Wildlife
Wildlife Encounters
Within DREDGE, the player will run into random events. Some of these events, predominantly the wildlife events, are purely aesthetic. Animals can encountered performing a variety of different actions but cannot damage the player in any way. They are intended to make the game world feel more vibrant and immersive beyond DREDGE's cosmic horror elements.
Wildlife was expanded upon with the DREDGE Update 1.2.0. This update introduced the Photographer. When asked about local wildlife, the Photographer will inform the player about the wildlife across the various regions. With the introduction of the photo mode, Black Salt Games hosted a photo competition on the official DREDGE Discord server, with many of the submissions featuring the new wildlife additions.
Gulls
Gulls can be found flying in small groups near the coast of some of the regions, namely the Marrows and Gale Cliffs. They have a solid white texture and so the exact species cannot be known.
Sea Hawks
Pairs of sea hawks can be observed soaring around the mountains of Devil's Spine. Some fans suggest that these are breeding pairs as hawks mate for life with a single partner. The hawk call heard in Devil's Spine always originates from one of the sea hawk entities currently rendered, being louder the closer the player's camera is to the hawk.
Whale Shark
The whale shark is a large shark that spawns outside the Stellar Basin region. Its spots emit a blue bioluminescence at night. The whale shark will swim around the circumference of the Stellar Basin, being one of the few aquatic animals that can remain spawned indefinitely should the player follow it.
Great White Shark
The great white shark is a large, unfishable shark that can spawn while the player near the player. Approaching it will make it dive down. The great white should not be mistaken for the Phantom Shark. The great white cannot damage the player's boat in anyway, and its chance to spawn is not affected by panic.
Bottlenose Dolphins
A pod of bottlenose dolphins may occasionally spawn travelling parallel to the player. The dolphins will continually breach and whistle playfully.
Killer Whales
Pods of killer whales display the same behaviour as the bottlenose dolphins, while being larger in size. Despite being called killer whales in DREDGE, the official name for one of these animals is an orca. The name "killer" is similarly unfitting in-game, as they are unable to damage the player, just like any other wildlife.
Humpback Whale
The humpback whale is a cetacean that dramatically breaches from of the water in front of the player. It is possible for the player to collide with the humpback, but the impact deals no damage.
Sperm Whale
Sperm whale sightings are the most cinematic spawn of all the wildlife in the game. Not to be mistaken for the tentacle panic event, a huge tentacle surfaces before the player's boat. The sperm whale breaches the water, snatching the tentacle in its jaws from the air before crashing into the sea and dragging it down into the depths.
In real life, sperm whales are known to hunt both giant squid and colossal squid, with sperm whales often being observed pocked with scars from the sharp squid tentacles' suckers. However, the tentacle seen in game is significantly larger than any known squid species.
Blue Whale
The blue whale is a huge cetacean that can appear close to the player's boat, surfacing from the water to breathe. The whale is causes no damage to the boat if hit despite it's incredible size, though we cannot know if the player damages the whale, so this behaviour should be avoided. The blue whale may be the largest living animal on Earth in real life, but is dwarfed in comparison to the Leviathan.
Loggerhead Turtle
The loggerhead turtle can be seen swimming slowly and peacefully in a straight line, often in the larger Marrows area. The loggerhead turtle is one of the simplest and arguably least interesting animals in the game, but is redeemed by being a very chonky boi.
Saltwater Crocodile
The saltwater crocodile can be found idly floating along just below the surface of the Twisted Strand. Despite its reputation, it is not aggressive and cannot damage the player.