Animal guide: every animal in Escape the Deep Forest
Twenty-eight kinds of animal share the forest, from rabbits to elephants, and they are not there for decoration. They hunt each other, they raise alarms, they steal, and the dangerous ones can kill you in a few hits. This guide lists every one, grouped by how you will meet them.
Each page tells you about the real animal, how it behaves in the game, how strong it is, what it gives you when you hunt it, and what to do when you meet it. Page figures come from the game itself. In the game, your field guide (in the menu) fills in as you spot each animal.
Small game and birds
The animals you can hunt without much risk. They are the steady supply of food in the forest, and the first thing most players learn to catch.
- 🐇RabbitA small grazer that lives in groups and hides in the grass.
- 🐿️SquirrelLives in the trees and chatters at anything it sees.
- 🐦Forest birdsFlocks of small birds.
- 🐓Red junglefowlThe wild ancestor of the farmyard chicken.
Deer and wild cattle
The big grazers: a lot of meat and hide, and a lot of noise when they are alarmed. Herds of them also tell you where predators are.
- 🦌DeerShy herds that feed at dawn and dusk.
- 🦌ChitalThe spotted deer of the Indian forests.
- 🫎Sambar deerThe largest deer of the Indian forests.
- 🐃GaurThe largest wild cattle in the world, heavy and muscular.
Predators and dangerous animals
The animals that can kill you. Each one has a warning sign, a weakness, and a way to avoid it, and learning those is most of the game.
- 🦊FoxA shy hunter of rabbits, squirrels and birds.
- 🐺WolfPack hunters that spread out and circle.
- 🐆CougarA silent ambush hunter.
- 🐗Wild boarSturdy and short-tempered, rooting in the undergrowth in family groups.
- 🐻BearBig, strong and usually calm.
- 🐻Sloth bearA shaggy, black bear with a pale V on its chest and long claws, made for raiding termite mounds.
- 🧸Bear cubA small bear that stays near its mother.
- 🐍King cobraLies coiled with its hood spread when it is still, hisses as a warning and strikes if you step too close; it uncoils and glides away when it sets off.
- 🦔Indian crested porcupineA slow night forager with long banded quills.
The giants
Elephants are rare, peaceful and far stronger than anything you carry.
Monkeys and langurs
Loud, clever and alert. They steal from camps, and their alarm calls are one of the best warnings the forest gives.
- 🐒Bonnet macaqueA bold monkey that lives in noisy troops.
- 🐒Lion-tailed macaqueA rare, black macaque with a silver mane, found only in the rainforests of the Western Ghats.
- 🐒Nilgiri langurA glossy black leaf-eating monkey of the hill forests.
- 🐒Gray langurA large, long-tailed, gray monkey that often feeds on the ground.
Crabs
Small, easy to catch, and found where the ground is wet.
- 🦀Mud crabA heavy-clawed crab of muddy swamps.
- 🦀Red land crabA bright red crab that wanders onto land near the water and digs burrows in the damp earth..
- 🦀Purple Ghats crabA vivid purple freshwater crab found only in the streams of the Western Ghats..
The boss
Something lives in the dead trees of the far north.
General rules for every animal
- Animals have senses. Noise, scent and wind all matter. Crouch, and approach with the wind in your face. See the survival guide.
- Fire keeps most animals away, and so do torches. A camp with a lit fire is the safest place at night.
- Watch the group, not just the animal. Birds bursting from trees, monkeys screeching, deer barking: all of them tell you where danger is.
- Hunting is a choice. You can survive on berries, mushrooms, fish and snares if you would rather leave the big animals alone.
- Never come between a mother and her young.