Terra Nil

In Terra Nil, you will be transforming a desolate wasteland into a paradise of nature. One step in that process, of course, is introducing wildlife back into the environment. In each region, you will need to introduce three animal species in order to continue, but if you want to be a completionist, there are more to discover. Every region has six animals, and each one has its own unique prerequisites, so this can take a little bit of time if you’re not sure where to look.

So I’m going to walk you through every animal species in Terra Nil, and give you some guidance on the requirements for discovering each one.

How to find animals

Terra Nil - Animal Observatory

First up, in order to discover animals in Terra Nil, you must build an Animal Observatory. This will generally be done in the recycling phase of the map, one you’ve completed all of the other ecological objectives.

The Animal Observatory costs 10 units to build, and it can be constructed on any grassland tile. You can only build one per map (though if you destroy yours, you can rebuild it somewhere else). Location doesn’t really matter, aside from the grassland requirement. One Animal Observatory will allow you to ping the entire region.

Now you’ll need to start pinging. In order to do that, you’ll need to open the Animal Observatory menu. You can do this by clicking the little arrow that’s in the bottom of the circle at the top left-hand portion of your screen.

Terra Nil - Find Animals

This should bring open a list of animals that you can scan for, though any of the ones you haven’t found yet will be greyed out. Select one of the animals, then click the ping button, which looks like a circle with the letter C in it.

Terra Nil - Scan

Now you can click the area on the map that you want to scan. This will bring up some information about that animal, including how many requirements there are for that animal, and how many of these requirements you’ve fulfilled.

A number of circles will appear once you hit the scan button. The number of circles is the number of requirements for that species (so three circles means there are three requirements). If the circle is red with a question mark in it, the area you scanned doesn’t meet that requirement. If the circle is yellow, it means the requirement is partially fulfilled (containing 19 Forest tiles when the requirement asks for 20, for example), and if it’s green, it means it’s fully fulfilled.

Terra Nil - Requirements

If the area you scanned doesn’t meet the requirements, find another area and scan again.

When you meet all the requirements for that specific animal, that animal should migrate into the region (and you’ll even see little animated critters frolicking about if you zoom into the map).

Each animal also has some flavor text assigned to it, and this text will help you know what the requirements are for that animal. Not all of them are completely clear, which is why I’m going to list all of them out for you.

How to discover every animal species in the Temperate region

The Temperate region includes the River Valley and Abandoned Quarry maps.

Deer

Terra Nil - Deer

This grazer lives in hears on wide open grassland.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 20 Greenery tiles.

Note: Greenery is grassland, so don’t expect to find deer in forests.

Frog

Terra Nil - Frog

This small amphibian lives in the reeds of a wetland near a fynbos field.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 10 Wetland tiles.
  • In range of at least 5 Fynbos tiles.

Note: This is pretty self-explanatory. You need to scan an area that contains 10 Wetland tiles and 5 Fynbos tiles.

Brown Bear

Terra Nil - Brown Bear

This large caniform’s domain is a forest which contains a beehive and is on a hill.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 20 Forest tiles.
  • On a hill of at least 20 tiles.
  • In range of a beehive.

Note: Obviously, this means you have to build a forest in one of the elevated areas on your map. First, you’ll need to build a beehive to create an area of fynbos flowers. Now you’ll need to build a Solar Amplifier to burn the fynbos area. Hopefully, you’ll find a pile of ash. On top of this ash, you can build an Arboretum, which creates forest. Then, in the forest, you should be able to build another Beehive on top of any tall tree in the biome. Now scan it and see if the stars align for you!

Goose

Terra Nil - Goose

This web-footed waterfowl rests in a large lake when it is not flying.

Requirements:

  • In a lake of at least radius 4.

Note: I found this one to be particularly frustrating, because what you need is a river that is eight tiles wide and eight tiles long. I’ve done a lot of experimentation with this, and it’s hard to tell if wetlands count or not.

