The Mermaid is an aquatic, mythical creature with roots in Europe, Asia and Africa. It is an adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon.
Description[]
Potentially influenced by the Sirens of Greek mythology, the mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper-body of a female human and the tail of a fish. They are often depicted as being very beautiful, with long flowing hair. The male equivalent, the merman, is also found in mythology, though to a lesser extent. Mermaids are often associated with shipwrecks, storms and other nautical disasters. Their relationship with humans varies, as they are sometimes depicted as attracting sailors with their songs before luring them to their demise, whilst other depictions show them falling in love with humans.
There have been many historical accounts of mermaids, although they are typically thought to be cases of misidentification or even hallucinations. The Italian navigator Christopher Columbus wrote about them during his exploration of the Caribbean, although it is believed that he was describing a marine mammal such as a seal or manatee. Regardless, the mermaid continues to be popularly depicted in modern culture, with one of the most well known being Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, The Little Mermaid.
Zoo Tycoon[]
The mermaid is a secret adoptable animal in Zoo Tycoon and was added as part of the Marine Mania expansion pack. Unlike all other animals, the mermaid is not conventionally adoptable, rendering their adoption icon unused. Instead, they are acquired by placing a Mermaid Statue in an exhibit tank, whereupon the statue will shake and crack open, revealing a mermaid.
Like all Marine Mania animals, the mermaid is an Aquatic animal, and requires a tank depth of 4 units. Mermaids are a female only animal, which is unique to only them, this also means that mermaids cannot breed and as such, can't have children. The mermaid's favorite foliage is the Sand Dollar and require a large amount of foliage and a moderate amount of rocks to max out their habitat suitability. They use the Sunken Ship as a shelter and are a very social animal, requiring at least four individuals to be happy. When a mermaid's happiness is high, they will occasionally sing or do corkscrews.
Mermaids are depicted as piscivores and eat fish, despite this though mermaids can be exhibited with most other marine animals, except for the Shortfin Mako, Hammerhead, Tiger, and Great White Sharks, which will hunt and kill mermaids if placed in the same tank.
 Animal Facts
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| Since the Middle Ages, sailors, fishermen, and others who make their livings on the sea have reported sighting a strange creature, half-human, half-fish. Over the years and across the globe they have been called many things: merrows in Ireland, sea-trows in the Shetlands, havfine in Norway, Meerfrau in Germany, Rusalka in Russia, and river-Witches in Africa. Despite these numerous sightings, most attempts to capture or even approach these creatures over the years have failed.
Mermaids tend to prefer shallow water, and many sighting of them have occurred while they sun themselves on offshore rocks or even beaches. Some have tried to capture them, but found that they do not thrive in captivity. In fact, many captive mermaids refuse to eat until freed. Over the past century, zoos and circuses have claimed to have mermaids on display (some living, some dead), but until now, these have all been dismissed as hoaxes. One such exhibit consisted of the stuffed head of an orangutan, the torso of a chimpanzee, and the tail of a large salmon all stitched together. According to many theories, Mermaids are the offspring of humans and fish. There are mermaids in many stories--one of the most notable is the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale about a Mermaid who wishes for legs. Although some mermaid sightings may have been sailor’s imagination or sightings of manatees or other sea creatures, here in your zoo you have the chance to exhibit real merfolk. Throughout history, no one has ever kept a mermaid or merman captive against its will....How will your zoo do? |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Due to not being adoptable in the conventional way, it is possible to continue purchasing Mermaids by placing the statue in a tank even if a zoo has been prohibited from adopting animals by the National Organization of Zoos.
- The mermaid, Narwhal, and Harbor Porpoise have coding in reference to show performances. This may imply that these animals were intended to perform in shows at one point.
- The mermaid's appearance is possibly a reference to Walt Disney's version of The Little Mermaid.
- The Mermaid gets a small amount of habitat suitability from the Giant Pacific Clam scenery item, making them the only animal to gain habitat suitability from a scenery item.
- Despite being adopted through the Mermaid Statue, mermaids themselves are coded to dislike the Mermaid Statue.
- Despite not being adoptable, the mermaid is coded to have an adoption price of $2,500.