The player uses a scanner to analyze the DNA, while pressing the left mouse button and arrow keys. This minigame is more similar to Marine Mania's trick training game. This is then followed by the cloning stage, also within the Research Lab. Once completed, the player can then move on to the cloning stage. Using the '' keys, the player can rotate each piece of fossil to fit into the skeleton. Then the player can enter the lab and put the fossils together like a jigsaw puzzle. The player can jump to the dig site using the zoo map. The player must also dig up a majority of the bones, as paleontologists will sometimes abandon a dig site to continue searching for new ones. The player can get upgrades for the sonar device as his star rating increases, which also unlocks the fossils of additional animals.

Once the player has achieved the required number of bones, one must return to the Research Lab for the next step. The player must then find fossils using a hand held sonar device, which beeps when a fossil is nearby. To begin, the player must purchase an Extinct Animal Research Lab, and then enter 'fossil finding mode'. Once the dinosaur is restrained, the third unit will approach the dinosaur and crate it, ready to be released back into its enclosure. The robot will begin beeping and distracting the beast while the rest of the team shoots it with a tranquilizer. The team consist of three units the 'Dino Capture Robot', and two other employees. When a dinosaur starts rampaging, the team will leave their building and set out to tranquilize the problem. The team come in the form of a large building with two golden dinosaur statues on its roof. The other option for the player is to hire a ' Dino Capture Team'. Once the aim is re-established, the player can fire and the rampaging dino will fall asleep. If the player was to move the gun off target whilst still charging up or fully charged up the gun, the charger will begin to move down again. Once the gun is fully charged, the spacebar can be used to temporarily put the animal to sleep. The player must wait for the gun to charge up, whilst keeping a steady aim. In this mode, the player wields a tranquilizer gun in zookeeper mode and must attempt to subdue the rampaging dinosaur. However, the player can prevent such disasters by locating the problem and then entering tranquilizer mode. This causes it to go on a rampage, where it will destroy its exhibit, then break out and attempt to destroy the zoo. This mode is only available when a dinosaur becomes upset with its living conditions. These are as follows: discovering fossils, curing diseases, recreating extinct animals, building skeleton jigsaws and tranquilizing dinosaurs. Several new minigames (similar to the trick training games in Marine Mania) are included.

Zoo tycoon 2 dinosaur mods