Minecraft: The Best Animals To Tame (& How To Tame Them)

Highlights

• Minecraft offers a wide variety of animals to tame for different purposes, from transportation to item collection.
• Taming mobs can be a challenge, requiring specific items and interactions to gain their trust and loyalty.
• Certain mobs, like the Allay and Axolotl, provide unique benefits and abilities once tamed, enhancing gameplay experiences.

Between all the mining and crafting, Minecraft leaves a lot of time and space for players to explore the world and get to know its various hostile and passive creatures. Among these mobs are the game’s mobs which can be tamed to act as mounts, protectors, or simply as pets.

However, taming a mob is no simple task. More often than not, players will need the right items and a pinch of luck to win over an animal’s trust. Some Minecraft mobs are also incredibly hard to find, making them quite a rarity. Here’s how to tame the best mobs in Minecraft.

Updated July 20, 2024 by Ben Painter: Trails & Tales brought a new tameable mob to the game, which is very useful for traversing the vast, open lands of Minecraft. Although, in update 1.20.5, the first release of Armored Paws gave fans a newer mob in the Armadillo. These animals cannot be tamed in the game, although they are useful to keep close, as using the brush on them will give Armadillo Scute, which can be crafted into Wolf armor.

Minecraft offers a pretty good variety of animals that can be tamed and used for various purposes, from carrying items to getting from one place to another quickly. Here are Minecraft’s best animals to tame, and how their taming works.

As of writing, all tameable mobs in Minecraft have been accounted for.

1 Allays

Helper Fairies That Can Fetch Items For The Player

• Biome: Various—the Allay spawn within Woodland Mansions and Pillager Outposts
• Food: None

Allays are exceptional creatures in Minecraft. These blue fairy-like creatures can be found in two special structures rather than specific biomes. Players should look for Pillager Outposts and Woodland Mansions, with the former option being much easier and more common to find. In Outposts, Allays are often found inside wooden cages outside the main tower, while in Woodland Mansions they appear in a room with cobblestone cells.

Allays don’t require food. That said, to make them follow the player, they must be given an item. Right-click on an Allay while holding an item to give it to them, and that Allay will now be tied to the player and search the nearby vicinity for the same item to bring it back to the player. This process makes Allays particularly useful for any kind of farming, as they will automatically pick up items on the ground for the player. If the item is removed from the Allay, they are no longer attached to the player.

2 Axolotls

Useful Allies Against Guardians And Elder Guardians

• Biome: Any dark ocean or body of water
• Food: Bucket of Tropical Fish

Axolotls were added to the game as a way to spread awareness about this nearly extinct species of water-loving amphibians. Axolotls spawn in dark waters, and although they can survive on land for some time, they definitely prefer the depths of oceans and any large bodies of water.

Axolotls are predators. They’ll attack any other ocean-dwelling mob except for dolphins. They’re very useful allies against Guardians and Elder Guardians inside ocean monuments and can be led using a lead made from string and slime balls. They can also be bred with a bucket of tropical fish, but axolotls can’t fully be tamed in Minecraft. Just beware: axolotls can be slain by pufferfish, so make sure to keep axolotls in a separate tank or inside buckets to protect them.

3 Camels

A Slower Version Of A Horse

• Biome: Desert Villages
• Food: Cactus

The iconic desert-dwelling animal was introduced in Minecraft 1.20, Trails & Tales, and added a much-needed mob to the vast sandy lands of the blocky world. The camel is a rideable mob, so it is tamed once a player sits upon it, and it can be ridden properly once a saddle is equipped.

It is much slower than a horse, but it offers the advantage that two players can ride the camel at once. Unlike the llama, mule, or donkey, there is no storage in a camel, but the camel has some other attributes that give it some more pluses. When players hold down the jump button, they can charge up a dash on the camel to increase its speed for a short time. The camel is also a tall mob, meaning most melee mobs cannot hurt the player when they are riding it. The only place to find a camel is in Desert Villages. They do not spawn anywhere else, even in other parts of desert biomes.

4 Horses

The Best Animal For Travel In Minecraft

• Biome: Plains
• Food: Golden Carrots, Golden Apples, Sugar, Wheat, Apple, Hay Bale

The bread and butter of tamed animals is the horse. What sets this one apart from others is the incredible travel time it brings along, provided the player picks out the fastest horse of the bunch. Each horse comes with unique hidden stats, so it’s best to try and tame a few different horses before choosing one. Head over to a nearby plains biome, as those tend to be the best locations to find horses in Minecraft.

Horses differ from donkeys and mules in that they can’t actually carry items. They’re used purely for travel, and traveling great distances is a vital part of gameplay. To tame a horse in Minecraft, right-click on it with an empty hand to mount it until hearts appear above its head. Do this until the horse stops kicking. Horses can also receive horse armor, which comes in handy when going on long adventures or if the horse happens to take damage. Keep a lead at hand, however, as even tamed horses have a bad habit of wandering in the game if the player is not riding them.

5 Ocelot

A Rare But Adorable Mob That Turns Into A Cat

• Biome: Jungle
• Food: Raw Salmon, Raw Cod

The ocelot is one of the hardest animals to tame in the game, mainly because it’s such a rare one to find in the wild. In fact, with the introduction of actual cats in the game, ocelots are not necessarily tameable, but rather “gain trust,” much like foxes and allays. To come across one, the player first needs to find a jungle biome, which is the ideal spawn location for these elusive feline friends.

To tame an ocelot in Minecraft get some raw salmon or raw cod and approach them slowly while holding the fish in their hand. Feed as much fish as needed to the ocelot, until tiny hearts appear above its head. After this, the ocelot will no longer be shy around the player. Only trusting ocelots can be bred by players to make baby ocelots, a smaller variant of the mob.