I found that this one is actually much easier to do on the Abandoned Quarry map, because there tends to be a really wide riverbed in the lowest portion of the map, and you can use your Seismic Detonator charges to blow it even wider.

Terra Nil

As you can see in the image above, the River tiles do work. There’s actually no such thing as a Lake tile in this game, so you’re just trying to make a river that’s wide enough to count. Good luck!

Beaver

Terra Nil - Beaver

This industrious rodent builds its home in a river near a forest.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 20 River tiles.
  • In range of at least 20 Forest tiles.

Note: This one is pretty self-explanatory; you just have to build a forest next to a river. It can get a little finnicky if the forest isn’t on the very edge of the river. If there’s a tile’s width between the forest and the river, it doesn’t always count.

Timber Wolf

Terra Nil - Timber Wolf

This predator prowls in a forest near to a source of prey.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 15 Forest tiles.
  • In range of a group of deer.

Note: So this one can be a little tricky, because you need to discover deer first. If you can discover deer close to a forest, you should be golden. If not, you’ll want to either build a forest close to where you found your deer, or build a grassland close to your forest and hope you find deer there.

How to discover every animal species in the Tropical region

The Tropical region includes the Desolate Island and Archipelago maps.

Tortoise

Terra Nil - Tortoise

This beach-dwelling reptile lives on an island where it can retreat into its shell.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 10 Beach tiles.
  • On a small island.

Note: I struggled with this one a little bit. Even though the requirements seem pretty self-explanatory, it doesn’t seem like it works every time. What worked for me was setting up an island without any technology on it. Alternatively, you can just recycle all the tech on your island to restore it to its pristine, sandy quality.

Manta Ray

Terra Nil - Manta Ray

This unusually shaped creature glides in the ocean near river estuaries and coral reefs.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 8 ocean tiles.
  • In range of at least 6 Coral Reef tiles.
  • In range of at least 3 River tiles.

Note: For this one, the river doesn’t necessarily need to empty into the ocean. So long as the river tiles are within your scan area, they should count.

Terra Nil - Manta Ray

As you can see in the image above, I was able to get this one without having a river that touched the ocean.

One thing to point out, though, is that you won’t have Excavators in this map, so you can’t make your own rivers. If you turn every river into wetlands, you’ll be blocking yourself from finding any manta rays on this run.

Parrot

Terra Nil - Parrot

This colorful bird makes its home in lush forest canopies beneath clear skies.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 20 Tropical Forest tiles.
  • No buildings in range.

Note: I think the canopy pillars might count as buildings, but the canopy itself doesn’t. Still, if you’re struggling with this, you might want to recycle all the pillars and try scanning again.

Flamingo

Terra Nil - Flamingo

This wader combs for food among the sand of beaches and the mud of wetlands.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 10 Beach tiles.
  • In range of at least 10 Wetlands tiles.

Note: Just build your wetlands close to your beaches and you should be good. Just remember to scan for flamingos before you salinate your wetlands (turning them into mangroves).

Reef Shark

Terra Nil - Reef Shark

This aquatic predator lives in both dense coral and the waters of mangrove forests.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 16 Coral Reef tiles.
  • In range of at least 4 Mangrove tiles.
  • Temperature at 20°C or higher.

Note: Just build your coral reefs close to your mangrove forests. You can increase the temperature by building Combustors.

Whale

Terra Nil - Whale

This large pelagic mammal swims in the deep waters of the ocean, far from land.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 20 Ocean tiles.
  • In an area of ocean of deep ocean of at least 10 tiles.
  • No land in range.

Note: Polluted Ocean does not count, which makes this a little tricky. You can try to set up an island just far enough out so you can clean up the water, but not deep enough that it gets in the way of your scan (I can confirm that this is possible). However, there’s an easier way: If you can get the humidity to 100% and the temperature to above 35°C, it will start storming, and the deep ocean water will slowly be cleaned without machinery.

How to discover every animal species in the Polar region

The Polar region includes the Volcanic Glacier and Polluted Fjord maps.

