Naturalist for Minecraft

Review Naturalist

Naturalist: New Animals With Realistic Animations

One of the popular categories of Minecraft mods is related to various types of mobs, both friendly and hostile. Some of them are dedicated exclusively to animals, thereby enriching the already contentful cubic world. However, most of the add-ons are too unfinished, and the creatures they feature are made off-hand.

But all this has nothing to do with a mod called Naturalist, which adds a small list of animals to Minecraft. However, each mob here is worked out in detail and has a unique cool animation, excellent textures, specific characteristics, and behavior patterns for different conditions. Some species of animals can feature various forms, and this point has also been well thought out by the developers.

So if you would like to install an animal-related mod, Naturalist is one of the best options today. It has been downloaded more than 700,000 times, and the developers are constantly updating their product by adding new types of animals. At the moment, the Deserted Drylands update has already been released, adding 8 more new animal species, so we have also included them in our review.

Bear

The bears usually spawn individually, but there are also groups in the form of a mother and a baby (a bear cub). They mainly spawn in the taiga and forest biomes. These mobs are neutral towards the player, especially if you don't touch them. However, a bear with a baby will have a negative attitude towards you as soon as you start approaching them.

Moreover, if a bear sees danger in you, all nearby adults will immediately start attacking you, running from everywhere to confront you. It will not be particularly difficult to kill them on land, but in the water, you will have to put in a lot of effort, as these creatures quickly swim while constantly inflicting damage. However, if you kill a bear, it will drop nothing. The only exception is when a bear was holding some food in its mouth at that time. Therefore, it makes no sense to hunt them just for loot by now.

Bears eat fish, berries, and honey (they can smear themselves with it while eating, which looks extremely funny). They feed on almost all fish species and thus feel quite comfortable in various biomes. You can also tame the bears using the food they love. They sniff the character first and then pick up a treat. You can also breed these animals with the same foodstuff just by feeding both.

But you should keep in mind that as soon as a bear cub appears, the bear can attack you again, as you seemingly pose a danger to it. To distract them, it is enough to throw some food, and the bears will forget about you. And the last thing to know: if you leave food in a campfire, say, meat, they can simply steal it. The same applies to berries and fish. So watch over the products you leave.

Deer

The deer is another beautiful animal specie in the Naturalist mod, which fascinate players with its appearance and animation. They spawn as a small group of 1–3 individuals and are neutral to the player if you approach them with the pressed Shift button. Otherwise, they will start running away at the sight of you. They also run away at the sight of monsters. So if some undead appears nearby, the deer scatter without giving any resistance.

If you kill a deer, it will drop 1–2 venison, which is similar to mutton, so it is perfect as food. Besides, an antler may drop, which is used in potion brewing. Players will thus be able to make the Potion of the Forest Dasher, which will impose the Speed and Weakness effects.

You can breed deer with apples. It is enough to feed two individuals, and they will have a fawn. But make sure that there are no ears nearby, as they hunt deer and don't mind eating these animals.

Butterfly

One of the most beautiful mobs of the Naturalist mod is the butterfly, or rather a variety thereof. The developers have done a great job not only creating a high-quality texture of this living creature but also making it move like in real life. The butterflies spawn in groups of about 1–3 mobs. They can appear both as adults and pupae on trees. They live mainly in forests and fields of various types.

As for their behavior, they do not react to the player in any way, even if the latter comes close. The main activity of the butterflies is to fly and pollinate plants. They are attracted to almost any kind of plant or flower, and as soon as a butterfly reaches its goal, it collects pollen, after which it looks for some kind of crop nearby, such as potatoes and villagers' plants, to accelerate its growth. Such a system will help you grow different types of crops faster, provided you will tame these insects in large quantities.

For the butterflies to fly after you, you just need to pick any flower. If you give a flower to the insects (clicking the RMB), they will start to breed. However, a small caterpillar will appear first, not an adult butterfly. You will have to wait about 20 minutes until the caterpillar crawls and climbs a tree to turn into a closed cocoon. After about a game day, an adult butterfly will appear from it.

The last thing to note in this regard: you can transfer a caterpillar (in a cocoon) from one tree to another using a silk-touch tool. You can even collect insects on trees in this way for subsequent moving closer to your house and breeding butterflies.

Firefly

Not many mods feature fireflies. And given that the developers of Minecraft could have added it in the recent update but decided otherwise, players have begun to show interest in these insects. The fireflies spawn in swamps, mushroom biomes, forests, and plains. They are found almost everywhere but only at night. They will spawn if the light level is less than 8. If it is higher, these insects will not spawn. You can even find them in deep underground caves.

