Minecraft: 34 Best Animal Mods To Try in 2024

Minecraft is a game we all love thanks to the amount of hard work put into the atmosphere and player experience, especially in the wildlife and other creatures. Over the years, Minecraft has continued to add more and more content into the game, at this point no one can complain of having limited animal mobs to work with. But there is always this sense that the game needs more animals to give players an almost life-like experience. This is where animal mods come on and we decided to present you with 34 best.

Editor’s Note: This post was updated in March 2024 to provide you with the latest mods compatible with the most recent versions of the game with new additions.

1. Animal Crops

The saying “Money doesn’t grow on trees” doesn’t apply to Animal Crops, a unique mod in the game that adds a special twist. Unlike other mods, it lets players grow mobs, completely changing the typical “Animal Farm” concept. You can grow all kinds of animals, even rare ones like polar bears and mushrooms, and yes, villagers too. It’s user-friendly and time-saving—imagine the relief of not having to herd animals and villagers back to your house. If it makes life that much easier, count me in!

2. Quintessential Creatures

This mod zeroes in on the ocean and its denizens in Minecraft. While Quintessential Creatures might not introduce a plethora of new animals, it compensates by presenting players with meticulously crafted and intricate mobs. The highlight includes ocean creatures like octopuses and angular fish, injecting life into the underwater world. Additionally, a stylish tortoise is introduced, serving the dual purpose of expanding chest storage capacity and adding a cool aesthetic to the game.

3. Rats

The rat isn’t everyone’s favorite animal in the world, but in this mod, a Minecraft rat offers players many useful features. These rodents are tameable, and they assist players both in the mines and in gathering crops. They also assist players in combat. You can check out Rats by following this link.

4. Doggy Talents

Dreamed of your Minecraft dog mirroring your real-life canine companion? Doggy Talents makes it happen. Offering a plethora of customizations and introducing almost a dozen new dog variants, it stands out by allowing players to train their virtual pups to perform tasks like hunting and fetching items.

5. Chickens

Similar to Doggy Talents but for chickens, this mod enhances the feathered creatures in Minecraft. It not only diversifies the types of chickens available but also boosts their utility. Imagine a chicken laying gunpowder—Chickens makes it a reality. Moreover, you can crossbreed certain chicken variants to spawn ore chickens that lay ores such as Gold, Diamond, and Iron. It’s a Minecraft dream come true, but alas, real life doesn’t seem to work that way. If only mods could make life more interesting!

6. Mystical World

Mystical World introduces a variety of distinctive animals—owls, deers, beetles, silkworms, and frogs—to add a dynamic touch to the Minecraft world. Additionally, players can acquire tamable pets, including the intriguing lava cat, found in the Nether Realm.

7. Better Animals Plus

The Better Animal Plus mod brings in around 40 new animals distributed across different biomes in the game. With impressive textures and mechanics, it imparts a unique vibe to the Minecraft world. Additionally, the mod introduces a fresh range of blocks and armor inspired by the newly added animals.

8. Animania

Animania adds a dose of realism to farm animals like pigs, sheep, chickens, and cows. It gives them a fresh texture and variations while introducing a new caring system game mechanic. Now, in addition to looking fantastic, your farm animals demand attention—you must clean their pens and maintain their food and water, or they face the risk of demise.

9. Lots O’ Mobs

True to its name, the Lots O’ Mobs mod introduces a plethora of new animals and creatures to the game, carefully distributed across suitable biomes. Expect exotic additions such as crocodiles, boars, bears, crabs, and sharks. The mod goes a step further by unveiling two distinct dimensions—the Ice Age and Dinosaur dimensions—each hosting its own set of unique creatures. To top it off, the mod brings in several new blocks and materials, expanding the diversity of the Minecraft experience.

10. Mo’Creatures

Mo’Creatures, a venerable and enduring mod, remains among the best due to its extensive content. Lions, tigers, bears, revamped dogs and cats, and even insects join the array of creatures it introduces. Most impressively, players can tame a majority of these animals. The mod doesn’t stop there; it introduces formidable foes like werewolves and ogres, each with its own distinctive mechanics.

11. Ice and Fire: Dragons

Transform your Minecraft world into a fantastical realm with this mod, introducing a myriad of mythical creatures such as Dragons, Pixies, cyclopes, sea serpents, and more. The highlight includes two dragon variations—Fire and Ice—providing some competition for the ender dragon. If you fancy turning your Minecraft experience into an Elder Scrolls-style RPG, this mod is a perfect fit for you.

12. Craftable Animals

Ever wished you could craft your own animals in Minecraft? Well, Craftable Animals makes it possible. Say goodbye to mob spawners or spawn eggs—simply gather the required items and craft the animal of your choice. It’s a solid concept, but one can’t help but marvel at the creativity of mod creators. If the idea of having the godlike ability to create any creature with a simple button press intrigues you, then this mod is a must-have.

