Each time you explore a new area, you unlock a new animal to wrangle. The animals here are the ones you can find in the Savannah, including which sections of the Savannah they start to show up in along with the species available, level bonuses, and their specialties.
Every animal has its uses and benefits. The larger or predatory animals like the elephant, giraffe, vulture, and lion don’t have to worry too much about other animals. On the flip side smaller animals like the buffalo, zebra, and ostrich have their own benefits that make them worth the extra risk.
Hopefully this guide gives you some better ideas on how to use each animal effectively, both for longer runs and to make money to improve your zoo. Take care of your animals and they’ll take care of you!
Buffalo (Savannah 1)
The buffalo may not be the most interesting animal you come across in the Savannah but it’s more useful than it first appears.
The buffalo’s biggest strengths are its initial riding charge (level 3) and the bonus money you get while riding an angry, bucking buffalo (level 7). The charge both knocks other animals out of the way and can destroy obstacles like rocks and trees, which makes buffalo one of the safest animals to jump onto in tight, crowded spots. Though the giraffe, elephant, and lion are also generally safe in these situations.
Controlling an angry buffalo is easier than most other angry animals, and once at level 7 it can be an easy way for slower players to rack up extra coins in the field.
When angry: Begins to buck, making it harder to control. But not very hard.
Level 1 - Makes buffalo move toward your lasso when you’re in the air Level 2 - Extends the time you can ride on a buffalo before it gets angry by 2 seconds Level 3 - When you first land on a buffalo it will charge forward, which can knock away other animals and destroy obstacles like rocks Level 4 - The buffalo enclosure in your zoo provides 50% more money Level 5 - Extends the buffalo charge by 1 second Level 6 - Extends the time you can ride on a buffalo before it gets angry by 1 second Level 7 - Grants bonus money when riding on an angry buffalo Level 8 - Doubles the rare buffalo you’ll see in the stampede
Types of buffalo
Cape Buffalo Forest Buffalo Bison Water Buffalo Kerfuffle’o Cash Cow Diabuffalo
Zebra (Savannah 1)
The zebra is the second animal you get your lasso around in Rodeo Stampede and isn’t that different from the buffalo. The zebra lacks a useful landing ability like the buffalo’s charge, but once you get it to level 3 it becomes a valuable ally in long runs.
At level 3 the zebra no longer shrinks your lasso – something landing on every other animal does. Usually your lasso shrinks in size each time you land on another animal, but once you reach level 3 the zebra becomes a safe animal to land on and ride if you want to maintain a large lasso size.
The zebra is harder to control than the buffalo when it’s angry, so its level 7 bonus money buff isn’t quite as valuable but if you’re going for a very long run, you can learn to control a bucking angry zebra for big bucks and to retain your lasso size until further into a run.
When angry: Begins to buck, but is harder to control than the buffalo when angry. Getting up to level 5 makes it a bit easier but controlling an angry zebra takes practice.
Level 1 - Extends the time you can ride on a zebra before it gets angry by 2 seconds Level 2 - The zebra’s angry bucking pushes other animals away Level 3 - Makes it so landing on a zebra does not make your lasso size smaller as it does with other animals Level 4 - The zebra enclosure in your zoo provides 50% more money Level 5 - Makes it easier to control an angry zebra Level 6 - Makes zebras move toward your lasso when you are in the air Level 7 - Grants bonus money when riding on an angry zebra Level 8 - Doubles the rare zebras you’ll see in the stampede
Types of zebras
Zebra Candicorn Brazeb Punky Zeb Elektro Zebra Trojan Zebra
Elephant (Savannah 1)
The elephant is the first big animal you encounter and it stays a valuable ally throughout your time with the game.
You can’t ride on an elephant as long as most other animals, but the time you do get is high-speed and high-destruction! By default the elephant can just charge through other animals, but at level 3 it can charge right through obstacles on the stampede like it’s no big deal. And at 5 you can charge through other elephants as well.
This is a good animal to ride in most cases unless you’re trying to preserve your lasso size, though your time on an elephant is pretty short.
When angry: Simply tosses you forward off its back. Make sure you’re pointed toward other animals when the elephant you’re riding gets angry.
Level 1 - Doubles the elephants you’ll see in the stampede Level 2 - Extends the time you can ride on an elephant before it gets angry by 1 second Level 3 - Makes it so elephants can barge through rocks like they do with animals Level 4 - The elephant enclosure in your zoo provides 50% more money Level 5 - Makes it so elephants can barge through other elephants Level 6 - Extends the time you can ride on an elephant before it gets angry by 1 second Level 7 - Grants bonus money when smashing into obstacles like rocks when riding an elephant Level 8 - Doubles the rare elephants you’ll see in the stampede
Types of elephants
African Elephant Earl of Phant Mammoth Psycadelephant Tootyphant Skelephant Turbo
Ostrich (Savannah 2)
The ostrich is one animal you want to get angry. As Sonic the Hedgehog might say: “Gotta go fast!”
The ostrich gets a significant speed boost once it gets angry and the longer you’re on it, the faster it gets. This makes the ostrich a massive ally if you’re going for a long run – if you learn to control an ostrich at high speeds, you’ll definitely see a big boost in your highest score.
The biggest problem with the ostrich is it’s more difficult to get new animals when riding one because you’re going so fast, but it’s great for long runs. Its level 5 ability that throws you forward when crashing instead of ending the run is amazing and the bonus money when running fast is similarly great.
