Dire Wolves and Saber-tooth Cats hunt the same map with different tools. Wolves are built to chase. Sabers are built to arrive already close.
Dire Wolf
The official fauna page gives Aenocyon dirus guildayi a group size of 10, about 60 kg, and about 80 cm at the shoulder. Bison and horse are the preferred prey in the diet note. In play, the primary attack is a fast light bite. The secondary attack is a latch on horses and bison, or a heavy bite on animals you cannot latch.
A latch slows the prey's sprint and applies bleed while you hang on. It does not open the ring minigame for you. The herbivore has to buck you off. More wolves on the same animal make that minigame faster. You cannot latch a Smilodon or another Dire Wolf. A landed secondary bite still bleeds other predators.
Wolves get more food from small AI, including Dwarf Pronghorns and Brush Rabbits, than Smilodons do. Use that when a horse herd is too alert.
Saber-tooth Cat
Smilodon fatalis californicus is listed at about 225 kg, 100 cm at the shoulder, and a group size of 5. Unlock it by killing a Peccary. It hunts horses and bison alone or in a group, but it has less stamina than a wolf. Horses and bison in flee mode outrun a long chase.
The kill tool is the pounce, the secondary attack. Hit the front-left of a Western Horse or Ancient Bison to start the ring minigame. You have to score higher than the prey. If you do, a takedown plays and the prey dies. Missing the front-left, or pouncing a target that is already gone, does not start that duel.
The animal page says Smilodon is the only playable that can climb trees. Use height to wait, not to sprint across a prairie.
AI worth hunting
| Prey | Where the fauna page puts it | Carnivore mission Tracks |
|---|---|---|
| Flat-headed Peccary | Gametrails | 5-6, or 51-53 if leucistic |
| Dwarf Pronghorn | Sagebrush and ferns | 5-6 |
| Brush Rabbit | Sagebrush | No separate hunt payout on the mission table |
| Prairie Rattlesnake | Sagebrush | 8-10 if another player has distracted it |
| Turkey Vulture | Carrion and trees | An Instinct example says catch one; no hourly payout was listed |
Carnivore missions on that table have about a one-hour cooldown. Scavenging a tar carcass or a whale carcass is listed at 5 to 6 Tracks and is often safer than a fresh bison.
Peccary herds after January 2026
The January update made herbivores spook when peccaries run, and peccaries spook when herbivores run. If one peccary herd bolts, nearby peccary herds bolt too. A spooked herbivore stays spooked until the target dies, leaves combat, or a long gap opens. Plan the approach so you are not chasing a chain reaction across open ground with an empty stamina bar.