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Planet Zoo 2 climbing animals: climbable space vs climb-proof barriers

Climbable space and climb-proof barriers are different fields

Climbable space is one of the area types in an animal's space needs, like land or aquatic space. It comes as a square-meter figure for the first animal plus an amount for each extra animal. Climb-proof is a yes-or-no flag on the barrier, next to its grade, minimum height and water barrier option. A species can have either one without the other, so check both columns rather than assuming one implies the other.

All 19 species that have at least one of the two are terrestrial habitat mammals. No flying-habitat bird needs a climb-proof barrier, and no bird, fish or reptile lists climbable space.

How much climbable space each species needs

Climbable figures are small next to land figures. The table sorts the 14 species by their first-animal climbable space, largest first, and shows it as a share of their first-animal land requirement.

The Sumatran Orangutan needs the most climbable space for one animal, 120 m². The Western Chimpanzee needs the most for a full group: 30 m² per extra animal across a group of up to 15 adds up to 500 m². At the small end, the Golden Lion Tamarin starts at 15 m².

Relative to land, the Sunda Pangolin stands out: its climbable figure is 46% of its land figure (16 m² against 35 m²), followed by the Red Panda at 38%. At the other end, the Eurasian Lynx, Sun Bear and Western Lowland Gorilla need climbable space equal to only about 3% of their land. Twelve of the fourteen climbable-space species list the tropical biome; the exceptions are the Eurasian Lynx and Red Panda.

Climb-proof barrier heights

Most climb-proof species also need a 3 m barrier: 15 of the 18. The Giant Panda and Grizzly Bear need 2 m but grade 4, the highest grade among climb-proof species. Goodfellow's Tree-Kangaroo is the outlier: a climb-proof barrier only 1 m high at grade 1.

A 3 m barrier is not the same as a climb-proof one. Of the 21 habitat animals with a 3 m minimum height, six don't need climb-proofing: the African Savannah Elephant, African Wild Dog, Asian Elephant, Grey Wolf, Red Panda and Spotted Hyena.

Six climb-proof species can take a water barrier instead of a wall. The Golden Lion Tamarin and Ring-Tailed Lemur need one 3 m wide and 1 m deep; the Siamang, Sumatran Orangutan, Western Chimpanzee and Western Lowland Gorilla need 6 m wide and 2 m deep. The other 12 climb-proof species have no water barrier option.

Group sizes among climbers

Nine of the 19 species in the first table are capped at two animals, which keeps their climbable totals low; two Sunda Pangolins need 20 m² of climbable space between them. The largest groups belong to the Ring-Tailed Lemur (3 to 30), whose 4 m² per extra animal takes it from 20 m² to 136 m², and the Lion (2 to 30), which lists no climbable space but needs its 3 m climb-proof barrier at any group size. The chimpanzee has the highest minimum group, five, so even its smallest group needs 200 m² of climbable space.

Mixing a climber with a non-climber

When two species share a habitat, the shared barrier takes the stricter value on each point: the higher grade, the greater height, climb-proof if either species needs it, and a water barrier only if both allow one. Every listed pairing that includes a climb-proof species is below.

For the non-climbing partners, the change is large. Their own barriers are 1 or 1.25 m high and not climb-proof; next to a climber they jump to 3 m and climb-proof. The Asian Small-Clawed Otter shows it clearly: on its own it needs grade 2 at 1.25 m. With the Siamang the shared barrier becomes grade 2, 3 m and climb-proof, and with the orangutan it rises again to grade 3. The Toco Toucan gets the same 3 m climb-proof barrier from its one partner, the Golden Lion Tamarin.

The Giant Panda and Red Panda show how two partial requirements combine into something stricter than either. The giant panda needs grade 4 at 2 m, climb-proof; the red panda needs grade 2 at 3 m, not climb-proof, with a water barrier allowed. Together they need grade 4, 3 m and climb-proof, with no water barrier, because the giant panda doesn't allow one.

When both partners are climbers that accept water barriers, the option survives. That holds for all three climber-with-climber pairings: the tamarin with the Ring-Tailed Lemur, the siamang with the orangutan, and the chimpanzee with the Western Lowland Gorilla. The shared barrier figures don't include a width or depth for the water barrier; each species' own figures are in the first table.

Checklist for a habitat with climbers

1. Look up climbable space and the climb-proof flag separately for each species; one does not imply the other.
2. Work out each climber's climbable total for the group size you plan: first animal plus each extra.
3. Take the highest grade and the greatest height in the group, and make the barrier climb-proof if any species needs it.
4. Keep a water barrier only if every species in the group allows one.
5. Check that every pair in the group is listed as compatible.

Climb-proof species with no partners

Eleven of the eighteen climb-proof species have no listed partner: the African Leopard, Binturong, Eurasian Brown Bear, Eurasian Lynx, Goodfellow's Tree-Kangaroo, Grizzly Bear, Lion, Snow Leopard, Sumatran Tiger, Sun Bear and Sunda Pangolin. None of the climb-proof species has a thriving pairing; all 19 pairings in the mixing table are neutral.

To test a mix before you build, add the species to the habitat planner, which reports the strictest barrier for the whole group. The animal comparison shows the shared barrier for any two species, and habitat requirements lists every habitat animal's barrier in one table.

Climbable space and barrier values are the official Zoopedia's, checked 2026-10-14; the shares, counts and shared barriers are calculated here. More on how the data is collected.