If you kill this insect, it drops a unique loot called glow goop. It is used in potion brewing, so you will be able to make the Potion of Glowing. The mob itself is not particularly glowy but looks very cool. You cannot tame them or preserve them with name tags and other tricks. As soon as the light level is above 8 units, they hide in the grass or simply disappear if they have not found a suitable block within 30 seconds.

Snake

Snakes are a true work of art in the Naturalist mod because the developers have added several variants thereof living in different biomes. The animation of these reptiles is also noteworthy: they crawl, move horizontally and vertically, and cause enormous damage to the player. By default, they are neutral towards the player, but if you hit a snake, it will attack strongly attack you, and it will be very difficult to avoid death.

The snakes feed on chickens and rabbits, and when they see prey, they immediately attack the animal and start swallowing it. The latter leaves only a small loot, such as feathers. The snakes prefer to eat meat and rabbit paws, and as soon as a reptile is full, its appearance will change, becoming thicker. So you will immediately notice that it has just eaten. Its movement speed will also slow down, which looks cool.

Moreover, there are several variants of the snakes in the game. They are basically usual, but in the savanna and desert, you can meet a rattlesnake. It has a different color and hisses when you approach it, warning that it will attack you. In a jungle, you can meet a coral snake, which looks even cooler. If a snake has swallowed something, you can hit it, and it will drop the content. However, it will swallow it back after a while.

Birds

The modders have also added various species of birds, each with unique appearance. They will also sing differently even when they are in the same biome. They are found in different biomes with trees. However, you will not be able to approach them because they land only on foliage, and to tame them, you will need to use any seeds. As soon as you feed a bird with seeds, it will automatically become tame and follow you everywhere.

Their patterns of interaction are about the same as those of parrots: birds follow you everywhere, and if you are far away from this mob, it teleports to you. The mod features four different bird species: bluejay, canary, cardinal, and robin. They are interesting, and their appearance is very attractive. You cannot breed them, though, so you will have to look for them in different biomes to tame. If you kill a bird, it will drop only feathers.

Snail

Snails are cute little creatures that also deserve to be in Minecraft, even given their neutrality. They spawn in caves, mountains, and various grassy biomes. However, as soon as you approach a snail, it will immediately hide. It will continue moving only if you move away.

You need to be careful when you approach snails, as you can crush them. To prevent this from happening, wear shoes with the Weightlessness enchantment. You can also tame a snail using a name tag. Alternatively, take a bucket and put a snail there, then change its name on the anvil and release it. From that moment on, it is considered tamed and can no longer be crushed. Here is such interesting mechanics implemented by the developers of the Naturalist mod.

The snails drop a snail shell, which is an object with a unique structure. It can only be used in a composter instead of bone meal, although this is not particularly effective compared with the bones of skeletons.

Lion

Lions in Minecraft will spawn mainly in the savannas in the amount of 3–5 individuals. A group usually includes two adult lionesses, one lion with a mane, and the babies. It is a kind of family consisting of all the kinds of lions. These animals have a particular behavior, which depends on the time of day: in the morning, they wander in an entire group, with the male being a leader. The females with the small cubs do not leave the male, and if it is killed, everyone begins to follow the lioness. Such an elaborate behavior pattern is a serious achievement of the developers.

As the night falls, the lions begin hunting rhinos. They detect prey 48 blocks away from them, so their seeing capacity is high. A lion approaches its prey slowly and quietly, and as soon as it reaches a close distance, it pounces on it and kills it. If you do not touch the lions, they will not attack you, but if they are already aggressive, they immediately begin to cause damage to the player. However, the babies do not participate in that and remain neutral. Since noon, these animals prefer to sleep, so it is the best time to cross a savanna.

Rhino

The rhinos, like the lions, will also spawn in the savannas, so they are constantly hunted. They can spawn individually or as a group of two animals. In the latter case, the one of which will always be a baby. The adult rhinos are neutral towards the player, but if you attack them, they will not hesitate to fight back. The babies will remain neutral, though. The adult rhinos will also attack the player if they try to approach the calves. First, the animal scratches the ground with its feet as a precaution, after which it rushes at the player.

In case you are attacked by a rhino, it is best to use a shield for protection. It stuns the animal for 3 seconds, so you will have some time to hit back and damage it. They cannot be bred. It is also impossible to accelerate the growth of their calves. They attack other mobs at a close distance. A rhino drops 1–2 leather.

Elephant

Elephants are a welcome feature of any Minecraft mod, and this one is no exception. The developers have added it in a recent update, along with another 7 mobs. It looks very nice, is elaborate, and can boast cool and pleasant animations. The elephants also spawn in the savanna as a group of 2–3 individuals. If three elephants spawn at once, one of them will be a calf. They wander randomly and can periodically approach a water source to get drunk.

