WolfQuest Wiki

Welcome to The WolfQuest Wiki Fandom! We are a fair-use repository. If you use this site's assets, please remember to credit and link-back. Do not remove or crop-out watermarks uploaders have applied to their media. It takes a lot of time and effort to make this resource possible so it's the least we can ask!

READ MORE

WolfQuest Wiki
Register
Advertisement
WolfQuest Wiki
Not to be confused with Bald eagle.

Golden eagles are very large raptors with proportionally long, broad wings, a wide fan shaped tail that is twice as long as the head and neck.

In WolfQuest: Anniversary Edition, the Golden eagle is a large raptor with a mix of light, medium and dark brown feathers, piercing orange-yellow eyes, a yellow beak with a sharp black tip, and scaly yellow talons with black claws. Unlike its predecessors, golden eagles in the modern game have more presence.

In WolfQuest: Classic, the Golden eagle is a large, predatory bird with a mixed plumage consisting of dark-and-light brown feathers, brown eyes, yellow feet with black-tipped talons and a sharp yellow and black-tipped beak. Only one will spawn at a time.

This predator appears in single-player and multiplayer if playing in a Raise Pups session. They do not pose any risk to the players or their mate.

In legacy versions of WolfQuest, the Golden eagle[1] is a large predatory bird that is only encountered in the sixth mission of the second episode and was introduced with the addition of Survival of the Pack. They will prey on the player's puppies and will swoop to ground level and try to pick one up. Unlike other predators, the eagle has no distinguishable sex.


Scent[]

Main article: Scent View#Anniversary Edition
In the Anniversary Edition's scent view, toggled by pressing the V key key, golden eagles are scentless. They lack body glow if the option is enabled, emit no spores, and they emit no footprint tracks while grounded.

In Classic's scent view, toggled by pressing the V key, golden eagles are scentless. They are completely devoid of any identifying scent information.

In Legacy versions' scent view, toggled by pressing the V key, golden eagles are scentless. They are completely devoid of any identifying scent information.


Diet[]

In the Anniversary Edition, much like ravens, this bird is a minor carcass competitor. It may land on the ground and pick at any unattended carcasses regardless of whether it is a predator's kill or a naturally-spawned carcass.

If the player-wolf, their packmates, or any other predator or carcass competitor other than ravens have been drawn to the carcass, they may hang back, and will fly around and land elsewhere if disturbed. They will lose interest and fly away when carcass is fully depleted or after they have eaten their fill.

In Classic, golden eagles do not interact with carcasses.

In Legacy versions, golden eagles do not interact with carcasses.


Prey[]

In the Anniversary Edition, golden eagles can occasionally be observed hunting prey for themselves in-game.

While flying over terrain, golden eagles may occasionally lock-on to a spawned snowshoe hare and pursue it in a long low glide with its talons outstretched. They may be interrupted by another predator coming too close, coming in between itself and its target, or when its target escapes. An interrupted eagle will often circle back around and resume its hunt. If the hare is killed by the player-wolf or another predator, or it loses interest due to frequent interruptions, it ends its hunt and flies away.

Golden eagles are a potential threat to 1-month-old wolf pups whose pack occupies an Open den site or while exposed to elements if the pack is nomadic. They will not hunt pups aged 2-months or older.

In Classic, the golden eagle will occasionally appear to prey on wolf pups during the Final Journey mission. It is not seen to hunt any other prey during its time spawned in-game.

In Legacy versions, the golden eagle will occasionally appear to prey on wolf pups during the Final Journey mission. It is not seen to hunt any other prey during its time spawned in-game.


Habitat[]

In the Anniversary Edition, golden eagles have no known or perceived territory. They appear in all game maps throughout all seasons. They do not appear at night.

In Classic, eagles have no known or perceived territory.

In Legacy versions, eagles have no known or perceived territory.


Nodes[]

Main article: Spawners

In the Anniversary Edition, there are no known spawn nodes for eagles.