Elk

Terra Nil - Elk

This herbivore searches beneath the snow for edible lichen and plants.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 6 Lichen tiles.
  • In range of at least 20 Snow tiles.

Note: Just find a lot of lichen and snow and you should be good. Of course, that means you’ll need to keep the temperature below 0°C, because otherwise the snow will start to melt.

Snowy Owl

Terra Nil - Snowy Owl

This strigiform roosts in boreal forests and soars over the open tundra.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 10 Forest tiles.
  • In range of Tundra.

Note: Find a place where tundra and forest meet, and you should find yourself some owls.

Arctic Fox

Terra Nil - Arctic Fox

This vulpine predator is camouflaged in the snow and prowls the tundra plains.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 10 Snow tiles.
  • In range of at least 10 Tundra tiles.

Note: This is another easy one. Find some snow and tundra close together. Again, you’ll need to make sure the temperature stays below 0°C so the snow doesn’t melt, but that’s the only tricky part about all this.

Narwhal

Terra Nil - Narwhal

This tusk-bearing whale swims in cold ocean waters and under the ice.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 20 Ocean tiles.
  • In range of at least 4 Ice Sheet tiles.
  • Temperature at -10°C or lower.

Note: The hardest part about this one is that you have to get the temperature all the way down to the minimum. I found that pretty easy to do by building tons of Flash Freezers. The game does seem to be a little finnicky about what it calls an Ocean tile on this map, though. I found that the closer you can scan to the edge of the map, the better.

Penguin

Terra Nil - Penguin

From its home on the ice, this flightless bird takes to the ocean in its search for fish.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 16 Ice Sheet tiles.
  • In range of at least 10 Ocean tiles.

Note: This is another simple one, but you’ll want to keep the temperature below 0°C to make sure ice forms in the ocean.

Polar Bear

Terra Nil - Polar Bear

This large predator wanders in the snowy territory next to the ocean, near a source of prey.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 16 Snow tiles.
  • In range of at least 6 Ocean tiles.
  • In range of a group of Elk.

Note: This one almost broke me. The Elk requirement seems extremely finnicky, to the point where I had to create a new herd of Elk to get it to work (after scanning my first herd more than ten times with no results). I did eventually get it to work once I created additional herds.

How to discover every animal species in the Continental region

The Continental region includes the Flooded City and Irradiated Sprawl maps.

Turtle

Terra Nil - Turtle

This shell-bearing reptile frolics in a large lagoon.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 20 Lagoon tiles.

Note: This one stumped me a little bit, because lagoons can’t be larger than a certain size, but the answer came when I scanned an area with two lagoons close to each other.

Peacock

Terra Nil - Peacock

This resplendent fowl struts on wide open grasslands.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 24 Greenery tiles.

Note: The peacock just needs a lot of grass.

Panda

Terra Nil - Panda

This gentle giant happily gnaws bamboo near a glade.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 20 Bamboo tiles.
  • In range of at least 6 Greenery tiles.

Note: Grass and bamboo. Pretty simple.

Eagle

Terra Nil - Eagle

This fierce raptor makes its eyrie in a tall structure, near a source of prey.

  • In range of at least 6 Derelict Skyscraper tiles.
  • In range of a group of Boar.

Note: One hollowed-out skyscraper should be enough, so long as you can find one near a bunch of boars.

Boar

Terra Nil - Boar

This widespread suiform roots for tubers in the undergrowth of a deciduous forest.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 8 Greenery tiles.
  • In range of at least 12 Deciduous Forest tiles.

Note: Grass and Deciduous Forest; this one shouldn’t throw you for a loop.

Sea Otter

Terra Nil - Sea Otter

This endangered marine mammal darts among the fronds of a kelp forest.

Requirements:

  • In range of at least 12 Ocean tiles.
  • In range of at least 12 Kelp Forest Tiles.

Note: As long as you build your kelp forest toward the edge of the map, where the ocean is the widest, you should be fine.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x