During the hottest period, the elephants prefer to throw dirt with their trunks on themselves. All this looks cute but does has no effect on the animal. An interesting fact is that the elephants are afraid of bees, and if the latter are around, they will start running away from them. You can neither tame these animals nor accelerate the growth of small elephants, so it remains for you only to observe their behavior.

They are neutral toward the player until they get close. As soon as you get close, an elephant will rush into battle, especially if there is a calf nearby. It inflicts a lot of damage, and it is hard to escape from it. But if you kill an animal, you will get only 1–3 leather, which is not particularly impressive.

Giraffe

The giraffes, like the above animals, also spawn in the savanna. They can boast a very colorful appearance, pleasant colors, elaborate details, attractive textures, and beautiful animations. It is a sheer pleasure to watch them. They spawn as a group of 3–4 individuals. However, it should be noted from the outset that it is pointless to kill them since they drop nothing. In the future, the developers may release another update with fixes and new drops, but the recent version does not have this feature.

If you want to breed the giraffes in Minecraft, use hay bales or just hay for this. They can also be temporarily tamed with the help of apples. This animal will allow you to straddle itself, but as soon as 30 seconds pass, it will try to throw you off or knock you down if you are nearby. Be sure to use the map while sitting on a giraffe, as this allows you to increase the visibility radius by 50% thanks to the long neck of the animal.

Boar

The boars also spawn in the savanna as a sounder of 4 animals. The following feature should be noted: the boars practically replace the standard pigs in the savanna, so you will see many times fewer ordinary pigs in this biome. They cannot boast any specific behavior patterns and just wander around in a circle without attacking other mobs or animals.

This animal is neutral towards the player, but if you provoke it, you will get a rebuff. They inflict a serious amount of damage and can attack a group. In the latter case, it will not be that easy to fight back such a sounder. However, as soon as a boar's health bar drops below 50%, it stops attacking and starts running away.

You can breed and tame the boars using different types of vegetables: potatoes, carrots, and beetroots. The last thing to know about them is that if lightning suddenly hits a boar, it turns into a zoglin. They are basically similar, so the possible turning them into evil mobs is an interesting idea of the developers.

Hippo

The hippos spawn not only in the savanna but also in the jungle. So when you visit these biomes, be careful: they spawn as a group of 3–4 individuals but drop nothing. They mainly spawn on grass blocks close to water, as they often live near rivers and lakes. It is not that easy to kill them in the water, as they swim fast, inflict serious damage, and can even attack boats with players.

Their behavior is standard: they just float on the water surface, not reacting to other mobs. If you decide to breed these animals, use melon blocks. However, they can be bred only in water, so you will have to go there yourself, feed them, and make sure that other mobs do not attack you from the side.

Zebra

The zebras spawn as a group of 2–3 animals in the savanna. They drop nothing, but this is most likely a temporary situation, and everything will change in future updates. Their behavior pattern is the same as that of standard horses in the vanilla version of Minecraft, but their speed is slightly higher. Besides, they jump worse than the ordinary horses, and it is not clear what such a feature is connected with.

If you decide to catch them in the water, get ready for the fact that they move there many times faster than the ordinary horses. They can be tamed with the same food the cats can. It is better to tame them with the pressed Shift key; otherwise, these animals will be afraid of you and simply run away. They have one feature: you can put a chest on them to use them as a mule. And they will move faster and more efficiently, including across the water.

Vulture

Vultures are not particularly pleasant animals in real life, but they are very well designed in Minecraft. They spawn in such biomes as badlands, savannas, and deserts. They usually spawn as a group of 2–4 birds. They fly around the player and scream in the air, and as soon as night falls, they attack the zombies. Moreover, if there is rotten flesh lying somewhere on the ground, they fly up to it and take it away, which is a very cool feature to use when creating automated zombie farms.

They can attack the player if they have a small amount of health (less than 6 points). They fly very quickly and skillfully and can steal an item you hold in your hand. They take it and carry it high into the sky. But you can still return it if you kill the bird, say, by shooting it with a bow or throwing rotten flesh on the ground so that the vulture is distracted, releases your item, and flies after the meat. This is, in fact, a very interesting and fascinating behavior pattern. So if you install this mod and move around a savanna, be sure to take some rotten flesh with you.

These are all the animals available in the Naturalist mod of the recent version. The developers periodically release new versions thereof, where they fix numerous bugs and shortcomings, but global updates with new content appear not so often. Any animal from the above list can be quickly spawned with the help of a spawn egg. This even applies to the different species of birds (all the four) and the caterpillar, from which the butterfly appears.

If you need a cool mod that adds animals, be sure to install this option. It will fully satisfy you both in terms of the number of mobs and the quality of their design. All because all of them can boast high-resolution textures, pleasant appearance, elaborate animation, well thought-out behavior patterns, unique characteristics, and balanced spawning.

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