Wild Hearts: How to Catch Small Animals as Pets

Kemono monsters aren’t the only things you’ll be hunting in Wild Hearts. You can also collect a plethora of small animals and other critters that you can use as pets. While these animals don’t have nearly as many immediate uses as even the earliest available kemono materials, don’t discount collecting as many furry, scaly, or chitin-covered friends as you can.

There are almost too many pets to catalog, actually, so always go out of your way to get your hands on them as they appear. However, it’s worth hunting them down and capturing them for the rare materials they provide. 

Where to Find Pets in Wild Hearts

Screenshot by GameSkinny

In Wild Hearts, almost anything that isn’t blowing in the wind is either a threat or something you can use. There are also shiny objects that denote rocks you can mine, plants you can pick, and more. The tiny animals that make for good pets are some of the hardest to see, so if you suspect something out there might be a little bird, lizard, bug, or some other beastie, it probably is.

How to Capture Small Animals

Screenshot by GameSkinny

Picking them up is easy, but you’ll need to be quick, as they like to run. All you need to do is identify them as a possible pet, then run or sneak up to them and press the on-screen “Catch” prompt: the left trigger or L2 on console.

If you’re successful, there will be a notification on the right side of the screen, giving the creature’s name, how many you collected just now, and the total in your inventory. You can hold as many potential pets as you can find, so don’t be afraid to hoard the little buggers.

How to Unlock the Wildlife Cage Dragon Karakuri

Screenshot by GameSkinny

Once you have at least one potential pet, you’ll need to unlock the ability to use the Wildlife Cage Dragon Karakuri. This upgrade is a ways down on the Karakuri tree, so you’ll be spending several thousand Karakuri Orbs to get there, but once you’ve unlocked the Cage, you can place it anywhere that allows.

With a Cage placed, interact with it to open a menu allowing you to place a single creature inside.

At first, they don’t do much except look cute, but give them an hour or so, and when you interact with them again, you can collect a material specific to them. Upgrading other things in Wild Hearts, like the Bathouses or specific weapons and armor, requires pet materials, so there’s more reason than aesthetics to catch them.

With so many possible pets, don’t ever be afraid to try and capture every critter you see. Once they’re safely in their cages (which you can have as many as your Dragon Pit will allow), you can collect rare materials for use throughout the game. For more Wild Hearts coverage like this, check out our guides hub.

Featured image via EA