Planet Zoo 2 Thriving Relationships by Animal

The two groups that thrive together

Only 16 entries list any Thriving partner, and they split into two groups whose members all name each other.

The grassland group: twelve animals

Black Wildebeest, Blue Wildebeest, Cape Buffalo, Common Warthog, Gemsbok, Masai Giraffe, Nyala, Plains Zebra, Reticulated Giraffe, Sable Antelope, Springbok and Thomson's Gazelle. Each of these entries lists the other eleven as Thriving, so all 66 pairs agree in both directions. Every one of them also names the Common Ostrich and White-Backed Vulture as Thriving, but those two entries list all twelve as Neutral.

One habitat for the whole group: their temperature ranges overlap at 14°C to 36°C, they share the Grassland biome, and the highest barrier values any of them lists are Grade 3 and 2 m. None of them needs a climb-proof barrier. Space depends on how many of each you keep; the Planet Zoo 2 habitat planner compares up to six species at a time, with the official area for each adult count.

The reef group: four animals

Humphead Wrasse, Indo-Pacific Leopard Shark, Javanese Cownose Ray and Ocellated Eagle Ray. Each lists the other three as Thriving. All four also name eight more reef and open-sea animals as Thriving, the Blackspotted Puffer, Blacktip Reef Shark, Clown Triggerfish, Dolphinfish, Giant Grouper, Hawksbill Turtle, Sailfin Snapper and Sand Tiger Shark, but those entries list the four as Neutral.

Their shared temperature is 24°C to 27°C, the water they all accept is Saltwater, and the highest barrier values any of them lists are Grade 2 and 1 m. Water area per fish is on the Planet Zoo 2 aquatic animals page.

What thriving means in Planet Zoo 2

Frontier calls Thriving a new state that goes one step beyond meeting an animal's welfare needs. A natural, enriching habitat lets animals thrive; thriving animals live longer and guests donate more. Before animals of a species can reach it, you have to research that species. Whether your animals are thriving also counts toward the Animal Husbandry part of your zoo's star rating.

The two relationship lists sit in each entry beside the habitat needs. We have not found an official explanation of exactly what each list changes in the game. Frontier's aviary feature says some species can live together and tells players to check the Zoopedia so that every animal in a habitat is happy with the others' company. This page therefore reports what the entries list and adds no rules of its own.

When two entries disagree

The lists name 321 pairs of animals. 72 pairs are Thriving in both entries and 193 are Neutral in both. In the other 56, one entry says Thriving and the other says Neutral: the Common Ostrich and White-Backed Vulture with each grassland animal (24 pairs), and the eight one-way reef and open-sea animals with each member of the reef group (32 pairs). For example, the giraffe entries list the Common Ostrich as Thriving, and the ostrich entry lists the giraffes as Neutral.

The Zoopedia does not say which entry the game follows, so the finder above and the planner show both answers. No listed pair is one-sided in the other sense: every animal an entry names also names that animal back.

Every animal with a listed companion

65 entries list at least one Neutral companion. This table has all 73 animals with a listed companion. A star marks a companion whose own entry gives the other answer.

Animals with no listed companions

63 animals list no Thriving or Neutral relationship, and no other entry names them. That includes all 30 exhibit animals and the African Leopard, African Penguin, African Tigerfish, African Wild Dog, Asian Elephant, Binturong, Brown Trout, Common Hippopotamus, Eurasian Beaver, Eurasian Bittern, Eurasian Brown Bear, Eurasian Lynx, Galápagos Giant Tortoise, Gharial, Golden Eagle, Goodfellow's Tree-Kangaroo, Great Hammerhead, Grey Wolf, Grizzly Bear, Komodo Dragon, Lion, Long-Eared Owl, Mountain Hare, Nile Monitor, Saltwater Crocodile, Secretarybird, Snow Leopard, Spotted Hyena, Sumatran Tiger, Sun Bear, Sunda Pangolin, West Indian Manatee and White-Tailed Sea-Eagle. The Lion is one of them. A missing list only means no pairing is named; the Zoopedia does not say these animals can never share a habitat.

Planning a mixed habitat anyway? The Planet Zoo 2 biomes page shows which animals come from the same landscape, and the Planet Zoo 2 Zoopedia guide explains the rest of each entry.