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Zoo Tycoon 2 DS Guide > Campaign Walkthrough > Troubled Zoos: Secret to Zoo Success

Description: "The Animal Care Development Group has ranked this zoo near the bottom of its annual Zoo Report for five years in a row. Your job will be to rebuild the zoo and make it a popular attraction for guests to visit."

Biome: Tropical Rainforest
Map Size: Medium
Start Cash: $80,000
Difficulty: Moderate
Bonus: Star Animal (Sea Otter)

This stage can take a while to complete because there's a bit more research involved than what you might be used to. If you have any questions about what to do, the information below should answer some of them. Not everything is obvious for some of the objectives.

1. Create an exhibit for a pair of red kangaroos to give birth to a baby.


Just ahead of where your cursor starts in this area and to the left, there's a perfect space to make a quick 4x4 cage for two red kangaroos. Just make one male and one female. Optimize the area and supply a zookeeper worker in the space, then enter zookeeper mode by pointing to one of the kangaroos with your stylus. Play the mini-game that lets you tap numbers on the screen to raise the spirits of first one kangaroo, then the other. They'll mate shortly. While you're waiting for that magic to occur, go ahead and spruce up the trails and add some concession areas. When the baby is born, you'll automatically receive credit for completing the first objective.

2. Guests would like to take home a souvenir! Make sure to put a gift cart and a lion photo corner inside your zoo.


The gift cart you need to complete this objective is available from the start, so make sure to place one if you haven't already. The lion photo center only comes after your zoo reaches the third star level and you research buildings. That won't happen unless you add some more exhibits, so go ahead and place two more 4x4 pens, then fill them with a male and a female of the two breeds that suit you. When your third star arrives, research the buildings and animals sections. Then when your lion photo booth becomes available, place it wherever you like (it doesn't have to be near an actual den of lions).

3. Fund animal research and build an African elephant exhibit in your zoo.


Just keep optimizing your zoo and cages that already contain animals. One good idea at this point is to build two more cages. One will hold your elephant eventually, and one should presently hold a different creature. Go ahead and place a male and female lion in one, along with a zookeeper. Optimize it and treat the lions good. They'll help you achieve another star. Also, make sure that you place a restaurant building now that you can, which also helps your zoo rating. When you have five stars, research all four levels of animals and you'll activate the elephant. Place him in the cage that should be remaining to complete this objective.

4. Build a penguin exhibit.


Now that you've got the elephant, this next challenge should be easy. In fact, what I do is sell the elephant and then turn around and buy a penguin with the cash I gained. There's nothing preventing you from doing the same thing. You don't even have to optimize the cage (and by now, you probably shouldn't anyway, since you may be running up against your time deadline). Simple!

NEXT: Troubled Zoos: Director's Demands