Planet Zoo 2 Monarch — habitat, biome, size & which animals it can live with

Monarch is one of the 130 Planet Zoo 2 launch species. It is housed in a Exhibit habitat, accepts the Rainforest / Savannah / Temperate biome, carries a no barrier requirement and is listed at 0.10 m (legspan). It shares a biome and an enclosure type with 20 other species, but the official species data rules out every one of those pairings, so it needs a habitat of its own.

Monarch

Every figure on this page comes from the official Planet Zoo 2 Zoopedia export rather than trailer footage: biome, enclosure type, barrier grade, size and the compatibility verdicts are all taken from the game's own data.

Size (M)0.10 m

Weight (M)—

Barrier—

EnclosureExhibit

BiomesRainforest / Savannah / Temperate

StatusVulnerable

Where it lives in the wild
Asia · Australasia · North America · South America

Monarch at a glance

Source: official Planet Zoo 2 Zoopedia export (130 species). Also on the searchable animal list.

Enclosure and barrier requirements

Monarch needs a Exhibit enclosure and accepts the Rainforest / Savannah / Temperate biomes. The barrier requirement is none at all, and that is the number to check before building: a Grade 4 animal behind a Grade 1 wall is the most common way a first zoo stalls.

Which animals can live with the Monarch?

Monarch shares a biome and an enclosure type with 20 other species, but every one of those pairings is ruled out by the official data, because one side of each pair is officially solitary.

Same biome, but not compatible

20 of the species that accept the Rainforest / Savannah / Temperate biome cannot share an enclosure with the Monarch, because one side of the pair is officially solitary. These are the pairings people ask about most, so they are spelled out rather than left as an unexplained gap.

Species	Biome	Enclosure	Why not
Amazonian Giant Centipede	Rainforest	Exhibit	Amazonian Giant Centipede is solitary “Amazonian Giant Centipedes are solitary in the wild and therefore should be kept alone in captivity.”
Boa Constrictor	RainforestSavannah	Exhibit	Boa Constrictor is solitary “Boa constrictors are solitary animals and do not interact in the wild, except when mating or fighting over mating rights.”
Cloudless Sulphur	SavannahTaigaTemperate	Exhibit	Monarch is solitary “Non-migratory monarch butterflies are solitary for most of the year, while those who do migrate will cluster in massive swarms of up to 10,000 individuals.”
Common Bluetongue	RainforestSavannahTemperate	Exhibit	Common Bluetongue is solitary “Common bluetongues are solitary animals and only interact to mate or fight over mates.”
Eastern Brown Snake	DesertSavannahTemperate	Exhibit	Eastern Brown Snake is solitary “Adult male Eastern brown snakes are solitary, whereas females may interact with each other after laying their eggs; they will often do this…”
European Peacock	SavannahTemperate	Exhibit	European Peacock is solitary “The European peacock butterfly is largely solitary and males may defend their territory from other males they encounter.”
Fire Salamander	TemperateWetlands	Exhibit	Fire Salamander is solitary “Fire salamanders are solitary in the wild but are generally tolerant of other individuals if enough space, mates and food are available. Mal…”
Giant Forest Scorpion	Rainforest	Exhibit	Giant Forest Scorpion is solitary “Giant forest scorpions are solitary animals, only interacting for mating purposes.”
Giant Malaysian Leaf Insect	Rainforest	Exhibit	Giant Malaysian Leaf Insect is solitary “These insects are solitary but very passive, so can be kept together. They should not be kept with other large herbivorous insects because t…”
Giant Tiger Land Snail	RainforestSavannah	Exhibit	Monarch is solitary “Non-migratory monarch butterflies are solitary for most of the year, while those who do migrate will cluster in massive swarms of up to 10,000 individuals.”
Golden Poison Frog	Rainforest	Exhibit	Monarch is solitary “Non-migratory monarch butterflies are solitary for most of the year, while those who do migrate will cluster in massive swarms of up to 10,000 individuals.”
Goliath Beetle	RainforestSavannah	Exhibit	Goliath Beetle is solitary “Goliath beetles are solitary animals – other than to mate or compete over mates, they do not interact in the wild.”
Lehmann's Poison Frog	Rainforest	Exhibit	Lehmann's Poison Frog is solitary “Lehmann's poison frogs are solitary animals, only interacting with other frogs in order to mate.”
Menelaus Blue Morpho	RainforestSavannah	Exhibit	Menelaus Blue Morpho is solitary “The Menelaus blue morpho is solitary, only spending time with others to mate. However, they tolerate nearby conspecifics, and on rare occasi…”
Mexican Redknee	DesertRainforestTemperate	Exhibit	Mexican Redknee is solitary “Mexican redknees are solitary animals and are likely to be aggressive towards each other if kept together in a terrarium.”
Old World Swallowtail	SavannahTaigaTemperateTundra	Exhibit	Monarch is solitary “Non-migratory monarch butterflies are solitary for most of the year, while those who do migrate will cluster in massive swarms of up to 10,000 individuals.”
Red-Eyed Tree Frog	Rainforest	Exhibit	Monarch is solitary “Non-migratory monarch butterflies are solitary for most of the year, while those who do migrate will cluster in massive swarms of up to 10,000 individuals.”
Sri Lankan Rose	Rainforest	Exhibit	Monarch is solitary “Non-migratory monarch butterflies are solitary for most of the year, while those who do migrate will cluster in massive swarms of up to 10,000 individuals.”
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake	DesertSavannahTemperate	Exhibit	Monarch is solitary “Non-migratory monarch butterflies are solitary for most of the year, while those who do migrate will cluster in massive swarms of up to 10,000 individuals.”
Yellow Anaconda	SavannahWetlands	Exhibit	Monarch is solitary “Non-migratory monarch butterflies are solitary for most of the year, while those who do migrate will cluster in massive swarms of up to 10,000 individuals.”

Close, but ruled out by enclosure type

64 species share at least one biome with the Monarch but use a different enclosure type — a land habitat against an aquarium or a flying aviary — so they cannot be mixed however well the biomes line up.

Aardvark, African Leopard, African Penguin, African Savannah Elephant, African Wild Dog, Asian Elephant, Bactrian Camel, Black Wildebeest, Blue Wildebeest, Cape Buffalo, Common Hippopotamus, Common Ostrich, Common Warthog, Eurasian Beaver, Eurasian Bittern, Eurasian Brown Bear, Eurasian Lynx, European Bison, Galápagos Giant Tortoise, Gemsbok, Gharial, Giant Panda, Golden Eagle, Golden Lion Tamarin, Goodfellow's Tree-Kangaroo, Great Hornbill, Greater Flamingo, Grey Wolf, Grizzly Bear, Javan Green Magpie, Komodo Dragon, Lion, Long-Eared Owl, Long-Tailed Parakeet, Malayan Tapir, Masai Giraffe, Meerkat, Mountain Hare, Nile Monitor, North Sulawesi Babirusa

Behaviour, size and weight

Monarch is classed as Solitary in Frontier's Social & Reproduction notes: “Non-migratory monarch butterflies are solitary for most of the year, while those who do migrate will cluster in massive swarms of up to 10,000 individuals.” On size the game lists 0.10 m (legspan) for the male and 0.10 m for the female. Size and weight together decide the minimum habitat footprint, so use the female figure when you are sizing a breeding pair rather than a display animal.

FAQ

Related

All 130 animals · Full compatibility chart for Monarch · Aquarium animals · Aviary birds · Deluxe edition animals · System requirements