Don't Starve Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Don't Starve Wiki

Wolfgang Portrait
Funny walking birds!

Wolfgang

Pengulls are neutral Mobs that appear on shores in packs of around 7 during Winter. The Moonrock Pengull is a hostile variant found only on the Lunar Island and Lunar Archipelago. The colony size will continually grow until the end of Winter. They spawn in the Ocean and jump onto the shore only if the player is nearby. If a single Pengull is attacked, the entire colony will slide on their bellies towards the attacker if they are close enough to the player. Together they surround their target and deal massive amounts of damage, as well as pursue the attacker if they flee. If the player bumps into a single Pengull, they will slide away in the direction opposite to the bump. Pengulls may drop a Jet FeatherMorsel, or Drumstick.

Pengulls are considered innocent creatures, and killing one will add 2 Naughtiness points, which can cause Krampus to appear.

Note: they are likely to pose a high threat to unprepared players with their speed and numbers, and are ill-advised to target directly.


Brain Behavior[]

Pengulls are noisy creatures that spawn from the Ocean when the player is nearby, and walk directly to a randomly spawned "breeding ground". The breeding ground is marked by a thin layer of ice that appears as soon as the flock spawns, and is represented by a Pengull symbol on the map. Pengulls will slide away from the player when passive, but when attacked, they become aggressive towards the attacker. The entire pack will surround their foe and attack by pecking and jumping. They pursue their target by sliding on their bellies. A maximum of 6 pengull nests can spawn each winter.

Pengull things

Multiple Pengull breeding grounds marked on the Map.

Once they reach their breeding ground, Pengulls will occasionally lay Eggs, hiding them if the player gets too close. Upon death, this egg will be part of their loot. Pengull Eggs will usually be left to rot. A Pengull that has held onto an Egg until it rots will drop the Rotten Egg on the ground and ignore it, allowing the player to obtain Rotten Eggs without having to use a Birdcage. Occasionally, they will leave the Egg when it's stale, in which case it may be eaten. It's safe to pick up an Egg if the Pengull isn't hiding it, or while it is asleep. It can be beneficial to set up a base near a breeding ground in the Adventure chapter, "The King of Winter," for an easy food source.

Pengulls spawn with limited Hunger, but they can replenish their Hunger bar by eating food. If they don't eat anything, their Hunger bar lasts 12 days, after it is depleted, they will starve to death in 3/4 days. While starving, Pengulls become aggressive and will sound an alarm when threatened, calling all nearby Pengulls to attack mobs that wander close to the herd. They can attack anything that can be destroyed or killed, so Walls are also going to be a target. The Pengulls will give chase for a reasonable distance before issuing a final indignant squawk and slowly waddling back to their temporary home. Since their lifespan is similar to the perish time of their Eggs, caution is best kept after their Eggs are stale and close to spoiling. When they die of starvation, they will leave behind their regular drops.

Since there is no way to control where a Pengull breeding ground spawns, it is possible for the nesting ground to end up very near, or even at, the player's base. They will destroy any Walls directly between them and their nesting ground as they migrate, though they only "pass through" other structures such as Chests and Fire Pits. As they turn aggressive near the end of Winter, they can wreak havoc on player-built walls comparable to a grazing by Deerclops. There is no way to avoid this, apart from staying away from the Ocean near player-built walls during Winter.

Pengulls will eat food left on the ground, including meat from their killed brethren, Hatching Tallbird Eggs and even Deerclops Eyeballs. They will also eat planted Mandrakes, so players should take care and are recommended to pick them before they go to waste, as they are renewable by inconvenient means.

Reign of Giants icon Reign of Giants[]

In the Reign of Giants DLC, several Mini Glaciers will appear around Pengull breeding grounds in addition to the thin patch of ice. This makes Ice renewable, and makes Rocks renewable without having to visit the Caves.

If any of the Mini Glaciers around a breeding ground are mined before Pengulls reach it, the group of Pengulls will not lay eggs, and the Pengull icon will disappear from the world map.

Tentacle Spike Strategy[]

An effective way of obtaining drops from the Pengulls without being mobbed by the flock is to chase one away from the group until the Pengull calls can no longer be heard before attacking.

Another effective strategy requires Gunpowder, even though this can be excessive since the expense in resources isn't worth the reward. One can get the Rotten Eggs from a Birdcage crafted before Winter, and the other materials from Boulders and burnt Trees. The use of Gunpowder will let the player get cooked food, but will lose the Feathers due to the fire turning them to Ashes.

Another strategy to farm Pengulls, albeit mildly dangerous, is to find a Killer Bee Hive and wait for Pengulls to spawn nearby. Once a sizable amount have made their way to a close by location, the player can prod the Killer Bees to chase it, then kite them over to the Pengulls. Getting out of range of the bees will eventually set their aggro onto the flock. This can be done daily and repeatedly as the Bees will replenish in about a game day's time, as well as the Pengulls.

Pengulls can be very useful as a way to eliminate Hounds when they come periodically to attack the player. All the player needs to do is run in circles around the Pengulls and wait until each Hound changes focus onto the Pengulls. With a full flock of Pengulls, this should eliminate all Hounds in small to moderate waves. From there, the player can easily kill weakened flocks. The player can usually get all dropped loot without it being immediately eaten.

If playing as Wendy, she can set Abigail's aggro on the Pengulls to kill them with ease, especially at dusk or better at night.

If playing as Woodie in Don't Starve Together, one can craft a Weremoose Kitschy Idol to get rid of Pengull packs easily.

Below is the number of hits it takes with each weapon to kill a Pengull when playing with characters with a default damage modifier. The Weather Pain is not included due to the random nature of its projectile.

Weapon Fishing RodBug Net Lucy the Axe Shovel Pitchfork

Hammer Torch Umbrella

Walking Cane Willow's Lighter

Axe Pickaxe

Luxury Axe Opulent Pickaxe

Boomerang

PickSlashAxeSpear

Fire Dart Fire Staff

Bat Bat Ham Bat Morning Star Tentacle Spike Battle Spear

Thulecite Club Dark Sword

Tooth Trap Slurtle Slime

Blow Dart GunpowderOld Bell
No. of hits for
Penguin
36 12 9 6 5 4 3-6 3 or 4 3 2 1

Placeholder Trivia[]

  • The name "Pengull" is a portmanteau of "penguin" and "seagull".
  • Pengulls will also attempt to hide Eggs from caged birds if they are left on the ground, since both Eggs are identified as the same thing.
  • If starting the game in Winter, the ice sheets of the Pengulls nesting grounds will not appear until day 6.
  • Ice sheets can run onto the ocean, but they cannot be stepped on or flown over.
  • Pengulls were originally called Penguins.
  • Pengulls do not produce Manure, although they originally produced Manure that was half the size of regular Manure, which would take regular size once picked up.

Mosquito Bugs[]

  • Sometimes Pengulls will not hide their eggs, and the eggs can be collected without being attacked by the Pengulls.
  • When fleeing from the player, a Pengull may glitch out of the land boundary and into the ocean. A few seconds later, another whole flock of Pengulls will respawn.
  • Sometimes Pengulls will leave their ice patch in the middle of Winter.
  • Sometimes Pengulls will appear to spawn from the land right next to the ocean, rather than the ocean itself. However, this can occur because of camera placement.
  • Once in a while, two Pengulls will walk into each other immediately after spawning and get stuck.
  • Sometimes Pengull's breeding grounds overlap, making massive flock sizes on a single sheet of ice.

Blueprint Gallery[]

Advertisement