Research
Planet Zoo 2 Research Blocked by Gate? Find Your Animal’s Fix
Pick your animal: the checker shows the locked level, the reserve it needs and each step to get past it, then every research level.
Last updated Game version: Update 1.0.10 (November 9, 2026)
Quick answer: why research stops at a locked level
- It is a research gate. 58 of the 136 animals have one, before level 4 for 55 of them and before level 3 for 3. The other 78 never stop on a gate.
- To get past it: open the animal's release groups (at level 3 for 39 of them, from the start for 19), build three Observation Platforms (an Observation Network) in the Wildlife Reserve the gate names, and release one group there. More vets do not help.
- No lock, still not moving? Vets feed and treat animals first. If the bar is frozen, cancel the research, save, reload and start it again (details).
- Release group not ready? Only animals in Animal Storage that meet the group's needs can join: release group steps.
- Released, still locked? Check the group went to the reserve the gate names, the Research Network shows Observation Platforms 3/3, and the reserve has a Research Outpost and an Established Ecosystem (checks for your animal).
Research gate checker: pick your animal
Pick your animal, say what you see and which level is locked: a gate gets its unlock checklist, anything else gets the fix for research that has stopped. Tick the steps you have done to see your next one; a link to this page ending in the animal's name, such as #lion, opens its answer.
Sumatran Orangutan
Research gate before level 4: an Observation Network (three Observation Platforms) in Sumatra Reserve, and one release there.
- Locked level
- Level 4
- Reserve
- Sumatra Reserve
- Build there
- Three Observation Platforms (an Observation Network)
- Release there
- One Sumatran Orangutan release group (female bachelor herd or solitary male)
Unlock checklist
Tick what you have already done; the first step left is your next one. See each step in the game.
Your next step
Expected result: when all five are ticked, research carries on to level 4 and beyond.
Official Zoopedia page: Sumatran Orangutan · Checked November 11, 2026 · Update 1.0.10 (November 9, 2026) · Report a mistake
Link to this answer: planetzoo2animals.com/research-gate#sumatran-orangutan
Every research level
Level 1: Thriving requirement 1: 20 objects or plants tagged Climbable
Level 2: Thriving requirement 2: Tool Puzzle Feeder × 2 · Fact Sheet (education topic)
Level 3: Release groups
Gate: an Observation Network (three Observation Platforms) in Sumatra Reserve, and one release there
Level 4: Thriving requirement 3: Food Grade 2 · Fertility Level 1 (+15%)
Level 5: Thriving requirement 4: 50% native plants
Level 6: Thriving requirement 5: Fixed Roller Feeder - Large × 2 · Fertility Level 2 (+30%)
What each step looks like in the game
The lock sits between two levels of the species' Research panel. The release group is made in Animal Trading & Storage, and the Research Outpost and the three Observation Platforms go up in the reserve from the Equipment tab.
Every research gate, by Wildlife Reserve
The gate always names one reserve, where you build an Observation Network: three Observation Platforms. These are the 58 gated animals, sorted by the reserve their gate names:
| Reserve | Animals with a gate there |
|---|---|
| Great Rift Valley Reserve (19) | Aardvark, African Leopard, African Tigerfish, African Wild Dog, Black Wildebeest, Blunthead Cichlid, Cape Buffalo, Common Warthog, Gemsbok, Greater Flamingo, Lion, Masai Giraffe, Meerkat, Nyala, Plains Zebra, Sable Antelope, Secretarybird, Shoebill and Spotted Hyena |
| Sumatra Reserve (15) | Asian Elephant, Asian Small-Clawed Otter, Binturong, Clown Loach, Giant Gourami, Great Hornbill, Long-Tailed Parakeet, Malayan Tapir, North Sulawesi Babirusa, Saltwater Crocodile, Siamang, Sumatran Orangutan, Sumatran Tiger, Sun Bear and Sunda Pangolin |
| Tanzania Reserve (10) | African Savannah Elephant, Black Rhinoceros, Blue Wildebeest, Common Hippopotamus, Common Ostrich, Nile Monitor, Reticulated Giraffe, Springbok, Thomson's Gazelle and White-Backed Vulture |
| Scottish Highlands (7) | Common Rudd, Eurasian Beaver, Eurasian Lynx, Long-Eared Owl, Mountain Hare, Red Deer and Wild Boar |
| Sweden Reserve (5) | Brown Trout, Eurasian Brown Bear, Golden Eagle, Grey Wolf and White-Tailed Sea-Eagle |
| Poland Reserve (2) | Eurasian Bittern and European Bison |
3 animals hit the gate a level earlier, before level 3: Blunthead Cichlid, Clown Loach and Common Rudd. Their release groups are open from the start, so the release can come first.
