The Planet Zoo 2 Zoopedia is Frontier’s species encyclopedia. It covers all 136 animals and lists what each one needs: space, barrier grade, terrain, temperature, group size, compatible species, enrichment and the reserves it can be released into. You’ll find it both in the game and at planetzoogame.com/2/zoopedia. There’s no separate “animal knowledge” XP bar. You learn more about a species, and unlock what that knowledge gives you, through Species Research: Vets and Keepers at a Research Centre work through tiers that unlock the species’ Thriving requirements, fertility boosts, an education topic and the right to form Release Groups. Everything below comes from Frontier’s own player guides, Zoopedia pages and Steam patch notes, checked on November 4, 2026.
Table of Contents
Quick answer: Planet Zoo 2 Zoopedia and research
- What it is: an encyclopedia of every species in the game. The official website version lists 136 animals and can be filtered by enclosure type, biome, continent or ocean, conservation status and content pack (Base Game or Deluxe).
- What it tells you: minimum land, shelter and water area, barrier strength and height, terrain mix, temperature range, preferred group sizes, temperament (for example “Shy”), thriving and neutral relationships, enrichment items, education topics, lifecycle stats, valid Wildlife Reserves and Release Group types.
- How to “level” an animal: open the Research tab in the Browser, pick Species, choose an animal, then assign a Vet or Keeper. You need a powered Research Centre that staff can reach by path. Once one tier finishes, the Vet starts the next tier on its own.
- What research unlocks: the species’ Thriving requirements, fertility boosts, an education topic and Release Group options. Some species have to be released and studied in a Wildlife Reserve before you can research them fully.
- Carries over: Frontier says completed research “persists across the entire Hub”, so every zoo in that game mode keeps it.
What is the Zoopedia in Planet Zoo 2?
Frontier brought the Zoopedia back for the sequel on the Planet Zoo 2 website on June 23, 2026. It then added animals in weekly drops until the final reveals in early October, ahead of the October 13 launch. The website version is the easiest place to plan a habitat before you build it. Each species page has six tabs: Overview, Habitat, Lifecycle, Animal Facts, Conservation and Certificate. The Certificate tab generates a personalised “Conservation Coordinator Certificate” for that animal. It’s a website extra and does nothing in the game.
The game has its own Zoopedia too. Frontier’s guides keep sending you to it (“check the Zoopedia for the specific requirements of each animal”). They mention a Natural Habitat tab that holds barrier requirements, and the patch notes mention its filters and a “Hide unowned DLC Species” toggle. The animal’s Info Panel shows much of the same data for animals you already own. If you want a species-by-species overview first, our Planet Zoo 2 animal list sorted by habitat type groups all 136.
What each Zoopedia section tells you (Nyala example)
Here’s how one entry reads in practice. The values are from the official Nyala Zoopedia page, and the “what it means” column comes from Frontier’s Animals and Habitats guides.
| Zoopedia field | Nyala value | What it means in game |
|---|---|---|
| Population range / preferred group ranges | 1-5 (mixed 1-5, male 1-1, female 1-5) | Social welfare. If the group is too big or the sex ratio is wrong, animals fight or become Outsiders |
| Land area / shelter area | 340 m² / 10 m² | Minimum space. Each extra adult raises it slightly, and juveniles don’t count |
| Barrier | Grade 2, 1.25 m | The resistance grade and height that stop escapes |
| Terrain | Grass 30-100%, short grass 25-100%, soil 0-60%, sand 0-20%, rock 0-20% | The terrain mix the habitat has to match |
| Habitat temperature | 14°C to 41°C | Temperature welfare. Use heaters, coolers and the Temperature heatmap |
| Temperament | Shy | Shy animals get stressed by crowds, so screen views with plants, one-way glass or burrows |
| Thriving / neutral relationships | 13 thriving (zebra, giraffes, wildebeest and others), no neutral | Which species it can share a habitat with |
| Enrichments | 5 food-based, 6 habitat items | The items it uses. Research unlocks more of them |
| Conservation topics | 10 (fact sheet, name plate, talks and more) | Education sources for guests. Research unlocks some topics |
| Valid reserves / release group types | Great Rift Valley, Tanzania / mixed, male bachelor, female bachelor | Where and how you can release it to a Wildlife Reserve |
The Habitat tab has a Planned population counter (the + and − buttons), and Frontier’s Animals guide says you can work out space for a group “in the Zoopedia or by pinning the animal to the habitat”. If you’d rather plan in the game, select your empty habitat, open the Animals tab, choose Pin Species, add the animals and confirm. The habitat then shows their combined requirements.
How to level up animal knowledge: Species Research
Planet Zoo 2 measures how well you know an animal through Research. In Frontier’s words, to reach Thriving status “you’ll need to first invest in research to get a better understanding of the species”. These steps follow Frontier’s Zoo Management guide:
- Build a Research Centre (Facilities tab). It needs power and a path connection. The Small one holds 1 researcher and the Large one holds 6.
- Open the Research tab in the Browser and pick an area: Species, Enrichment, Education or Disease.
- Read the topic first. Each topic lists its unlocks and requirements. For species, a common requirement is having the animal in your zoo.
- Assign staff. Choose from the available Vets or Keepers, then the topic. Staff split their time between watching the habitat or exhibit and working in the Research Centre.
- Track progress in the Active Research alert, the Research menu or the staff member’s Info Panel. You can pause research whenever you need that person somewhere else.
- Let it chain. When a tier finishes, you get a notification listing its unlocks. If the topic has another tier, the Vet starts on it automatically.
