About Me

Despite my name and profile picture, I'm not actually a weasel! I'm just your every day guy that likes visiting zoos and building virtual ones!

I was born and currently reside in West Yorkshire, England. I've had a fascination with animals and zoos ever since a young age, something which may have been passed down from my great grandfather who was a keen naturalist.

I started my virtual zoo building life in around 2001 when my mum brought home a copy of Zoo Tycoon (2001) from a car boot sale. I was amazed by the game as it gave me a way to enjoy zoos without having to visit them, something which was a rare treat when I was younger.

I was infatuated with the game and I soon found myself playing its sequel, Zoo Tycoon 2 (2004), in the mid-2000s. I played the game religiously and, eventually (in 2006), discovered the world of online communities and user-made downloads. This is when I first created the account "Mr.Weasel" and the avatar which I still use to this day. I wish there was a meaningful reason behind the name but "weasel" was simply a word I found funny at the time!

When the official Zoo Tycoon 2 forum disbanded, I found myself drifting through the many fan-made forums, such as (in no particular order) Gaia, Environ, Caldera Unlimited, The Zoo Tycoon 2 Round Table and Tesara. This is where I discovered a style of building which emphasised realism, pioneered by a user named markun. I adopted a similar style and have kept it ever since. I took a break from virtual zoo building in 2016 when I started focusing on other games but I came back in around 2019 for Planet Zoo.

When I build, I like to focus on realism and detail and usually only build things you can see from a guest perspective (so I usually don't detail backstage areas, etc). I also prefer building British zoos as those are the ones I mostly visit but I will occasionally build ones from elsewhere. I have a soft spot for smaller, low budget zoos as I feel their efforts often get overlooked in real-life. I see them as my "niche" and my way of standing out.

Beyond virtual zoo building, I'm a video editor by profession and work for a company which edits funeral services. I like video editing in my spare time, as well as playing other video games.

I'm not the best writer or the most informed zoo nerd but I see this blog as my way of developing those things. Anyway, thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy what you read!