13. Revamped Wolf

Wolves are top-tier pets in Minecraft, and the Revamped Wolf mod ensures they get the treatment they deserve. It introduces various realistic colors and a new Wolf armor item, akin to horse equipment. These modded wolves are not only visually enhanced but also stronger and smarter, reducing the risk of your loyal pet meeting an untimely end.

14. Better Nature Mod

Better Nature brings diverse biomes, each with its unique music, including discs with various tracks. It introduces numerous blocks and items such as Mud, Mossy Stone, Tertinium Ore, Glowing Crystals, and leaves with fruits like apples and plums. Additionally, new plants, mobs like Iceob and Warped Cow, and structures like Nether Villages and End Lakes enhance the Minecraft experience.

15. Exotic Bird Mod

Minecraft’s aerial wildlife gets a boost with essential mods like Exotic Bird. This mod introduces a variety of birds, including Ducks, owls, pelicans, cranes, woodpeckers, swans, flamingos, hummingbirds, and penguins, each finding a home in the biome that suits them best. Additionally, the mod features a unique touch—eggs spawning on trees, adding a realistic touch to the avian experience in the game.

16. Zoocraft Discoveries Mod

Zoocraft Discoveries exemplifies quality over quantity by introducing a select number of animals with meticulous attention to detail. Included are creatures like anteaters, camels, capybaras, chinchillas, frogs, geckos, gemsboks, giraffes, hedgehogs, porcupines, rhinos, and tapirs. Notably, it introduces a new breeding system using existing Minecraft items like Wheat and Apples. As a testament to its focus on quality, the mod even lets you craft and dye bunny slippers in various colors—an enticing detail that sets it apart.

17. Bizzare Animals

Bizzare Animals introduces a variety of new animals to the game, with most being passive or attacking only when provoked. The creatures exhibit special interactions, such as lizards or frogs eating flies, penguins laying eggs, and lions chasing giraffes. The current list includes lions, frogs, dart frogs, flies, lizards, tarantulas, giraffes, beavers, penguins, green pythons, crows, and grizzly bears, while the latest additions feature octopuses, sharks, zebras, sun bears, goblin sharks, maned wolves, wombats, vultures, okapis, ants, anteaters, mosquitoes, and dwarf caimans.

18. Animalium Mod

For the daring explorers and wildlife enthusiasts seeking more danger in their expeditions, Animalium is tailor-made for you. Once activated, the Minecraft world transforms into a perilous place where danger lurks from every corner. While most Minecraft animals are typically passive, this mod unleashes their killer instincts. It introduces new threats such as brown bears, wild dogs, rodents, and piranhas, along with craftable items useful for mining or providing body protection. Get ready for a wild and challenging adventure!

19. Zoo And Wild Animals Mod

This mod enriches the Minecraft experience with additional animals, including some that are tamable. Notably, it features a comprehensive Encyclopedia for each new creature, showcasing thoughtful design. The mod introduces practical tools like a tranquilizer gun and a taming item called Kibble. Notably, Zoo and Wild Animals stands as one of the oldest mods, predating the official inclusion of the Pufferfish as a sea creature in Minecraft.

20. JurassiCraft Mod

If you’re content with dragons in the game, this shouldn’t sound far-fetched. JurassiCraft introduces new plant life, dinosaurs, and a unique machinery element to Minecraft. The machine’s purpose is to create more dinosaurs by extracting DNA samples from fossils scattered throughout the world, turning players into virtual archaeologists on a prehistoric adventure.

21. Pawprints

Next, we have Pawprints. This mod adds 15 real-life-inspired animals to your game. Just some of the animals you will encounter during play are Tenrecs, Pikas, and Nudibranchs. In total 15 new species have been added, as well as additional plants, food items, blocks, plushies, and more. The animals are available in both survival and creative modes.

22. Abyssal Depths

This next mod will not add critters to your forests but will fill Minecraft’s deep blue depths. The mod Abyssal Depths is actually a port of an older mod called Aquatic Abyss that was created back in the day when Minecraft’s waters were mostly empty. The mod adds numerous types of fish inspired by real-life creatures as well as some mythical beasts.

That means you can encounter both seahorses and sea serpents. It’s an awesome mod if you feel like there’s something missing in Minecraft’s bodies of water.

23. Waddles

Have you ever felt that there’s something missing in frozen biomes? The author of this mod thought as well, that’s why the author decided to add Adélie penguins to the game. The mod adds penguins that you can encounter while you’re exploring snowy tundras and ice spikes biomes. Since the mod is configurable you can add them to other snowy-themed biomes as well. You can get the mod from here.

24. Ancient Beasts

Minecraft has a plethora of RPG-inspired mobs already, but why not add some more? The mod Ancient Beasts does exactly that. This amazing mod adds tons of RPG-inspired creatures to your game.

Just some of the creatures that you might encounter are Giants, Frostwalkers, Ghosts, Vessels, and Zealots. The textures created for this mod are amazing and created with many details in mind. So far, only a small amount of new creatures and animals have been added, the author plans to implement more in the future.