The Species Research screen tracks all 136 species (Completed 0/136); locked topics show Progress Blocked until their requirements are met. Image: Frontier Developments
Two things slow research down. First, staff always put feeding, treatment and other care tasks ahead of research, so a zoo with too few Vets will research slowly. Second, some species can’t be fully researched in a zoo at all. They have to be released and studied in a Wildlife Reserve.
What Species Research unlocks
| Research type | What it unlocks (per Frontier) |
|---|---|
| Species | The species’ education topic, Release Groups, fertility boosts and its Thriving requirements |
| Enrichment | More toy and food-based enrichment items for several species |
| Disease | Better immunity to that disease for every susceptible species, which means fewer outbreaks and slower spread |
| Education | New education topics for your education sources |
Thriving is the big prize. Frontier describes it as going “the extra mile” in husbandry. Thriving animals can live longer, which makes up for health lost to disease or low welfare. Guests donate more for each Thriving species, and every Thriving species raises your Zoo Reputation’s Husbandry rating. You only learn the Thriving requirements by researching the species. Frontier’s guide gives native plants as one example, telling you to use plants from the animal’s own biome and continent or ocean.
Fertility boosts matter when you breed for genetics or for a release quota. The Animals guide lists research next to welfare and good genetics as the three ways to improve conception chances. The same research bonus also feeds the growth of shoals and colonies.
Wildlife Reserves and Research Gates
The highest research tiers for some species are only available in a Wildlife Reserve. According to Frontier’s Wildlife Reserves guide, setting up Research Networks there “will open Research Gates and unlock higher levels of Species Research”. A network starts with a Research Outpost, followed by Observation Platforms, Camera Traps and Acoustic Monitors. Each one has its own validity check: platforms whose coverage doesn’t overlap, cameras that capture enough animal behaviours, and monitors that cover enough of the ecosystem. A working network also raises the reserve’s Research Rating, which counts toward its Biodiversity Rating.
A Wildlife Reserve Research Network: the Outpost first, then Observation Platforms, Camera Traps and Acoustic Monitors open Research Gates. Image: Frontier Developments
There’s a loop here. You may need to research a species in a zoo before you can create its Release Group, and some of its later research then only happens after it has been released. A higher Accreditation Tier also unlocks new Research Network types. You raise it with high Zoo Reputation and Biodiversity Ratings, or with medals in Career mode. The Planet Zoo 2 beginner guide to money and accreditation covers that side.
Zoopedia fixes in the patch notes so far
Frontier has fixed the in-game Zoopedia several times since launch. If something looked wrong in your game before these patches, check it again.
| Update | Date | Zoopedia change |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0.4 | Oct 14, 2026 | “Various updates and improvements to the Zoopedia”, plus updated cohabitation lists |
| 1.0.5 | Oct 16, 2026 | Fixed DLC animals showing as inaccessible for DLC owners. Updates and corrections to entries |
| 1.0.6 | Oct 23, 2026 | The “Hide unowned DLC Species” toggle works again. Added missing exhibit colourmorph portraits |
| 1.0.8 | Oct 29, 2026 | Fixed wrong neutral relationships after using filters. Space requirements now show in feet when feet is selected |
Our tips for using the Zoopedia and research
These are GamingRoute’s suggestions, based on Frontier’s rules above. They’re not official advice.
- Plan in the Zoopedia, then confirm with Pin Species. Set the planned population on the website first, so the barrier grade and land area you build fit the final group and not just the first two animals.
- Research the animals you plan to release first. Species research unlocks Release Groups, and releases raise Biodiversity, which raises Accreditation. That’s the fastest way up the tiers.
- Use the Large Research Centre once you have spare Vets. Research has the lowest priority, so it only moves when your care staff have time. Training staff up to 5 stars makes them more efficient, according to Frontier’s Staff guide.
- Check Valid Reserves before you commit. The Zoopedia’s Conservation tab lists the reserves each species can go to, so you can pick a reserve that holds several of your species.
- Read the thriving list when mixing species. In our reading, a companion from the Thriving relationships list is the stronger choice for a mixed habitat than one from the Neutral list. Frontier’s guides don’t define the difference.
- Don’t rely on Reproduction Difficulty. When we read the website pages on October 29, every one of the 136 entries showed “Easy”. Check fertility in the game instead.
Release Groups list the ecosystems a species needs and its suitable reserves, the same reserves the Zoopedia names. Image: Frontier Developments
Looking for shortcuts instead? Frontier’s guides list no cheat console for Planet Zoo 2. The official Sandbox settings are covered in our Planet Zoo 2 cheats and sandbox settings guide.
FAQ
Is the Zoopedia in the game or only on the website?
Both. The website version at planetzoogame.com/2/zoopedia covers all 136 animals and anyone can read it. The game has its own Zoopedia with filters, a Natural Habitat tab and a toggle that hides DLC species you don’t own.
How many animals are in the Planet Zoo 2 Zoopedia?
136, which matches the 136 Species Research topics in Frontier’s research screenshot (“Completed 0/136”). The website’s Content Pack filter separates Base Game and Deluxe animals.
Does research carry over to my other zoos?
Yes, within the same game mode. Frontier says research completion “persists across the entire Hub, representing the knowledge exchange across zoos”, and you manage research for all your zoos from the Planet Hub.
Why does a species say its research progress is blocked?
Each topic lists its requirements, such as housing the animal in your zoo. For some species, the later tiers also need a Wildlife Reserve release and a working Research Network to open their Research Gates.
Sources: Frontier Developments’ Planet Zoo 2 Zoopedia (index and Nyala page); official player guides: Zoo Management, Animals, Wildlife Reserves, Staff, Building Your Zoo, The Basics; Steam announcements: Zoopedia now live, Creature Feature: Managing a Zoo and the 1.0.4, 1.0.5, 1.0.6 and 1.0.8 patch notes linked above. All checked November 4, 2026.
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