In Classic, there are no known spawn nodes for eagles.

In Legacy versions, there are no known spawn nodes for eagles.


Kill[]

In the Anniversary Edition, golden eagles are non-attackable entities. They cannot be killed.

In Classic, golden eagles are non-attackable entities. They cannot be killed.

In Legacy versions, golden eagles are non-attackable entities. They cannot be killed.


Life stages & Behavior[]

In the Anniversary Edition, golden eagles will spend much of their time in flight soaring the skies aimlessly, occasionally hunting or landing — either on the ground or on the study branches of barren trees — for a while before taking off. They are minor carcass competitors and will feed on any unattended or unguarded prey carcasses. Golden eagles will never attack adult wolves and will often fly away upon being approached; whether or not the bird is eating from a carcass will not affect this response. Only adults make an appearance in-game; there is no dimorphism between the sexes, and there are no nests with eggs or hatchling chicks.

When hunting gray wolf pups, the player will be alerted that an eagle is in the vicinity, urging them to switch to headcam to track it. During this time, the eagle will circle the pack's active home site and cause the pups to panic and flee as it glides lower until it eventually dives to snatch an exposed pup. If it fails to make contact without being scared off by the player, it will ascend and continue circling, ready to try again. If it successfully catches a pup, it will immediately ascend and rapidly gain altitude, and the caught pup is as good as dead from the moment its paws leave the ground. It cannot be saved. When the player manages to thwart it or it grows bored, it may fly away. Sometimes a thwarted eagle will decide to land nearby, but it will be completely harmless and disinterested in any exposed pups. Its presence may cause them to continually panic.

It is possible to thwart an attacking golden eagle in one of two ways:

  1. If the player commands their pups to hide in a den or patches of tall grass, so long as the pups do not panic or refuse to shelter/hide, the eagle will be unable to find a valid target in the area. This causes it to abandon its predation attempt and it will fly away.
  2. If the player does not command their pups to hide, they can use themselves as an obstacle. This is a risky approach! When a golden eagle detects it is too close to the player, it will immediately abandon its predation attempt, and it will fly away.

In Classic, a golden eagle preying on pups only ever occurs during the Final Journey mission. During this time it will swoop to ground level and hover, regardless of whether there are players nearby or not, closer and closer to the pups. When it spawns, the game will randomly select one surviving pup for it to target while ignoring other members of the litter. It will advance on its target until it has either succeeded in closing the distance between its prey and flown away with the puppy clasped in its talons, or until it has been chased away by a player or their mate. If it is successful in stealing away its prey, the player will be informed that their puppy will die soon. There is no saving a pup who has been taken by the eagle.

While it is hovering and closing in on a pup, it can be chased away by simply charging into it. It cannot be harmed.

Its spawn frequency is determined by the game's selected difficulty. An eagle may spawn even while other predators are queued to invade territory or to spawn and attack pups, further adding to the challenge.

In Legacy versions, a golden eagle preying on pups only ever occurs during the Final Journey mission. During this time it will swoop to ground level and hover, regardless of whether there are players nearby or not, closer and closer to the pups. When it spawns, the game will randomly select one surviving pup for it to target while ignoring other members of the litter. It will advance on its target until it has either succeeded in closing the distance between its prey and flown away with the puppy clasped in its talons, or until it has been chased away by a player or their mate. If it is successful in stealing away its prey, the player will be informed that their puppy will die soon. There is no saving a pup who has been taken by the eagle.

While it is hovering and closing in on a pup, it can be chased away by simply charging into it. It cannot be harmed.


Competitors[]

Gray wolves[]

In the Anniversary Edition, the player-wolf and their mate are potential competitors albeit under the role of protective parents.

In Classic, the player-wolf and their mate are potential competitors albeit under the role of protective parents.

In Legacy versions, the player-wolf and their mate are potential competitors albeit under the role of protective parents.


