All Minecraft Wolf variants and where to find them

The plain Wolf in Minecraft has received a massive upgrade and now has a total of nine different variants. It was only available in one color for well over a decade, so learning about the Wolf variants and where to find them is quite a big change.

You used to be able to find wolves all around a couple of biomes, but with the variants, you have to seek out very specific locations to befriend them. Here are all of the Wolf variants and where to find them in Minecraft.

All Wolf variants in Minecraft and their biomes

Including the original Wolf type, there are nine variants of the Wolf mob you can come across in Minecraft. Each one is exclusively available in just one biome.

• Rusty Wolf
• Regular Wolf/Pale Wolf
• Black Wolf
• Striped Wolf
• Snowy Wolf
• Ashen Wolf
• Woods Wolf
• Spotted Wolf
• Chestnut Wolf

Rusty Wolf in Minecraft

The Rusty Wolf can be found wandering around the lush and dense jungle biome. Its bright coppery color generally makes it decently easy to spot among all of the bright greenery of the jungle biome. But if you’re having trouble tracking one down, try checking behind some bamboo or densely packed jungle trees.

Regular Wolf/Pale Wolf in Minecraft

The Pale Wolf, which is also known as the Regular Wolf since this is the classic appearance this mob had, can be found in the taiga biome. This biome type is filled with spruce trees and grass, which makes finding the Pale Wolf decently easy as its bright gray color stands out.

Black Wolf in Minecraft

The Black Wolf runs around the old-growth pine taiga biome. This is a very particular rare biome type, which makes it a decently tough one to locate. You’re looking for a region with enormous trees, mossy cobblestone blocks scattered throughout, and lots of podzol.

Generally, the Black Wolf is pretty easy to spot since it starkly contrasts with the colors of the biome, but it can also be easy to overlook when it’s hanging around in shadows.

Striped Wolf in Minecraft

You can find the Striped Wolf hanging around the wooded badlands biome. This is a slight variant of the classic badlands biome, which is the brightly colored massive mountains composed of terracotta.

To come across a Striped Wolf, the version of the badlands you’re in needs to have a lot of trees situated high up on the mountains. These trees are always going to be way up high on top of the badlands mountains, so you might have to traverse all the way up them before you can determine if any Striped Wolves are present.

Snowy Wolf in Minecraft

The Snowy Wolf runs around the ice-cold snowy groves biome. This area is always completely covered in snow, so actually spotting this type of Wolf can be very tricky since this Wolf variant blends right in with it.

Ashen Wolf in Minecraft

The Ashen Wolf wanders around the snowy taiga biome. Like the Snowy Wolf, this one can also be particularly tough to spot since it’s a similar color to the environment it calls home. This one is generally a bit easier to see, though, since there’s more green grass and trees around the area.

Woods Wolf in Minecraft

The Woods Wolf is a master of camouflage and blends right in with the forest biome it resides within. This is one of the toughest Wolf variants to spot since it is almost the exact same coloring as the trees and blends in super well.

Be sure to carefully check all tree trunks you pass while scouring a forest biome for this furry friend since you might walk right past this mob if it’s standing by one.

Spotted Wolf in Minecraft

The Spotted Wolf wanders exclusively around the savanna plateau biome. These biomes tend to be pretty flat, but tall grass also runs throughout and it’s always located quite high up, so you might find Spotted Wolves hiding among the grass or traversing down the mountains.

Chestnut Wolf in Minecraft

You can find the Chestnut Wolf traversing through any old-growth spruce taiga biome. Similar to the old-growth pine taiga biome that the Black Wolf calls home, this one also has massive towering trees that make it easy to identify.

All of the Wolf variants were announced on March 6 and seem to be part of the larger 1.21 update. There isn’t an official launch date for their arrival, but they’re already available in Minecraft Snapshots, which means you can interact with them ahead of the official update. If you’re struggling to navigate to all of the right biomes you need to visit, consider turning on and using coordinates to make the process easier.