Breeding in Zoo World

Introduction

Zoo World is a game application available via Facebook in which users create and design virtual zoos.  Basic overviews of the game are available in other articles, so this article will focus on one specific function within the game- breeding animals.  This is a game task that can be useful to game players and becomes necessary to complete levels within the game structure.

Breeding Basics

At the most basic, breeding in Zoo World is the creation of a new animal via a specific game function.  At the top of the game window, among other tabs, is a tab labeled "Breed" that can be selected to bring up a specific screen.  Before visiting the tab, however, users will need a couple items to complete any tasks.  At least one breeding house is needed and at least two animals of a breedable species are needed.  Not all species are breedable, only species defined by the developers of Zoo World as Rare or Ultra Rare will be breedable.  Some of these can be adopted from live feed for free if users are particularly quick with the links as posts appear.  Some of the breedable animals will be purchased from the shop in the game.  Mousing over the animal picture in the shop will bring up a small box that identifies if the animal is breedable and the level of breeding required.  There are four levels of breeding: easy, medium, hard, and expert.  One of the first animals a user can breed is the bald eagle.  As soon as  users have two bald eagles and at least one breeding house, they can start breeding.  Breeding houses can be purchased from the game shop under the support category. 

Each breeding house can be used for one species at a time until the breeding cycle is completed.  Without a breeding specialist (purchasable from the game shop for 80 wildlife points, the premium zoo currency, under the staff category), users will be limited to breeding up to three species at a time.  Users must have three breeding houses in order to breed three species concurrently.  Users can buy more than three breeding houses, however, without the breeding specialist, they will be unable to use more than the first three. 

Each species can only be bred once per breeding cycle, despite the number of animals that a user has of that species.  Each breeding cycle produces one baby animal.  Breeding the animals requires zoo cash (the common currency earned through game play).  Each species will have a different breeding cycle, which will be identified by mousing over the animal icon on the breed page, or by clicking the "breed" button beneath the animal icon to bring up a confirmation box.  Once the confirmation box pops up, the user is informed of the specific requirements for breeding the species selected and then decides whether to confirm the breeding or cancel.  Baby animals will arrive in some number of hours and require at least one feeding prior to maturing to a level where they will join the rest of the animals in the zoo.  Feeding is performed by clicking the "feed" button on the animal's breeding box at the appropriate time.  Some animals will require multiple feedings that are one hour apart after "arrival" in the breeding house.  Failure to feed an animal shortly after the feeding period begins will cause the new baby to become sick and require veterinary care, which costs additional zoo cash.

Advantages

• Breeding an animal costs less zoo cash than purchasing the same animal from the shop, and can be used to increase the overall inventory of animals in the zoo.
• Some animals are not available for purchase and the only way to increase the number of a given species is by breeding.
• A recently added feature (January 2010) allows the user to gain breeding trophies.  When a user completes the necessary breeding to obtain a trophy, wildlife points are also awarded.
• Having Zoo World automatically generate a post when the baby animal needs to be fed will allow online friends to help and get special growth formula for themselves to speed up the breeding cycle of their own animals.
• Breeding is a level requirement at several levels during game play.  Breeding early can help overcome a time delay when these levels are reached.

Difficulties

• Failure to feed animals on time will cause illness that requires extra zoo cash to correct.
• One species can only be bred once at a time.
• Once the new baby is ready for the zoo, the zoo cage may require upgrades to house "extra" animals, leading to unpredictable expenses.
• There is a limit of three species to be bred at one time unless the user purchases a premium breeding specialist.
• Some of the breeding cycles are difficult to plan for times when the user is going to be available.  Breeding times can include 4 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, 96 hours, and 120 hours.  There are occasional species that require something that is not readily divisble by 24.
• Some species will require multiple feedings at one hour apart, which can be difficult to keep up with when users are trying to perform other online tasks during the meantime.