25. Fish’s Undead Rising

This next mod adds a little bit of danger to your Minecraft experience. Like the previous mod, the author of this mod aimed to add a little bit of RPG fantasy to Minecraft’s world. Fish’s Undead Rising adds “dangerous creatures” to your gameplay as well as some useful drops that you can eventually use to create powerful and useful items.

Animals added by this mod are not classic animals, they are mostly horror-inspired mobs like Wendigo, Salamander, and Foglet. As far as I can see the only animal added by this mod is a raven. I guess that’s enough to qualify for this list.

26. Camels

It seems that so far we’ve focused mostly on aquatic animals and fantasy animals. That’s about to change. Since Minecraft’s deserts are somewhat empty, this mod aims to add camels to them. Camels added by this mod are fully mountable, voiced, and animated. You can also use them as mobile storage since you can place chests on them.

Added camels come in several variants and you can encounter them, naturally, only in the desert biome. These gorgeous animals have unique saddle models created especially for them, and are quite sturdy in case you run into trouble while exploring!

27. Creature Whisperer

And we’re back to mythical creatures again. Creature Whisperer mod adds two mythical creatures to Minecraft World. The creatures in question are Yeti and Ent. Yeti and Ent once defeated can join you on your adventures as pets but don’t expect to find them easily. The author himself stated that they are not easily found. In case you’re annoyed by this, you change the spawn rates in the configuration file.

While Yetis are aggressive and will attack you on sight if you’re fortunate enough to encounter them, Ents will mostly mind their own business. But keep in mind that both will attack if provoked. You can download Creature Whisperer from here.

28. Story Of Life

Story of Life might not look like much at first glance, but it adds gorgeous new creatures to your world. So far three types of creatures have been added: a snake, a jellyfish bloom, and wildebeest. The only downside is it looks like the author of this mod gave up on it a long time ago. So install at your own risk, it might crash your game.

29. Outfox

As the name implies this mod adds foxes to Minecraft. Not only do those foxes look adorable and their animations are fantastic they can also help you on your mining trips. Foxes added by this mod can use their enhanced sense of smell to locate the most precious ores for you.

The mod also provides you with a configuration file that allows you to tweak many details related to foxes and their behavior. You can command them as well, just like any other vanilla pet. You can download Outfox by following this link.

30. Hated Mobs

I didn’t know what to expect when I first noticed this mod but I guess I was surprised that somebody added mosquitoes to Minecraft. Instead of adding cute critters like Outfox, or some real challenge to the game like Creature Whisperer, the Hated Mobs mod adds creatures from real life we all hate. This mod adds snakes, giant spiders, wasps, slugs, red ants, and toads.

Just about anything you can encounter in your backyard that you would react to with revulsion. Not only are new animals included, but there are also several new blocks accompanying them as well such as hives, nets, frog legs, infested leaves, and egg sacks. Even though the creatures added are nightmarish this mod is pretty well done and the textures are amazing.

31. LizardMod

This next mod won’t sit well with some people as well. This reptile-themed mod adds passive lizards to Minecraft’s world. You’re going to encounter them in appropriate biomes and you will not be able to tame them.

Some larger reptiles are added as well, for example, a desert monitor that will eat your chickens and sheep if given the chance. It sounds like a pretty simple mod, but if you want some variety in your wildlife I recommend you give it a try.

32. Butterflys

Next up on our list of best animal mods for Minecraft is Butterflys. As the name says, this mod adds butterflies to your game, thousands of them. If you decide to go butterfly hunting, the mod also added a lepidopterology book. Reading the book provides you with additional information about the butterfly species you’ve caught.

You will encounter added butterflies in forest biomes. This is one relaxing mod perfect for players that like to collect things, as butterflies can be displayed in-game as well. You can get Butterflys mode from here.

33. Just a Few Fish

We’re back to aquatic animals again with Just a Few Fish mod. This mod won’t add mythical fish or exploding fish to your game. It’s a really simple mod that adds passive fish in an attempt to enrich Minecraft’s water.

Some of the fish added are cod, salmon, clownfish, and Pufferfish. As you can see it’s nothing exotic. Mod also adds a fish tank, you can place the fish in there and they will not despawn. If you’re looking for a simple vanilla-friendly immersive mod, this one is perfect for you.

34. Simple Ambients

Like the previous animal mod, Simple Ambients aims to improve the immersion and ambiance of the game by adding passive mobs to your world. It’s nothing wild and too flashy, the mod adds several types of birds (mostly repaints of the original texture) as well as bats. Birds can be found in the forest biome. To encounter bats, however, you will need to venture into the swamp biome. 

Just like with the previous mod, if you’re expecting something fantasy-related or over-the-top you will be disappointed with the simplicity of this mod. This was created for players who want to improve the immersion of the game overall. 

Have animal mods to add to the list? Let us know in the comments below!

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