In RWBY, many of the animals seen in the show are the same as those found in real life, though some species are unique to the series.

As depicted in the show, animals exist on both the world of Remnant as well as the Ever After. Additionally, there exists animal-like creatures known as Grimm. However, they are distinct as Grimm are almost always mindlessly hostile towards Humans and Faunus, as well as lacking Aura, which animals do have.

The currently known animals in the series include:

Mammals

• Sloths - In "The First Step", Nora Valkyrie says that she and Lie Ren should make sloth noises in order to find each other in the Emerald Forest. In the episode "The Emerald Forest", Ren says "I still don't think that's what sloths sounds like".
• Cattle - The first visual appearance of a cow is in "Best Day Ever" when Ruby Rose is seen holding a carton of milk with a cartoon drawing of a cow on it. In one of Yang Xiao Long's flashbacks in RWBY 4, she prepares to fight a bull.
• Dogs - The first appearance of a dog is Zwei, Taiyang Xiao Long's Pembroke Welsh Corgi, in "Field Trip".
• Wolves - A wolf is first seen engaging a Nevermore in "Grimm".
• Horses - First seen when Amber rides a white horse before entering a fateful battle in "Beginning of the End".
• Pigs - In "The Four Maidens", there is a cooked ham on the table.
• Donkeys - In "Ruby Makes Cookies", the first episode of RWBY Chibi, Weiss Schnee is seen playing "Pin the tail on the donkey" with Myrtenaster.
• Bears - In "Prank Wars", the seventh episode of RWBY Chibi, Nora receives a stuffed bear. They also appear outside of Schnee Manor in RWBY 5.
• Cats - In "Kuroyuri", there are loaves of bread made to resemble cats in a bakery display. In the Ever After, there is a talking purple cat known as the Curious Cat.^[1]
  • In anime version of “Best Day Ever“, a group of cats is seen sleeping on a table.
• ??? - An unidentifiable animal can be seen on the cover of Chapter 2 of the official RWBY manga. Looks similar to a cat.
• Hares - Mentioned in RWBY: After the Fall.
• Rabbits - Mentioned in After the Fall. Racist bullies often mocked Velvet Scarlatina with insults based on rabbits.
• Bats - Appear as part of a dish in After the Fall.^[2]
  • Shown in “Ice Queendom“, where a dream actor of Whitley Schnee took the form of a bat.
• Raccoons - Appear as pets at the Xiao Long-Rose Family Home during Ruby and Yang's childhood in RWBY 1.
  • Another raccoon appears in the second episode of Volume 9. This Raccoon is named Jinxy, and is a merchant/entertainer in the Ever After.
• Deer - Appears in the Snowbound Forest in RWBY 5.
• Tigers - Appear in Willow Schnee's menagerie in RWBY 5.
• Jaguars - Appear inside of the Garden maze in RWBY 5.
• Sheep - Appear somewhere in Patch in RWBY 6.
• Oxen - Appear as Mrs. Cementine's cartage in RWBY 6.
• Zebras - Appear in one of Willow's cages in RWBY 7.
• Giraffes - Appear in one of Willow's cages in RWBY 7.
• Polar bears - Appear in one of Willow's cages in RWBY 7.
• Wildcats - Appear in one of Willow's cages in RWBY 7.
• Foxes - Appear hiding in the blueberries bush in RWBY/Justice League #1.
• Killer Whales - Appear somewhere in the Menagerie sea in RWBY/Justice League #1.
• Dolphins - Dolphins were used as an example when Arthur demonstrates his Semblance to Blake and Yang in RWBY/Justice League #4.
• Whales - A pair of whales in can be seen with Starro at the bottom of the sea in RWBY/Justice League #5.
• Dingoes - Referenced by Cinder Fall in Grimm Passengers. She calls the Beowolves Mike and Marty “Mangy dingoes!”
• Mice - Appear in the "A Place of Particular Concern", when Ruby meets a talking mouse in the Ever After she names Little. Later, a group of Hunter Mice captures Blake and Weiss.

Image Gallery

Imagery of a cartoon cow on Ruby's milk carton

Zwei, Taiyang's dog

A wolf disputing with a Nevermore over territory

Amber riding a horse

Cooked ham from a pig

A drawing of a donkey

A plush toy of a bear

Cat-shaped loaves of bread

Raccoons

Bull

Bears

Deer

Tigers

Jaguars

Sheep

Oxen

Zebras, Giraffes, Polar bears, and Wildcats

Fox

Killer whale

Dolphins

Whales

Little the talking Mouse

JinxyPeddler.jpg

Jinxy (the Jinxy Peddler)

The Curious Cat

Whitley the talking bat.

A varieties of different type of cats.

