Red Dead Online legendary animals: where to find all 42 and who to hand them to

Legendary animals in Red Dead Online are tied to the Naturalist role, which arrived in The Naturalist update on July 28, 2020. The role starts with the Sample Kit for 25 gold bars: Harriet Davenport sells it at the Welcome Center in Strawberry, and you can buy it right during the cutscene. Red Dead Wiki says 15 gold bars, but rdr2.org, TheGamer and PC Gamer say 25, so 15 is most likely an error. Other role prices are on the Red Dead Online roles page.

Harriet has several camps, for example near Strawberry and near Saint Denis (per Shacknews). Gus Macmillan works alongside her — he buys pelts and makes clothing from legendary animals.

How to get a mission. At Naturalist rank 5, talk to Harriet and pick Missions — this opens Legendary Animal Sightings. The hunting spot is marked with a waypoint. Neither Rockstar nor the guides publish a mission price, so we do not list one. The reward is the sample payment; in the weeks new animals came out, Rockstar also added bonuses.

You can either sedate each legendary animal for Harriet or kill it for Gus. Which one to pick depends on what you are after.

Sample and pelt prices per Red Dead Wiki. Per the same Wiki, 100% in the field guide means meeting each legendary animal twice: once for the sample, once for the pelt.

Harriet’s anger. If you kill a lot, Harriet sprays you with a hallucinogen, you pass out, and for a while she neither trades nor gives missions. Red Dead Wiki and TheGamer both describe this.

Damaged animals. A badly burned or blown-up animal can be neither sampled nor skinned: in Online, explosive and incendiary ammo ruins a legendary pelt.

Each of the 14 species has three variants: two spawn in free roam (you can see them on the Legendary Animal Map), the third appears only in Harriet’s mission. The names, count and split match in Red Dead Wiki and Screen Rant (2025 update). Where guides name different spots, we give a wider area or both options.

Gus outfit prices per Red Dead Wiki: on top of the legendary pelt, Gus charges money. For the Moonstone Wolf and the Marble Fox these prices match rdr2.org. Screen Rant also lists the time of day and weather for each free roam animal: for example, the Snowflake Moose at night in the rain, the Sun Gator at dawn in fog.

Harriet takes legendary samples in sets. Per Red Dead Wiki and rdr2.org, there are four sets:

A single sample pays from $9 (Zizi Beaver) to $36 (Golden Spirit Bear). For regular animals, per rdr2.org, there are five more sets: from Farmland at $60 to Forest & River at $160.

Gus makes 42 outfits, one for each legendary animal. The cheapest comes from the Mud Runner Buck at $220.50, the most expensive is the Sapa Hood and Coat at $995. A full wardrobe takes a pelt from every animal, so take your samples from separate encounters.

Rockstar released legendary animals weekly in the summer and fall of 2020: for example, the Shadow Buck on September 8 and the rams on September 15. Some first came out as a temporary exclusive on one platform. Guides written in the middle of those waves counted whatever was out at the time:

• Shacknews (August 14, 2020) — 27 animals, 7 mission-only;
• rdr2.org (2020 data) — 37 animals, 11 mission-only, missing the Iwakta Panther, Golden Spirit Bear and Ruddy Moose;
• Red Dead Wiki and Screen Rant (2025) — 42 animals, 14 mission-only.

Screen Rant’s headline says “40”, but the article describes 42. Today both sources list every animal with no platform restrictions.

Unlike story mode, where each legendary animal can be hunted once, in Online they come back. After a hunt, the animal disappears for a while; Rockstar does not give the exact time, and guides only cite individual players.

• Legendary Eagle Eye — from rank 5.
• Legendary Animal Pheromones — a $900 pamphlet at ranks 11–15: raises the chance of a legendary animal showing up nearby. Guides suggest using them after the “nearby” notification.
• Animal Focus (rank 10), Animal Attraction (rank 15), Blending Tonic and Animal Reviver — also from the Naturalist tree.
• Harrietum Officinalis — from rank 5, per Red Dead Wiki: a plant that lets you turn into an animal for a while.

The Animal Field Guide has 118 entries: 76 regular animals and 42 legendary ones (per the Wiki). Each completed field guide task gives 50 Naturalist XP (per rdr2.org).

• Photograph and sedate the animal for Harriet first; get the pelt for Gus from the next encounter.
• Do not use explosive or incendiary ammo — the legendary pelt will be ruined.
• Check the time of day and weather: some animals appear in fog, rain or at dawn.
• Blending Tonic shortens the distance at which animals notice you.
• Do not kill animals in bulk before visiting Harriet.

Story mode legendary animals are different: there are 16 of them, and each can be hunted only once. See the RDR2 legendary animals page. How to earn with roles is in the guide how to make money in Red Dead Online, and collections are on the Collector and Madam Nazar page.