Coyotes[]

In the Anniversary Edition, coyotes are considered a golden eagle competitor only in the sense that they also hunt snowshoe hares. Each may steal the kill from the other if they happen to lock-on to and chase the same prey. That aside, coyotes will not harm golden eagles if they should happen to cross paths.

In Classic, coyotes and eagles do not interact with one another.

In Legacy versions, coyotes and eagles do not interact with one another.


Foxes[]

In the Anniversary Edition, red foxes are considered a golden eagle competitor only in the sense that they also hunt snowshoe hares. Each may steal the kill from the other if they happen to lock-on to and chase the same prey. That aside, red foxes will not harm golden eagles if they should happen to cross paths.

In Classic, foxes and eagles do not interact with one another.


Gallery[]

Anniversary Edition Gallery

Contributions for Golden eagle in the Anniversary Edition are welcome in this gallery!

Classic Gallery

Contributions for Golden eagle in Classic are welcome in this gallery!

Legacy Gallery

Contributions for Golden eagle in Legacy versions are welcome in this gallery!


Bugs[]

Anniversary Edition Bugs

  • Certain lighting conditions may cause their eyes to appear fully dilated or almost completely pitch black. This typically occurs while the sky is overcast, with and without rain or thunder.
  • While conditions are clear and the weather is fair, their eyes appear normal.
  • 1-month old pups will still fear golden eagles even if they are not actively hunting them, such as if they are landed and feasting on a nearby carcass. This is most noticeable when attempting to have 1-month old pups eat directly from a carcass while nomadic. It is unknown if this is a bug or intentional.
  • Much like bald eagles and fish, golden eagles once had a chance of being spooked by the player and could drop their freshly-caught hare if the player wandered close while it is in the process of regaining altitude. This was fixed with the AI pathing overhaul.

Classic Bugs

Classic & Legacy Bugs

  • The eagle flees instead of backing off for another attempt because the game is tricked into thinking the eagle was charged at by the player. It is believed that what really happens is the eagle charges and the game sees the player between it and the pup. The game sees the player as the priority between the eagle and its target, thus thinking the player charged and drove it off.
    • This may not work depending on the angle of approach.[citation needed]
  • If the player presses 'ESC' to open the pause interface while the eagle is targeting a pup, it will continue flying.

Legacy Bugs

  • There is a rare glitch called the Spinning Mate Glitch that may happen before the eagle comes. The reason of this glitch is unknown, though the mate may be trying to warn the player of the eagle.
  • Oftentimes when the pups are all together it is hard to know which pup the eagle is targeting while it is at a distance. A simple AI observation allows the player to tell easily: the puppy being targeted will walk in tight circles while it is on the ground. It is unknown whether this persists in Classic.
    • It is possible that this may have been intentional to ensure there are no obstructions between the eagle and the targeted pup, making the transition for both entities less jarring. This is a theory, not confirmation.
    • The eagle can snatch a puppy directly from the player's jaws. Picking up the puppy in the avatar's mouth and turning away from the bird when it dives, instead of snatching the pup out of the avatar's jaws, it will fly away and de-spawn.
  • The developers noted that the snatching-from-jaws behavior was not intentional. This was fixed in Classic.


Trivia[]

Anniversary Edition Trivia

  • The model in this game was made by GIM Studio after being commissioned by eduweb.
    • eduweb does not own this model outright due to the high costs associated with exclusive rights. An agreement between both parties allows GIM Studio retains the rights to sell this model to other developers, so it may appear in other games.
  • The frequency of golden eagle sightings has been increased compared to its solitary counterpart in Classic and Legacy, where only one would make its appearance at brief intervals during the final journey mission.
  • According to the Wolfopedia's eagles entry, golden eagles do not catch fish.
  • Golden eagles are one of two NPC predators who actively hunt and can catch hares.
  • Along with bald eagles and ravens[citation needed], when not in flight or scavenging, golden eagles can occasionally be seen perching on the branches of barren trees.
  • Their eye color used to be brown; as of 1.0.7h, they have been spotted with piercing orange-yellow eyes. Both appear to be valid eye colors for this species.
  • Positions of spawned entities will be stored and remembered in game world save files.
  • When it despawns, a golden who is carrying a hare carcass will drop its kill.
    • Golden eagles will despawn in the evening and will be absent throughout the night. They begin spawning again the shortly after sunrise.
      • Pup attacks can still happen at sunrise and sunset.