6 Wolf

A Minecraft Player’s Best And Most Loyal Friend

• Biome: Grove, Snowy Taiga, Old Growth Pine Taiga, Old Growth Spruce Taiga, Taiga, Forest
• Food: Bone, Meats (all variants)

Wolves are probably the most common mob, and therefore an easy one to tame for players. In the latest update, new variants of wolves were announced which changed the color of the wolf depending on which biome it is found in.

Wolves can be tamed using a bone. Even if wolves can be fed meat while still feral, they won’t actually be tamed this way. To tame a wolf in Minecraft, feed it bones until tiny hearts appear above its head, which will prompt its face to change. A collar will also appear, which can be dyed in any of the colors available in the game. Wolves are incredibly useful once tamed into their dog forms, as they will attack hostile mobs that harm the player provided they are not forced to sit.

7 Skeleton Horse

A Cool, Edgy Version Of Horses

• Biome: Any
• Food: Cannot be bred or fed

Want to be the talk of the server and the envy of all other Minecraft players? In that case, boasting a Skeleton Horse is the best way to go. This mount is no doubt the coolest-looking one in the game, simply because of its sheer, bony appearance.

These creatures only spawn during thunderstorms and are usually accompanied by skeletons, which must be first killed before the horse can be tamed. After their previous owners are dealt with, right-click on the skeleton horse with an empty hand and hop on its back several times until tiny hearts appear above its head. The skeleton horse is just like a regular horse, save for its unique appearance, and can be used as a fast mount to get around.

8 Parrot

A Mob That Can Imitate Other Animals

• Biome: Jungle
• Food: Wheat Seeds

Players who come across a jungle biome in their world are particularly lucky, not only because of ocelots but also because of parrots. These little birds can mimic other mobs, which might be a frightening experience, but also incredibly cool.

Parrots come in a variety of colors, and they can be tamed with regular seeds. To tame a parrot in Minecraft hold a seed in the right hand and right-click on a parrot until tiny hearts appear above its head. The parrot will likely land on the player’s shoulder as well when tamed, which makes for a cool effect.

9 Fox

An Adorable, Exotic Pet—When Two Adults Are Bred

• Biome: Taiga and its variants
• Food: Sweet Berries, Glow Berries

Foxes are super unique mobs due to their ability to carry items in their mouths. They also curl up to sleep and can move quickly through sweet berry bushes. However, they sprint quite fast and are exclusive to cold forest biomes like taigas, making them a difficult mob to catch and tame.

Adult foxes cannot be tamed in Minecraft, but they can be bred using sweet berries. The baby fox produced will then trust the player, and a lead should be used to pull it away from its parents and to stop it from following them rather than the player themselves. The challenge here is actually catching two adult foxes.

10 Mule

A Decent Mount That Can Carry Plenty As Well

• Biome: Plains
• Food: Golden Carrot, Golden Apple, Sugar, Wheat, Apple, Hay Bale

Those wondering what the difference between a mule and a donkey is, this mob is the result of a donkey and horse bred together. They’re a tricky mob to have due to not being able to breed with other mules, but they still make for great carriers and decent mounts.

Mules can be distinguished by their typically brown coloring in the wild, which sets them apart from donkeys. With an empty hand, right-click on the mule to get on its back to tame it. At first, it will kick the player off multiple times, but continue doing this and eventually, it should have a little heart icon above its head to show it’s tamed.

11 Donkey

A Mount With Limited Speed, But Great For Item Storage

• Biome: Plains
• Food: Golden Carrot, Golden Apple, Sugar, Wheat, Apple, Hay Bale

Donkeys are not fantastic mounts since they all have the same movement speed when ridden, but they are great for storing items and being pulled with a lead. As such, donkeys don’t require the player to have a saddle at hand. In the wild, they’re also easy to recognize and much like mules and horses will tend to spawn in plains biomes.

In order to tame a donkey Minecraft, right-click on it with an empty hand to mount it. Keep doing this until it no longer kicks, and tiny hearts appear above its head.

12 Llama

Terrible Mounts But Great For Storage, Especially In A Caravan

• Biome: Savanna, Mountains
• Food: Wheat, Hay Bale

Llamas are perhaps the worst mount in the game, but what they are really useful for is storage. Not just that, many players like to use different colored carpets on their llamas to color code their storage in an easy way. To find them, head over to a savanna or mountain biome.

Llamas must be handled with care, due to their ability to attack the player by spitting on them. To tame a llama, right-click them with an empty hand and mount them until they no longer kick and tiny heart icons appear. Keep in mind, again, that llamas can only be lead and used for storage, and riding them is impossible.

It’s also possible to tame the llamas the Wandering Trader has and “steal” them. Players should be careful when handling llamas, as they spit on entities that attack them. Sadly, they won’t use this ability to protect the player.

13 Cat (Village Stray Variant)

Arguably The Cutest Pet In Minecraft

• Biome: Any biome where a village can spawn
• Food: Raw Cod, Raw Salmon

Although ocelots are the original way of getting a cat in the game, stray cats are an easier and more interesting way to get a good variety of different cats easily. There’s even a special achievement for taming every cat variant in the game, perfect for completionist cat-loving players. Head over to any nearby village, as those are hotspots for stray cats to wander around.

Stray cats will always be afraid of players and quickly run away. However, if approached with raw cod or salmon in hand, they will slowly get closer to the player. Feed the cat raw cod or salmon enough times to tame it until hearts appear above its head.