When angry: Runs at high speeds, gradually getting faster. Jump off of an enraged ostrich when you feel you can’t control it anymore.
Level 1 - Triples the amount of ostriches you’ll see in the stampede Level 2 - Extends the time you can ride an ostrich before it gets angry by 2 seconds Level 3 - Crates grant triple the money when riding an ostrich Level 4 - The ostrich enclosure in your zoo provides 50% more money Level 5 - Ostriches will throw you when you crash when they are angry and running fast Level 6 - You jump further from ostriches Level 7 - Grants bonus money when running at high speeds on an ostrich Level 8 - Doubles the rare ostriches you’ll see in the stampede
Types of ostriches
Ostrich Celebirdy Ostri Chevalier Ostrich of Hearts Glam Rockstrich Old Yosef Bosstrich
Giraffe (Savannah 3)
You may wonder why you would bother with the giraffe instead of the elephant, and that’s a good question.. until you look at the giraffe’s improvements as it levels up.
The giraffe may not have the “cool” factor the elephant does but it certainly has staying power. Once you hit level 2, jumping from a giraffe increases your lasso size a bit for a short time. This effect is increased at level 6. This makes the giraffe an amazing animal for later in runs once your lasso’s small size gets to be a problem.
Even cooler is that at level 3, the giraffe gains the ability to sometimes stumble and continue running when it crashes. This can be a real life-saver.
Jumping from a giraffe nets you more air than with smaller animals thanks to the giraffe’s height. Keep this in mind once the game starts to throw tall obstacles at you. The delay between when you tell a giraffe you’re ready to jump and when it tosses you can also make it easier to aim yourself toward other animals.
When angry: Stops running and tosses you forward. Like the elephant, be sure to be pointed toward animals in front of you before it gets angry.
Level 1 - Triples the amount of giraffes you’ll see in the stampede Level 2 - Temporarily increases your lasso size by 20% when jumping from a giraffe Level 3 - Makes it so you won’t necessarily crash when you run into something, instead a giraffe may stumble and throw you forward Level 4 - The giraffe enclosure in your zoo provides 50% more money Level 5 - Makes it so you jump further from giraffes Level 6 - Temporarily increases your lasso size by another 20% when jumping from a giraffe Level 7 - Grants bonus money when jumping long distances from giraffes Level 8 - Doubles the rare giraffes you’ll see in the stampede
Types of giraffes
Giraffe Taco Jirafa Highballer Girafferty Giraxxus UFG
Vulture (Savannah 4)
The vulture is fast as soon as you land on it, but your time on this scavenger bird is short before it gets angry.
The vulture has the benefit of being able to fly over other animals and obstacles, but that benefit quickly becomes unreliable once it gets angry, after which the vulture starts to dip up and down. But once you reach level 5, it gets easier to control once angry and at level 7 you get bonus money for riding an angry vulture.
This animal is hard to recommend over most others, since the ostrich goes even faster and the lion, giraffe, and elephant deal with other animals well enough.
When angry: Starts to dip up and down, making it possible to run into obstacles and other animals.
Level 1 - Doubles the amount of vultures you’ll see in the stampede Level 2 - Makes vultures perch on lower rocks during stampedes, making them easier to lasso Level 3 - Makes crates worth 5 times as much when riding a vulture Level 4 - The vulture enclosure in your zoo provides 50% more money Level 5 - Makes vultures more steady when they are angry Level 6 - Extends the time you can ride on a vulture before it gets angry by 2 seconds Level 7 - Grants bonus money when riding on an angry, swooping vulture Level 8 - Doubles the rare vultures you’ll see in the stampede
Types of vultures
Vulture Viva Las Vulture Egyptian Vulture Pop Vulture Vulture Capitalist Vulture-on
Lion (Savannah 5)
The king of the jungle! That you get in the Savannah, which makes more sense.
The lion is the last animal you can wrangle in the Savannah and its just as powerful as it should be. Right out the gate the lion can eat other animals, and once you reach level 2 you can eat other animals to keep the lion you’re riding happy for longer. At level 6 eating other animals is even more helpful.
Once you reach level 7 and get bonus money from eating other animals, you can rack up some real money pretty easily if you focus on riding lions and eating other animals on your runs. Go out of your way to munch off animals if you have to, just keep your lion fed to stay on it and roll in money.
When angry: Slows down considerably before the timer runs out, then eats you up. Make sure you aim and jump off before it eats you.
Level 1 - Triples the amount of lions you’ll see in the stampede Level 2 - Eating other animals makes the lion stay happy longer Level 3 - Makes lions able to eat other lions in the stampede Level 4 - The lion enclosure in your zoo provides 50% more money Level 5 - Makes lions able to eat anything during the stampede Level 6 - Eating other animals makes the lion stay happy even longer Level 7 - Grants bonus money when you eat other animals as the lion Level 8 - Doubles the rare lions you’ll see in the stampede
Types of lions
Lion Sabretooth Lion Dande Lion Gyphon Le Ion Chef Cryin Lion
And that’s that for the Savannah animals. The next area up, the Jungle, has its own animals to capture and ride that have their own unique abilities. Those will be covered in a separate guide at a later date. But if you want some overall advice, check out my Rodeo Stampede beginner’s tips guide!
