Fitness versus Fitness Potential
Fitness appears on an individual animal’s binocular card alongside information such as sex and age. Fitness Potential describes the potential affected by environmental hazards and improvements for listed species in a land area. They are not interchangeable percentages.
Herd management operates at zone level. For example, consider the hippos throughout Kaggen Karoo rather than treating the group directly in front of you as an isolated population. Check other groups of the same species before making aggressive culls.
Choose what to cull and retain
- Prioritize low-Fitness males. For otherwise similar Fitness, consider the younger animal first.
- Low-Fitness females can also be considered after the initial male selection.
- Retain high-Fitness males long enough to grow, then harvest according to your trophy or mission goal.
An illustrative selection is a 35%-Fitness, 2/10-year male before a 34%-Fitness, 8/10-year male, while retaining a 95%-Fitness, 1/10-year male. The ten-year lifespan belongs to that example, not every species. Avoid clearing the entire herd.
Improve the habitat
At a pollution or enhancement site, read the land, affected species, Impact and cost before using CLEAN UP or ENHANCE. Cleaning pollution and invasive species and restoring habitats improve local population potential.
A polluted-lake example in Lake Sasquatch shows High impact and a 5,670 cleanup fee. An enhancement in Thunderbird Muskeg lists Western moose, Low impact and 2,355. Costs depend on the site; check the actual panel and preserve money needed for hunting equipment.
Return to the same zone and species to compare groups over time. Neither a fixed sleeping schedule nor one Fitness threshold guarantees a five-star animal. High Fitness is a selection factor, not a guaranteed trophy result.
What changed in update 1.3
Infrastructure enhancements that improve animal populations now give an immediate Fitness boost to newly spawned animals. This concerns new spawns, not an instant change to every existing animal.
The 1.3 known-issues list also says non-typical mule deer trophies do not correspond with Fitness. Do not treat high Fitness as a reliable filter for finding those trophies.