Birds

• Crows, Ravens - Crows and ravens have made appearances since the early trailers before the series proper. One appears for a split second in the "Red" Trailer, but the first clear view of one is in the "Black" Trailer. It is later revealed that Qrow Branwen and his sister Raven can transform into a crow and raven respectively using magic given to them by Ozpin.
• Turkeys - Yang uses a pair of cooked turkeys as weapons during a food fight.
• Chickens - In "Jaunedice", Jaune Arc eats Beowolf-shaped chicken nuggets. In "Midnight", a house has a rooster weather vane.
• Seagulls - First seen flying past the Belladonnas' home in "Necessary Sacrifice".
• Hawks - Mentioned in After the Fall.^[3] "Scavenger hawks" are a species native to Vacuo.
• Penguins - Seen on Solitas in "Sparks".
• Unnamed birds - Seen in the Garden maze in RWBY 5.
• Falcons - Mentioned in RWBY/Justice League #3. Ruby and Bruce see a Faunus they identify as having the wings of a peregrine falcon, "the fastest bird on Remnant."
• Goshawk - Moss Berbere's pet bird with the appearance of both a hawk and a cockatiel shown in "RWBY: Arrowfell".
• Shoebill-Like Bird - Seen in "A Place of Particular Concern" to live in the Ever After.

Image Gallery

The first clear appearance of a crow

Yang wielding cooked turkeys

Seagulls

Penguins

Birds

Rooster weather vane

Dodo-Like Bird

Fish

• Tuna - Ruby mentions tuna in "Black and White". Found abundant in the waters off Menagerie.^[4]
• Swordfish - Weiss uses a swordfish as a weapon during a food fight.
• Other fish - In "Round One", Blake is seen eating a bowl of fish noodles. In "Menagerie", some kiosks in the marketplace sell various kinds of fish.
• Seahorses - A pair of giant seahorses can be seen with Arthur Curry in RWBY/Justice League #4.
• Manta Rays - Appear in RWBY/Justice League #4.
• Sharks - Appear in RWBY/Justice League #7

Image Gallery

Weiss wielding a swordfish

An unknown species of fish on top of ramen

Various species of fish in a kiosk

Tuna fish seen in the waters off Menagerie.

Sea horses

Several unnamed fishes.

Manta ray

Sharks

Reptiles

• Flatback Sliders - Gargantuan turtles that tower at about 100 feet in height that swim through the sand. These turtles are nearly blind and are reddish in color. Seeing a flatback slider is considered good luck in Vacuo. They appear in After the Fall.^[5]
• Geckos - Lizards used in a dish in After the Fall.^[6]
• Snakes - Mentioned both by Qrow and Yang on separate occasions.
• Slowworms - Referenced in After the Fall.^[3]

Arthropods

• Wasps - Jaune is coerced into collecting a box of Rapier Wasps for Cardin Winchester in "Forever Fall". They are not physically shown, but their name suggests their possession of long stingers.
• Caterpillars - A caterpillar is seen in "Lessons Learned". A talking caterpillar named "The Herbalist" (or "Herb" for short) from the Ever After is seen in the episode "A Cat Most Curious".
• Fireflies - A group of fireflies is seen in "Kids vs Adults vs Pups" of RWBY Chibi.
• Butterflies - A group of butterflies seen in "Dead End".
• Spider-roaches - Mentioned by Caroline Cordovin in "The Lady in the Shoe".
• Ants - Also mentioned by Cordovin in the same episode, used as an insult.
• Spiders - Lil' Miss Malachite's Organization's emblem depicts a spider. Also mentioned by Malachite herself.
• Mole crabs - Massive crablike creatures native to the deserts of Vacuo. In After the Fall, Team CFVY encounter several and defeat them. They have claw-like pincers and stand about the size of Yatsuhashi, though the ones fought are most likely juvenile. Coco Adel's Aura-enhanced bullets are able to crack their shell, killing them, and Yatsuhashi Daichi is able to throw two of them on their backs to make them helpless.^[7][8]
  • There is a genus of Crustaceans also known as mole crabs.
  • These are considered a delicacy in Vacuo.
• Crevice Worms - Appear as a dish in After the Fall.^[9]
• Cave Beetles - Referenced in After the Fall.^[9]
• Crabs - found abundant in the waters off Menagerie.^[4]

Image Gallery

A box containing rapier wasps

A caterpillar

Fireflies in RWBY Chibi

A butterfly

Myth

Other than the Grimm, several creatures based off mythology are shown to be present through the Gods in Remnant.

• Roc - described as being a form the God of Animals takes in The Shallow Sea^[10] Named after the giant bird of prey with the same name from One Thousand and One Nights encountered by both Abd-al Rahman and Sinbad the Sailor.
• Dragons - The Gods can take on the form of dragons as shown in "The Lost Fable".

The Gods in their dragon forms

Other

• Squid - found abundant in the waters off Menagerie.^[4]
• Octopus - seen in RWBY/Justice League.

Trivia

• The writers have admitted that they wanted to show more natural wildlife in RWBY, but consider it hard due to budget restraints.^[11][12]
• In the Ever After, it appears that some animals can speak such as the mouse Little or the Raccoon Jinxy.

References