Prepare before adopting
Your zoo needs a working Trade Centre connected to the main path network. Prepare housing that matches the species’ Zoopedia requirements before moving it in.
A normal Habitat needs a complete barrier loop and a Staff Gate. An Aquarium uses its own barriers and an Aquarium Staff Gate. Exhibits accept suitable small species without a separate habitat Staff Gate.
Adopt and move an animal
- Open Animal Trading.
- Choose an animal available to your mode, Accreditation Tier and resources. Higher tiers unlock more species and increase Storage capacity.
- Adopt the animal. It goes into Animal Storage first.
- Select the animal in Storage and arrange its move to the prepared housing.
- Check the destination’s validity, paths and available staff. A Caretaker or Vet boxes and transports an ordinary habitat animal; it is unboxed on arrival.
- Inspect the animal’s location and welfare in its Info Panel after delivery.
With a Trade Centre in the zoo, Exhibit animals can transfer into or out of an Exhibit instantly. New animals can also go through Quarantine for a disease check before joining a group.
Understand Franchise trading restrictions
Franchise lets you trade with other players using Conservation Credits. A missing market listing does not mean the species is absent from the game: availability also depends on progression and current stock.
Individual animals offered for ordinary trade must be healthy, stable adults. Juvenile, Gestating, Elderly, Sick or Injured animals cannot be sold through that route. These selling restrictions do not mean you cannot keep young animals in your zoo.
Shoals have a separate exception: Update 1.0.4 allows juvenile Shoals to be listed for trading in Franchise. Do not apply the individual-animal age restriction to those groups.