37 of these animals can live in more than one reserve, but the gate names only one; the checker shows which. The Planet Zoo 2 Wildlife Reserve tracker helps you keep count of what each reserve already has.
The research level that opens release groups
The first step past any gate is a release group, and those open at a set research level. Release groups are how animals leave your zoo for a Wildlife Reserve:
| Release groups | Animals |
|---|---|
| Level 3 (109) | African Leopard, African Penguin, African Savannah Elephant, African Tigerfish, African Wild Dog, Amazonian Giant Centipede, American Bullfrog, Asian Elephant, Asian Small-Clawed Otter, Axolotl, Binturong, Black Rhinoceros, Blackspotted Puffer, Blacktip Reef Shark, Blue and Gold Fusilier, Boa Constrictor, Boeseman's Rainbowfish, Brown Trout, Cloudless Sulphur, Clown Triggerfish, Common Bluetongue, Common Hippopotamus, Common Warthog, Danube Crested Newt, Desert Horned Viper, Diamondback Terrapin, Dolphinfish, Eastern Brown Snake, Eurasian Beaver, Eurasian Bittern, Eurasian Brown Bear, Eurasian Lynx, European Bison, European Peacock, Fire Salamander, Gemsbok, Gharial, Giant Forest Scorpion, Giant Gourami, Giant Grouper, Giant Malaysian Leaf Insect, Giant Panda, Giant Slippery Frog, Giant Tiger Land Snail, Gila Monster, Golden Eagle, Golden Lion Tamarin, Golden Poison Frog, Golden Trevally, Goliath Beetle, Goodfellow's Tree-Kangaroo, Great Hammerhead, Great Hornbill, Grey Wolf, Grizzly Bear, Hawksbill Turtle, Humphead Wrasse, Indian Ocean Oriental Sweetlips, Indo-Pacific Leopard Shark, Indo-Pacific Sergeant, Javan Green Magpie, Javanese Cownose Ray, Komodo Dragon, Lehmann's Poison Frog, Lion, Long-Tailed Parakeet, Longfin Batfish, Malayan Tapir, Masai Giraffe, Menelaus Blue Morpho, Mexican Redknee, Monarch, Moon Jelly, North Sulawesi Babirusa, Ocean Sunfish, Ocellated Eagle Ray, Old World Swallowtail, Pacific Bluefin Tuna, Pacific Sardine, Palette Surgeonfish, Przewalski's Horse, Red Lionfish, Red Panda, Red-Eyed Tree Frog, Reticulated Giraffe, Ring-Tailed Lemur, Sable Antelope, Sacred Scarab Beetle, Sailfin Snapper, Saltwater Crocodile, Sand Tiger Shark, Secretarybird, Shoebill, Siamang, Snow Leopard, Spotted Hyena, Sri Lankan Rose, Sumatran Orangutan, Sumatran Tiger, Sun Bear, Sunda Pangolin, Threespot Damselfish, West Indian Manatee, Western Chimpanzee, Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, Western Lowland Gorilla, White-Backed Vulture, White-Tailed Sea-Eagle and Yellow Anaconda |
| From the start (27) | Aardvark, Bactrian Camel, Black Wildebeest, Blue Wildebeest, Bluespine Unicornfish, Blunthead Cichlid, Cape Buffalo, Clown Anemonefish, Clown Loach, Common Ostrich, Common Rudd, Galápagos Giant Tortoise, Greater Flamingo, Koi, Long-Eared Owl, Meerkat, Mountain Hare, Nile Monitor, Nyala, Plains Zebra, Red Deer, Schooling Bannerfish, Springbok, Thomson's Gazelle, Toco Toucan, Wild Boar and Yellow Tang |
The Planet Zoo 2 release groups guide covers the group types and what each animal needs before it can join one.
