Animal

Cow from Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition.

Animals are creatures of nature found on maps. This page lists all the animals that appear in the Age of Empires series, excluding animals used by mounted units.

Age of Empires

Huntable

Gatherable

These animals can be hunted for food. They only yield food if killed by a Villager, and the amount of food gradually decays over time (quickly for predators, slowly for Gazelles, very slowly for Elephants).

• Alligator (before the Definitive Edition only)
• Elephant
• Gazelle
• Lion
• Crocodile (since the Definitive Edition only)

Non-gatherable

These animals can be killed but do not give any food.

• Eagle - Decorative unit, explodes like a catapult projectile when hit
• Hawk - Decorative unit, explodes like a catapult projectile when hit
• Horse - Could only be killed with Catapults before Return of Rome, is a capturable animal in Return of Rome
• Wild Horse - A non-capturable animal introduced in Return of Rome

Aquatic

These animals live in the waters. They can be fished for food.

• Salmon
• Shore Fish
• Tuna
• Whale (before Return of Rome only)

These new fish were imported from Age of Empires II in Return of Rome:

• Box Turtles
• Dolphin
• Dorado
• Marlin
• Perch
• Snapper

Military units

These animals are military units.

• Lion (tame) - Only available in the Scenario Editor, removed since Return of Rome

Scenario and Cheat units

"Alpha/King" animals appear in some campaign scenarios and are available in the Scenario Editor. Entering the cheat code "GRANTLINKSPENCE" (case-insensitive) converts all animals into their "Alpha" versions (King before the Definitive Edition).

• Crocodile (Alpha) (replacing Alligator King since the Definitive Edition)
• Elephant (Alpha)
• Gazelle (Alpha)
• Lion (Alpha)
• Dragon - Decorative unit, only available as a cheat unit before Return of Rome

Age of Empires II

Huntable

Gatherable

These animals can be hunted for food.

• Argali
• Deer
• Elephant
• Gazelle
• Ibex
• Iron Boar (HD Edition onwards)
• Javelina
• Mouflon
• Ostrich
• Rhinoceros
• Wild Boar
• Wild Chicken
• Zebra

Non-gatherable

These animals can be killed, but do not give any food. In the Return of Rome mode, all wild animals can be hunted for food, but only hold 100 food and 20 hit points (the Bactrian Camel, Camel, Donkey, Horse, Wild Bactrian Camel, Wild Camel, Wild Horse, Rabid Wolf, and Dire Wolf do not give food in the Return of Rome mode).

• Arabian Wolf
• Bactrian Camel
• Black Bear
• Brown Bear
• Camel
• Crocodile
• Dire Wolf
• Donkey
• Grey Wolf
• Horse
• Jaguar
• Komodo Dragon
• Lion
• Polar Bear
• Rabid Wolf
• Snow Leopard
• Tiger
• Wild Bactrian Camel
• Wild Camel
• Wild Horse

Herdable

These animals can be captured and controlled by players, and give food when killed.

• Chicken
• Cow
• Goat
• Goose
• Llama
• Pig
• Sheep
• Turkey
• Water Buffalo

Aquatic

Oysters can be gathered for gold.

The following animals live in the water. They can be fished for food.

• Box Turtles
• Dolphin
• Dorado
• Marlin
• Perch
• Salmon
• Shore Fish
• Snapper
• Tuna

Decorative

These animals are purely decorative and cannot be interacted with.

• Butterflies
• Falcon
• Hawk
• Macaw
• Red Crowned Crane
• Seagulls
• Stork
• Stormy Dog (cheat unit)
• Vulture

Cheat units

These animals are military units. They can only be found in the Scenario Editor or obtained by entering a specific cheat code.

• Alfred the Alpaca
• Furious the Monkey Boy
• Penguin

Age of Mythology

Huntable

Timid huntable

These animals can be hunted for food and do not fight back:

• Baboon
• Caribou
• Chicken
• Crowned Crane
• Deer
• Duck*
• Elk
• Gazelle
• Giraffe
• Monkey
• Red Crowned Crane
• Zebra

Aggressive huntable

These animals can be hunted for food but do fight back when attacked:

• Aurochs
• Boar
• Elephant
• Hippopotamus
• Ram*
• Rhinoceros
• Walrus
• Water Buffalo

Wild animals

These animals can be hunted for food and do fight back when attacked, but they also attack nearby workers and livestock of any players by their own volition:

• Arctic Wolf
• Crocodile
• Black Bear
• Bear
• Hyena
• Lion
• Lizard*
• Panda Bear*
• Polar Bear
• Tiger*
• Wolf

Herdable

These animals can be captured and controlled by players, they fatten over time increasing their contained food to a limit, and can be harvested for the same:

• Cow
• Goat
• Pig
• Yak*

Military animal

These animals are available only to players, and only as military units and not as a source of food (except Animals of Set):

• Serpent
• Sea Snake
• Animal of Set
• Golden Lion
• Relic Monkey

Aquatic

These animals live in the water and can be fished for food:

• Herring
• Mahi-mahi
• Perch
• Salmon

Decorative animal

These animals are purely decorative and cannot be interacted with:

• Flying birds:
  • Eagle
  • Harpy
  • Hawk
  • Parrot
  • Vulture
• Hawksbill Turtle
• Orca
• Shark
• Whale
• Panda (also spawned with The Peach Blossom Spring god power)

Scenario Editor-exclusive animal

These animals are only available in the Scenario Editor.

• Alfred
• Dog
• Reindeer
• Golden Fleece (also herdable)

Cheat units

These animals can only be obtained by entering a cheat code.

