals also get stressed if they can hear the people who are watching, so indeed do use the Be Quiet signs. I think the symbols on flora and rocks denotes how effective they are for hiding behind.
I have not noticed them get distressed by the educational speakers, but who knows? Not using them could work if so. Just use more educational displays.

[wpegg]

Originally posted by Green_Goblin:

You could also try placing some ambience speakers

Frontier have said this doesn't affect stress: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/ambiance-speakers.565319/post-8965981

(I don't know if they've changed it since in an update?)

[grampers62]

I too have seen this issue with safari setups. One thing that might be the issue is the need for more space. The habitat size is not always a direct sum of the area required for each species. It might be more related to the ratio of total animals versus space as read by each individual species.

[moorwiesen]

They get stressed by the amount of "eyes" on them. So instead of using foliage inside the exhibit, you can use some smaller sections with wall pieces, where you hang up information and education for example or some stone formation, to block the view from the guests. this way they get less stressed.

[MIGHTYANDYMAN]

Originally posted by wpegg:

Originally posted by Green_Goblin:

You could also try placing some ambience speakers

Frontier have said this doesn't affect stress: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/threads/ambiance-speakers.565319/post-8965981

(I don't know if they've changed it since in an update?)

Seemed to work for me guess it could be placebo effect
I also find them useful for reducing the negative facility effect and raising appeal of shops and talk points etc

[Just Kevin]

Originally posted by grampers62:

I too have seen this issue with safari setups. One thing that might be the issue is the need for more space. The habitat size is not always a direct sum of the area required for each species. It might be more related to the ratio of total animals versus space as read by each individual species.

The zoopedia states the space each animal needs. So the more animals you have in a habitat the more space is needed. That goes for water and shelter needs also. I don't think that when juveniles are born even more space is needed, not until they mature. (I always build OTT habitats anyway, but I do play in the Sandbox.) More shelter is needed though for juveniles. What I have noticed is that stressed animals in PZ do very little to hide away from the cause of it! One thing that Frontier do not seem to realise is that animals in zoos are at least semi-tame, and used to people anyway. Even if it's just due to the staff who look after them. They don't get stressed.

[Just Kevin]

Originally posted by moorwiesen:

They get stressed by the amount of "eyes" on them. So instead of using foliage inside the exhibit, you can use some smaller sections with wall pieces, where you hang up information and education for example or some stone formation, to block the view from the guests. this way they get less stressed.

Guests are often to be seen 'looking' at animals through walls!