When I came to Second Life animals were rudimentary. Made of prims, they were often blocky and usually stationary. Most animals that moved made slow circles around a central point. Circling birds, y'all. Circling fish.
SL's animals continue to evolve (Darwin would be proud). They became sculpts, and now most are mesh. A few are animesh. Scripts, and as a result, behavior, are far more complex and less predicable.
Whimsy still features a few circling birds and fish, just for old time's sake, but it's chock-full of complex animal life in the air, on the land, and under the sea. The photo above shows the underside of Kaikou Splash's great whale shark as it hovers above an underwater research station on Kaboom.
Kaboom has a pod of humpbacks--maybe eight by now, and it's fascinating to watch and listen to their vocalizations. They, too, were made by Kaikou Splash--as was Kaboom's rideable giant skate.
I like to watch the whales from the Kaboom's sea deck and below the sea, but they're particularly striking from above. This shot features three whales, a squid, an octopus, an assortment of unidentifiable wildlife, and, center right, just past the humpback, me. I didn't back far enough out of the shot. I love to pan across the region, looking straight down, and one of these days I'm going to make a video showing that.
Kaboom has lots more undersea wildlife--dolphins, sharks of various kinds, turtles, jellyfish, squid, octopii, crabs, and an assortment of fish, all moving in semi-random ways, looking and behaving much like their real world counterparts.
On the surface you'll find Callie the Sea Monster, who patrols the region. She gets upset when approached too closely, so consider this your warning. Callie was made by Virginia Tombola.
In the air above Kaboom you'll find an assortment of birds-- albatrosses, parrots, and gulls, mostly. I'd love to add the full variety of Darwin's finches, but I doubt anyone has bothered to make them. What a great learning experience that could be, with a HUD that would identify all the species and talk about adaptive radiation!
Kaboom, like Earth, is mostly water, but it, like Earth, has its share of insects, reptiles, and mammals. This mantis has sat quietly for years awaiting its prey. Note the big monitor lizard in the background. The monitor is hoping to snag one of the dragonflies that hover over the sea decks.
These piglets from Jian are adorable--but I do worry about their proximity to the community garden.
These sea otters, also from Jian, are equally cute. You can find them beside the sea deck on Kaboom.
Something you won't see much of on Kaboom are songbirds. You can hear them everywhere, but there are none to see. That's because Kaboom is a Homestead sim with only one-fifth the prim allowance of a full region. I think it might be time to allot a few prims for finches. What do you think?
Next: Wildlife on Whimsy Proper
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