• Bella
• Flying Purple Hippo
• Lazer Bear
• Methane Chicken

Notes

Despite not being trainable, huntable animals in Age of Mythology have a population cost written in their stats. Additionally, most timid huntables have a base hand attack and attack animation, despite never attacking when controlled by Mother Nature. This is because they can be converted by Priests of Set. Chickens and Ducks, however, do not have a hand attack and cannot be converted. The Horse was a planned animal and even had its model made, but was eventually cut from the game. While the Animals of Set have largely the same stats as their wild counterparts, most of the former (with the exception of the Ape and Gazelle of Set) cost one or two less population space.

Age of Empires III

Animal models in Age of Empires III

Heroic

These animals can be controlled but cannot be killed.

• Explorer Dog
• Lamb of the Creator

Huntable

Gatherable

These animals can be hunted for food.

• Bighorn Sheep
• Bison
• Capybara
• Caribou
• Deer
• Elephant
• Elk
• Gazelle
• Giant Salamander
• Giraffe
• Guanaco
• Ibex
• Marco Polo Sheep
• Moose
• Musk Deer
• Musk Ox
• Nilgai
• Ostrich
• Pronghorn
• Rhea
• Saiga
• Serow
• Tapir
• Turkey
• Zebra

Non-gatherable

These animals can be killed but do not give any food. Prior to the Definitive Edition, they could be controlled after being tamed by a Native American War Chief.

• Alligator
• Baboon
• Beast
• Beast of Gévaudan
• Black Bear
• Black Panther
• Brown Bear
• Cougar
• Coyote
• Crocodile
• Elephant
• Ethiopian Wolf
• Grizzly Bear
• Great White Shark
• Hippo
• Honey Badger
• Hyena
• Jaguar
• Leopard
• Lion
• Lion-Tailed Macaque
• Mad Dog
• Monitor Lizard
• Orangutan
• Orca
• Panda
• Polar Bear
• Rhinoceros
• Snow Leopard
• Snow Monkey
• Tibetan Macaque
• Tiger
• Warthog
• White Tiger
• White Wolf (treasure guardian)
• Wild Boar
• Wolf

Herdable

These animals can be captured and controlled by players, and give food when killed.

• (Sacred) Cow
• Goat
• Intrepid Turkey Scout
• Llama
• Sanga Cattle
• Sheep
• Water Buffalo
• Yak
• Zebu Cattle

Aquatic

These animals live in the waters. They can be fished for food or coin.

• Bass
• Beluga Whale
• Carp
• Catfish
• Cod
• Hippo
• Humpback Whale
• Mahi-mahi
• Minke Whale
• Mola Mola
• Salmon
• Sardines
• Squid
• Tarpon
• Tuna

Pets

These animals are controlled by players and can be killed, but do not give any food.

• Aiz the Tame Elephant
• Axehilt the Tame Tiger
• Big Jerome the Pet Polar Bear
• Buck the Tame Wolf
• Buttercup the Pet Cougar
• Duber the Pet Monkey
• Fang the Tame Coyote
• Freitag the Pet Macaque
• Gentle Pete the Pet Bear
• Honcho the Pet Grizzly Bear
• Janey the Pet Jaguar
• Kermond the Pet Monitor Lizard
• Lhota the Pet Lion
• Old Doug the Orangutan
• Pambuu the Tame Warthog
• Peruvian Dog
• Pete-Pete the Tame Panda
• Randy the Pet Rhino
• Wagner the Pet White Tiger
• War Dog
• White Buffalo
• White Jaguar
• White Wolf

Decorative

These animals are purely decorative and cannot be interacted with.

• Bar-Headed Goose
• Blackbird
• Buzzard
• Canada Goose
• Condor
• Crab Seal
• Duck
• Eagle
• Falcon
• Hawk
• Horse
• Kingfisher
• Macaw
• Parrot
• Seagull
• Sea Lion
• Snowy Owl
• Swan
• Stork
• Turtle
• Vulture

Cheat units

These animals can only be obtained by entering a cheat code.

• Fluffy
• Flying Purple Tapir
• Lazerbear
• Capybara munition

Age of Empires IV

Animals in Age of Empires IV are limited, but do not have a variant in any other form.

	Herdable Sheep	Herdable animal which should be herded by the scout to the Town Center. Contains relatively less food, and is the first choice of the food source.
	Huntable Deer	Huntable animal which should be milled. Contains a good amount of food but is spawned far from the Town Center. Spawns in groups.
	Huntable Boar	Huntable animal which contains a huge amount of food. Attacks its hunters and regenerates HP. Must be hunted with 10+ villagers. Cannot be collected by Muslim civilizations.
	Wolf	Wild animal which attacks nearby units. Does not contain food.
	Fish	Fishable animal found in both Depth Water and Shorelines.
	Cattle	Trainable herdable animal which can be trained by the Malians to be either harvested or garrisoned in Cattle Ranch to passively generate food.

Notes

According to unused art and animation files in the game data, a number of other animals were planned to be added to the game at some point but were never implemented, including foxes, bears, crocodiles and zebras.

Trivia

• In earlier versions of Age of Mythology, predator animals were able to hunt prey animals. The reason for why this was cut is unknown, likely to prevent uneven balance in availability of hunt.

Animals in Age of Empires IV
Herdable animals	Herdable Sheep · Cattle (Malians only)
Timid huntables	Huntable Deer
Aggressive huntables	Huntable Boar
Wild animals	Wolf
Fish	Fish · Shoreline Fish
Cut animals	Bear · Crocodile · Fox · Zebra