Classic Trivia

  • An eagle will not spawn while pups are safe in the den, nor while visiting the cattle ranch.

Classic & Legacy Trivia

  • It is commonly mistaken for a hawk.[1]
  • The call audio sample is not an actual golden eagle's call, it is a hawk's call.
  • It never appears in any missions prior to the final mission.
  • It has a noticeable seam when close-up. It appears to be the only model with a visible seam in Legacy and Classic.
    • Its model is split into several parts- the head, the body (which includes the flesh part of the wing), the first pass of feathers, the secondaries & primaries, and the tail.
    • This is due to either poor texturing, poor UV unwrapping, or both. UV unwrapping refers to the process of "flattening" a model (think origami, but in reverse) so that the game engine may understand how to properly apply the texture (the colors), which is contained in a separate file. Because the texture ‘wraps’ around the model, the areas where the texture connects are what appear as seams. Visible seams on a model indicate poor texturing or poor UV unwrapping.
  • This predator is exclusive to Slough Creek. It will not spawn in any other map.
  • Like other predators in the final mission, its position is not stored or remembered in game world save files. It can be avoided by saving and quitting the game.
  • Credit for the hovering golden eagle image is given to Coyotric, known on the forum as Loach, and formerly known as RoarOriole. (Previously Shusuke.)[citation needed]

Legacy Trivia

  • It appears to be able to noclip (pass through obstacles or barriers otherwise solid to the player) through trees.
  • It is the only single-player predator that did not appear in multiplayer.
  • Upon beginning the final mission, the eagle is a guaranteed spawn and will instantly target a pup once spawned.

  • It has been confirmed by the WolfQuest Team to be a golden eagle.[1]
  • Golden eagles cannot be killed, and the only predator that players are unable to directly attack or otherwise damage.
  • The golden eagle seems to appear more frequently the longer the final mission goes on.
  • This species has no gender ratio. They are deemed genderless and scentless.

  • Reference & External Links[]

    1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 wolfquest.org • What's the huge bird in Slough Creek & can it hurt my pups?, cited from the WolfQuest 2.5 FAQ.
    2. The original filename refers to this particular HUD icon as a "hawk".


    Birds
    Large Competitors Bald eaglesRavens
    Predators Golden eagles
    Small Songbirds House sparrowMountain chickadeeRobinWestern tanager
    Competitors
    Large Bald eagleGolden eagleGrizzly bear
    Medium CougarDogWolf
    Small CoyoteRavenRed fox
    Miscellaneous NewbornJuvenile
    NPCs
    Competitors & Predators Bald eagleBobcatBlack bearCougarCoyoteDogGolden eagleGrizzly bearRavenRed fox
    Prey BeaverBighorn sheepBisonDomestic cattleElkMooseMule deerPorcupinePronghornSnowshoe hare
    Newborns & Juveniles Bighorn sheep lambDomestic cattle calfElk calfGrizzly bear cubMoose calfMule deer fawnPronghorn fawn
    Wolves Dispersal (Mate) • Offspring: Pup, Yearling, Adult, DisperserPredatorStranger
    Non-interactable BirdsCatInsect
    Non-entity Human
    Miscellaneous AirplaneAmphibiansFishHerdsWolf Packs
    Predators
    Large Golden eagleGrizzly bear (cub)
    Medium Black bearCougarWolf (litters, pups, yearlings)
    Small BobcatCoyoteRed fox
    Miscellaneous NewbornJuvenile
    Advertisement