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Frontier Developments have launched the first episode of their Animal Spotlight series for Planet Zoo 2, and the debut goes to the stunning African leopard, which developers describe as the stealthy superstar of the savanna.
The video emphasizes the importance of vertical space since leopards are among the animal kingdom's best climbers, and Planet Zoo 2 rewards you for building around that. Place platforms thoughtfully, and the leopards will use them, giving guests a chance to spot these otherwise shy cats high above the ground. Get the enrichment right, and you'll see more of their natural behaviours; skimp on it, and you'll presumably be staring at an empty-looking habitat wondering where your headline attraction went.
Frontier also touched on behaviour and habitat variety. Unlike lions, leopards typically live solitary lives, the exception being mothers with cubs in tow, which should make for a different management proposition to the pride dynamics shown in the earlier Feature Focus episode.
They're also adaptable. In the Great Rift Valley Reserve, leopards can thrive across multiple ecosystems, from dense forest through to wetlands, so there's scope to house them in more than one kind of environment.
This was a small showcase rather than a major reveal, but it's a decent sign that Frontier are building habitat design around what each species actually does, leaning more into realism. I won't complain, as long as the fun factor is still there.
Planet Zoo 2 is coming to PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, priced at £39.99/$49.99/€49.99 for the Standard Edition and £54.99/$64.99/€64.99 for the Deluxe Edition. It's coming out on 13 October 2026.
