Quick answer #
Wildlife Reserves are new in Planet Zoo 2: large, customisable natural areas around the world where you restore the land, release animals from your zoo, and do research that helps your zoos.[1][2] Frontier says you'll have "a hand in establishing Ecosystems, reintroducing animals to the wild and completing research" there.[1]
Planet Zoo 2 is not out yet (October 13, 2026), so everything below comes from Frontier's own previews, not from play.[3]
The release chain, step by step #
How the pieces fit together, from Frontier's Wildlife Reserves feature article (the step order is ours):
- Restore the reserve. You invest in cleaning the reserve up, remove invasive plants and add "the right ratio of environmental factors, such as water, foliage and terrain".[1]
- Plan the ecosystem roles. Each reserve has roles to fill, and filling them "with a suitable population of animals" improves biodiversity and, in turn, the reserve's overall rating.[1]
- Get your zoo animals ready. Releases have requirements that "can include the animals meeting a certain level of longevity, fertility or genetic diversity".[1]
- Release the right group size. Release groups "vary from species to species, but generally range from solitary animals to breeding pairs and larger groups".[1]
- Research the reserve. Research earns Conservation Credits and unlocks higher levels of species research.[1]
Only species that have an appropriate Wildlife Reserve can be released into one, according to Frontier's FAQ.[3]
Research tools #
Frontier names three kinds of research equipment: Observation Platforms, Acoustic Monitors and Camera Traps.[1] You can also drive a Research Vehicle through a reserve, and "hop out of the Research Vehicle and explore on foot".[1]
Where reserves fit in the game #
- Wildlife Reserves appear in all three game modes: Career sends you to visit them, and Sandbox and Franchise let you build and run your own.[4]
- The Planet Hub, "available in all game modes", is where you visit your sites and make decisions on research and conservation projects across your zoos and reserves.[4]
What Frontier has not said yet #
Frontier's pages do not yet give a full list of reserve locations, a table of which species can go to which reserve, exact release thresholds, or equipment costs (checked Oct 3, 2026). We will add them after launch. For the species themselves, see the animal list and biomes.
Sources & References #
- Creature Feature: Wildlife Reserves (official Planet Zoo 2 news, Sep 3, 2026), checked Oct 3, 2026 ↩ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
- Planet Zoo 2 Features (official), Wildlife Reserves and Nurture, Release & Conserve sections, checked Oct 3, 2026 ↩
- Planet Zoo 2 Help and FAQ (official), launch date and "Will every species ... be able to be released into a Wildlife Reserve?", checked Oct 3, 2026 ↩ 1, 2
- Planet Zoo 2 Game Modes (official), checked Oct 3, 2026 ↩ 1, 2