Planet Zoo has recently dropped another exciting DLC, the Conservation Pack DLC. Although it’s still not the Aviary pack – pretty please with double cherries on top? – this is a pretty big one, especially if you care about the conservation of animals, and would like to play a part, albeit in-game, in helping endangered animals recover from various human-made threats by breeding them in your zoo and then releasing them back into the wild.

The pack comes with five animal species that are facing extinction in the real world. They include the Amur Leopard, the Siamang, the Przewalski’s Horse, the Scimitar-horned Oryx and the Axolotl. These animals are all pretty high profile when it comes to their respective conservation efforts, and they fit perfectly in this aptly-named DLC.

Among the list of habitat animals, the Siamang is definitely one of the most well-received animals among the Planet Zoo community. Native to the South-East Asian region, specifically, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, it is the largest species of gibbons and can weigh up to 14kg.

It is not “just another primate” in the game either! Not only can the Siamang brachiate across the new climbing enrichment item, it can also gather and perform chorus calls that liven up the place and are a hit among visitors to the zoo.

Although this animal might not be as popular with casual Planet Zoo players as the Siamang, the Przewalski’s Horse is definitely a close second place for me. I love horses in general and this Mongolian wild horse, the last truly wild horses in the world, is simply one of the most precious wild horses out there. They may look rather mundane – a small, stockily-built horse with a pretty plain brown coat, but they have unique animations that look nothing like the Zebra in the game, such as their ability to stand-rest.

As for the only exhibit animal included in this pack, the Axolotl is the perfect choice! They aren’t just insanely adorable; they even come in various color variations. Players get a cute axolotl hat to boot! The Amur leopard and the scimitar-horned oryx are both solid choices for the pack as well, especially if you’re into big cats and oryxes, and don’t mind getting another similar-looking one. Needless to say, they don’t come close to the more popular animals, namely the Siamang and the Przewalski’s horse, in the pack.

Similar to other Planet Zoo DLCs, the Conservation Pack DLC also features an exclusive timed scenario where you’ll need to take over and manage the Turtlerock Wildlife Orphanage. Based on the Gorkhi Terelj National Park in Mongolia, you’ll need to not only make sure that your zoo is sustainable and uses renewable energy, but you’ll also need to teach your zoo visitors about these endangered animals. That’s not all, you’ll even need to breed and release as many of these at-risk animals as you can to help increase their numbers in the wild. Personally, I find this scenario to be quite difficult to ace due to the string of fairly demanding tasks that are asked of you, and the time limit imposed.

If you love decorating your zoos, you’ll be delighted to know that the Conservation Pack DLC comes with a whopping 150+ new scenery pieces, most of them are designed to allow you to place ecologically clean buildings. The best part about these new pieces is the variety of gardening props, including gardening forks, wheelbarrows, water hoses, and rakes, that you can now place to give your gardens some life.

So, all in all, the Conservation Pack DLC is a Planet Zoo DLC that’s definitely worth buying, considering that you get four new habitat animals, two of which are wholly unique, as well as the cutest exhibit animal ever. Of course, that’s not even including the challenging timed scenario that will put your zoo-building and managing skills to the test, and the massive range of new scenery items including the array of gardening props you can now place to liven up the little garden plots around your zoo.

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Update: We've managed to secure an interview with the Frontier team to talk more about this Conservation Pack DLC and learn more about the behind-the-scene stuff when it comes to coming up with new DLCs for Planet Zoo. Check it out here: Interview with the Dev Team behind Planet Zoo