Passive
Bats
Bats are passive animals that appear in the cave system of The Forest. They cannot really be interacted with and serve only for immersion purposes. It is possible to kill bats by hitting them with a weapon of choice, but they do not drop anything.
Bats are used often to “spook” players by appearing suddenly and squeaking as they fly past. They flee from certain cave entrances upon approach, but they also fly by in certain designated spots inside the caves, as well as roosting in clusters on the ceiling. Because of their fleeing from cave entrances, they are a very useful indicator when searching for new caves. Their sound can be confused with that of a distant Virginia or other cannibals. When they are attached to the cave ceilings they can be lit on fire with the hairspray and serve as a temporary light source.
Bird
Types of Birds:
- Bluebird – Pretty much all around the peninsula.
- Cardinal – Pretty much all around the peninsula.
- Canada Goose – Close to lakes, particularly the goose lake.
- Crow – Appears more frequently in wooded areas. Typically seen around corpses.
- Robin – Pretty much all around the peninsula.
- Seagull – On the shores or near lakes.
Deer
Deer can be found in the wooded areas though also in open fields, such as the Fertile Lands. When killed, they can be skinned for one deer skin, then butchered for four meat and finally drop a deer head. Deer are especially skittish and fast and can easily outrun the player, making hunting them quite a challenge if unprepared.
Fish
Types of Fish:
- Reef Surgeon
- Pacific Cod
- Rock Beauty Angelfish
- Bluecheek Butterflyfish
- Paracanthurus
- Brocaded Carp
- Normal Carp
- Pacific Cod
- Temp Cod
Oyster
They are technically an animal though they have no properties of an animal in the game. They can be found in certain locations in the ocean can be picked up and stored in the inventory. Once picked up, oysters appear in the player’s inventory. From here they can be directly eaten without further cooking or preparation. They can be used in stews as extras, though they do not count as an ingredient.
Rabbits
Rabbits can be found almost everywhere in The Forest, and can usually be killed with one hit using any type of weapon. Once dead, the rabbit can be harvested for one rabbit fur, one raw rabbit, and one rabbit head. The meat can then be cooked on a fire or stored on a drying rack and eaten.
Lizard
Lizards can be found almost everywhere on the surface of the peninsula, apart from the coasts and deep snowy regions. When killed, the player can obtain a lizard skin and a raw lizard as well as a lizard head from them.
Raccoons
Raccoons are some of the rarest animals in the game. When killed and skinned, they drop 1 meat, 1 raccoon skin and 1 raccoon head. As with most small animals in The Forest, raccoons can be killed with a single hit from any weapon. It is noted that they are nocturnal only in patchnotes for v0.31, however they can be spotted during the day. Raccoons are well sought after v1.0 implemented the warmsuit, this is the only current use for raccoon skin in the game.
Squirrel
When killed, they give the player one small meat and one Squirrel Head. As with most small animals, squirrels can be killed with a single hit by any weapon in the game. Squirrels can be caught in animal traps though they are often not wanted by most players. Consider killing them before triggering the trap, a crafted bow or a modern bow is often the most effective. Squirrels cannot climb trees
Tortoise
Tortoises are passive animals that spawn in specific areas around water, especially in the swamp lands. They move very slowly and will hide inside their shell if you try to attack them. Similar to turtles, the tortoise will drop a turtle shell and a piece of meat after death. Furthermore, its head can be collected. The tortoise will die from a single hit to its head, but take reasonably longer to kill if hit on the shell.
Sea Turtle
Sea Turtles are passive animals that spawn along beaches, and can be seen emerging from the ocean or dragging themselves along close to shore. Being aquatic turtles, they move slowly across land and are easy prey. As of v0.25, they have no animations other than crawling, and seem to have no real goal after coming ashore. They drop one turtle shell, which can be used to craft the water collector, or as a sled as of v0.67, and two meats, which can be cooked or dried and eaten.
Hostile
Boars
Similar to the crocodile, the boar is an aggressive animal capable of attacking and damaging the player. If the player stays in the vicinity of a boar for too long, it will make a squealing sound and start to charge towards the player. If the boar hits the player with its charge, it deals a moderate amount of damage to the player’s health. After a charge (regardless of whether it successfully hits the player), the animal retreats a small distance before attacking again or wandering off.
Crocodiles
Crocodiles can be found scattered around the northern parts of the river that flows through the peninsula, though they will almost never be found in the water. They drop 4 lizard skin and 4 meat if killed, along with their head that can be used for decoration. Crocodiles have one of the rarest spawn rates of all huntable animals.
Sharks
Sharks can typically be seen swimming long before the player is in any danger due to their tell-tale dark shape in the water. If the player gets too close, a shark will turn and charge towards them. A hit from the shark will destroy half of the player’s health regardless of armor worn, but long as some distance is kept, they ignore the player. The player has to be rather close to the shark in order to provoke a bite, and bites can be dodged by jerking to the left as it tries to bite you. It will not immediately try to bite again, but will instead swim off for a bit. Sharks can be killed from the shore or any platform out of the water with 2-3 arrows (spears do not work). The shark will flail with each hit and, when dead, the body will sink to the bottom. Tip: set your ocean quality to flat to easily see sharks and other creatures/objects underwater.
Decorative
These animals serve no purpose other than to add immersion to the game. They cannot be killed or otherwise interacted with – apart from spiders, which sometimes appear when rocks are picked up and can be killed by stabbing them with a spear or other weapon.
- Flies
- Frogs
- Spiders
- Starfish
- Ants