Field guide
Leonida wildlife
GTA 6 brings back Red Dead Redemption 2's compendium idea: wildlife you examine and record rather than only shoot. Here is every species confirmed so far, and where each one lives.
Short answer
What animals are in GTA 6?
Rockstar has confirmed alligators, deer, cougars, foxes, sea turtles, iguanas and a range of birds and fish across Leonida, along with a wildlife checklist that records species you have examined — the Red Dead Redemption 2 compendium idea carried into GTA. Hunting with rifles and bows is confirmed in Mount Kalaga National Park, and scuba diving puts marine life in reach in the Keys.
The wildlife checklist
Rockstar confirmed a system for examining and recording wildlife — a compendium, in Red Dead terms. The list below is every species that has appeared in official material so far. Tick them off as you find them; the ticks stay in your browser.
Species confirmed in official material
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How this list is built
Only species visible in Rockstar's official screenshots, trailers or the Extended Look are listed. Leaked material describes more; those are not included here because the checklist is meant to be reliable rather than complete. How claims are labelled →
Where each habitat is
Leonida's wildlife is regional in a way GTA V's was not. The state spans reef, wetland, lake, pine forest and canyon, and the species change with them.
Reef and shoreline
Scuba diving is confirmed, which is what makes the marine layer reachable rather than decorative. Sea turtles, reef fish and sharks all appear in official footage, and the iguanas on the shoreline are the species Rockstar chose to show being examined.
Species: sea turtle, green iguana, reef fish, shark, dolphin, pelican.
The wetlands
Rockstar's own copy promises alligators “and deadlier predators”, which is the closest the company has come to teasing an animal threat. Airboats are the practical way through, and the water is populated enough that leaving one is a decision.
Species: American alligator, heron, wading birds, snakes, freshwater fish.
Forest and canyon
The hunting region. Rifles and bows are both confirmed, taking pelts and meat, and this is the only part of the state where the Red Dead hunting loop is fully present. Deer, cougars and foxes are named.
Species: white-tailed deer, cougar, fox, birds of prey, river fish.
Freshwater
Central Florida's lake country, modelled on Lake Okeechobee. Fishing is confirmed state-wide with a casting minigame in the Red Dead tradition, and the lake is where the freshwater species sit.
Species: largemouth bass, catfish, wading birds, gators at the margins.
Hunting, and what it is for
Rifles and bows, pelts and meat
ConfirmedHunting is confirmed across forests, swamps and rural areas. The bow's presence matters: in Red Dead Redemption 2 it existed to take clean pelts, which implies a pelt-quality system rather than hunting as target practice.
Examining is separate from killing
ConfirmedThe checklist records species you have examined. That is the Red Dead compendium mechanic, and it means the completionist path through Leonida's wildlife does not require shooting all of it.
What hunting feeds into is unclear
UnconfirmedRockstar has not said whether pelts sell, craft, or simply register. Red Dead used them for crafting and camp upgrades; GTA 6's safehouse works like a Red Dead camp, which makes crafting plausible but unconfirmed.
Alligators, and in Rockstar’s words deadlier predators.
Rockstar Games, on Grassrivers
Common questions
Short, direct answers. Each one links to the section above that explains it in full.
Are there alligators in GTA 6?#
Yes. Alligators appear throughout Grassrivers, Rockstar's Everglades analogue, both in the water and being captured on airboats in official screenshots.
Can you hunt in GTA 6?#
Yes. Hunting with rifles and bows is confirmed across forests, swamps and rural areas, with Mount Kalaga National Park as the main hunting region.
Is there a wildlife compendium in GTA 6?#
Yes — Rockstar confirmed a wildlife checklist that records species you examine, the same idea as Red Dead Redemption 2's compendium.
Can you swim with sharks in GTA 6?#
Scuba diving is confirmed and sharks appear in official footage, so marine encounters are reachable. Rockstar has not detailed how dangerous they are.
Sources
Every claim on this page traces back to one of the following. Rockstar Games newswire posts and the official Extended Look are treated as primary; everything else is labelled in-line.