Research stuck without a gate
If no level shows a lock and research still crawls, look at the vets. They research only when they are free, and feeding and treatment come first, so one stretched vet researches slowly. A second vet, or a Work Zone that keeps one near the Research Centre, speeds it up. The Research Centre needs power and a path too.
If the research bar stops dead, often right after you come back from a Wildlife Reserve, cancel the research, save, quit to the menu, load the save and start the research again. Other bugs and their fixes are on the Planet Zoo 2 known issues page.
How species research works
Every animal has 3 to 6 research levels, done by vets who split their time between watching the animals and working at the Research Centre. Each level reveals something: a Thriving requirement, the species Fact Sheet, a fertility boost (+15% and +30%) or release groups. Release groups open at level 3, and 27 animals have them from the start. Research you finish counts in every zoo you run.
The Thriving requirements each level reveals are what turn a well-kept animal into a thriving one; which animals thrive together is on our Planet Zoo 2 thriving relationships page, and the fertility boosts help the breeding guide's pairs.
Planet Zoo 2 research gate questions
Why is my research blocked by a gate in Planet Zoo 2?
58 of the 136 animals have one research gate, before level 4 for 55 of them and before level 3 for 3. The level stays locked until you build three Observation Platforms (an Observation Network) in the Wildlife Reserve the gate names and release that species there once. The other 78 animals never stop on a gate.
How do I get past a research gate in Planet Zoo 2?
Open the animal’s release groups, finalise a group in Animal Storage, build three Observation Platforms in the reserve the gate names (its Observation Network), and release the group there. The reserve also needs a Research Outpost and an Established Ecosystem. Research then carries on.
Do more vets help with a research gate in Planet Zoo 2?
No. A gated level waits on the release, not on the vets, so research stays locked however many vets you assign. More vets only help research that is moving slowly with no lock.
Why is my Planet Zoo 2 research not progressing?
If there is no lock, the vets are busy: they feed and treat animals before they research, so give them time, add a vet or keep one near the Research Centre with a Work Zone. If the research bar is frozen, often after a trip to a reserve, cancel the research, save, load the save and start it again.
What does research level 3 unlock in Planet Zoo 2?
For 109 of the 136 animals, level 3 opens release groups. For the other 27 it reveals a Thriving requirement and a fertility boost instead. Pick an animal in the checker on this page to see its own level 3.
Does research make animals breed more in Planet Zoo 2?
Yes. Two research levels raise the species’ fertility, by +15% and +30%, on top of good welfare and genetics.
Sources
- Planet Zoo 2 player guide: Zoo Management, on Research (official)
- Planet Zoo 2 player guide: Staff, on vets and the Research Centre (official)
- Planet Zoo 2 player guide: Animals, on Thriving requirements and fertility (official)
Checked against the official pages on November 11, 2026. Official information can change. Each page shows its check date; game data appears here only once a source supports it.
Continue reading
Next stepBuilding the release group for the gate? See which group types each reserve accepts.Planet Zoo 2 Release Groups by AnimalWhich Wildlife Reserves each animal can go to and the release group types it lists, with a finder by reserve, group type and name.Go there Related pages
BreedingPlanet Zoo 2 Breeding Guide & Gestation TimesHow breeding, nests, genetics and contraception work, and each animal’s mating season, gestation, litter size and breeding difficulty, with a lookup.
ThrivingPlanet Zoo 2 Thriving Relationships by AnimalWhich animals thrive together: every Thriving and Neutral relationship in the official Zoopedia, read in both directions, and the two groups that all thrive with each other.
