The Biology of ‘Animal Crossings: New Horizons’ Villagers
Scientists explain how these critters would behave in real life
Right now, our collective mental health is being held together like a Cheeto precariously lodged in a door lock. The orange puff holding back the floodgates of our emotion is none other than Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
New Horizons’ premise is simple: You, the main character, try to improve the quality of life on a whimsical island by funding public works projects, landscaping the terrain, and most importantly, managing the moods of its mercurial inhabitants. Most of them are very cute. Some are Harry.
ACNH has 402 animal neighbors made of 35 distinct species. While no island holds all these villagers at the same time, the social dynamics between a jockish tiger and a cranky hippopotamus and a shy monkey living in the same space can be more involved than you’d think.
So what if we could recreate the Animal Crossing experience in real life? What if these animals actually did live on the same island together? We asked wildlife biologists and archaeologists to explain how these spirited islanders would actually fare.
Apparently, it would make Jurassic Park look like Peppa Pig.
