The Draenor Safari achievement will have you traveling around most of the continent to pick up various battle pets, and you'll have the opportunity to get a few extras from boss drops and looting. Fortunately, none of these pets are too terribly difficult to obtain.
It doesn't look like we'll ever have another Scourged Whelpling fiasco on our hands again (do you know how many days of /played my Death Knight hovered above Ice Crown?!?)
Below, you'll find the pets that should be in each zone (there's some cross-over of common pets, but primarily, these are the locations you'll find them). I have 90+ Alliance and Horde, so I'm able to cross over into all the zones without too much trouble.
However, if you've only got max-level (or 90+) toons, I'd suggest approaching Frostfire Ridge and Shadowmoon Valley from the water.
And, doing so as a Death Knight (with Path of Frost) or a Warlock (with a glyphed Dreadsteed) is usually easiest. I used my Dreadsteed on my Hord elock to get to Shadowmoon Valley with ease. Much easier than going via land and getting by oodles of mobs on your way (level 100 mobs, too!).
You'll find six pets (five through battles and one through a drop) in Frostfire Ridge.
- Around Stonefang Outpost north of the Horde garrison, as well as all around Colossal's Fall to the north.
Extra Pet: Fruit Hunter - Get it from an egg in Grom'Gar that takes 3 days to hatch. Here's a
guide on how to get your Fruit Hunter.
Gorgrond features several pets, as well as a few that you'll get as drops instead of pet battles.
Amberdab Wasp - Located to the east of Everbloom Wilds, as well as all around Tangleheart to the southeast. Lots in Everbloom.
Axebeak Hatchling - Clustered south of Beastwatch with a few spawn points to the north south of Everbloom Wilds. Not too common. Just too many Wood Wasps, not enough Axebeaks.
Junglebeak - Many spawn points all along the eastern side of Gorgrond. Also a small cluster to the east of Blackrock Foundry (not worth it to travel there though just for a Junglebeak).
Mudback Calf - Very cute pet! I found mine around Evermorn Springs in the south, but you can also find them northeast of High Pass. Seems to have a terrible spawn rate for green/blue quality.
Wood Wasp - Same pet-infested area as many of the other Gorgrond pets - just southeast of Beastwatch. Doesn't seem to be too terribly common, but not impossible to find.
Extra Pet: Parched Lizard - This pet isn't on the achievement (go figure), but you can still get it, which should help you reach the 600 unique pets achievement. Look for it in desert type areas.
Extra Pet: Doom Bloom - Get it from a boss drop in the middle of Gorgrond. Here's a
guide on how to find your Doom Bloom.
Extra Pet: Crimson Spore - Loot this pet from a spore within Tangleheart. Here's a
guide on how to get your Crimson Spore.
Other pets you'll randomly find in Gorgrond (which you've probably seen all over the Warcraft universe at this point) include Gold Beetles, Silkbead Snails, Brouwn Marmots, and Cockroaches. As if this game needed any more spawn points with Cockroaches...
Leatherhide Runt - This is the only pet in Nagrand (via wild capture) that's only available in this one zone. Anywhere Clefthoof spawn (all over the zone), you'll have a chance to find Leatherhide Runts.
Extra Pet: Meadowstomper Calf - Available through a quest line. You'll need to begin the Nagrand quests as they're presented to you during the leveling process to get the quest. Here's a
guide on getting it.
Extra Pet: Netherspawn, Spawn of Netherspawn - Drops from a mob named (obviously) Netherspawn. Easy to get, 100% drop rate. Guide on finding him
here.
Since there are two Nagrands (one in the Burning Crusade and the other in Warlords of Draenor), it's easy to get these two zones mixed up and what pets are available on WOD content. While the Clefthoof Runt is what you'll find in BC Nagrand, its counterpart in WOD Nagrand is the Leatherhide Runt.
Shadowmoon Valley is another area where there's a Burning Crusade version (full of pets) and a Warlords of Draenor version. If you've been collecting pets for a while, you probably have everything that the old Shadowmoon has to offer, and a few pets in the new Shadowmoon are a little bit hard to get...
Moonshell Crab - Easiest to find along the eastern shore to the east of Elodor. All in the northeastern quadrant of the zone.
Mossbite Skitterer - These pets have a habit of spawning as a secondary pet around Socrethar's Rise. You might have to fight a few random pets until you get one.
Zangar Crawler - All along the coast. Really easy to find. You can fight them on the same island where you get the Zomstrok drop.
Extra Pet: Strange Spore - Similar to the Crimson Spore in Gorgrond, the Strange Spore also comes out of a spore that you'll need to do some jumping to reach. Guide to reach it
here.
Extra Pet: Zomstrok - Unfortunately, this pet isn't a 100% drop rate and you actually have to do some old fashioned camping/farming. To farm him, go to the island that's southwest of Socrethar's Rise. Just kill everything on the island until you get him...
Extra Pet: Demidos - He drops from an elite mob of the same name on Socrethar's Rise. Have fun farming this one, too, because it's not a 100% drop rate.
Spires of Arak has some beautiful spots, but a lot of it's pretty dark and depressing. You'll find several pets in Arak from pet battles, as well as a few vendor pets, and some others.
Bloodsting Wasp - When you get the quest to go to the Pinchwhistle Gearworks, just travel north from the flight point and you'll see lots of them all up the zone.
Golden Dawnfeather - Pretty common throughout the zone. Mostly in the valley-type areas instead of the mountainous places. A good few groups around Southport, as well as Veil Zekk.
Swamplighter Firefly - Lots along the eastern coast of the zone, as well as around The Writhing Mire. If you go do the quests at Pinchwhistle Gearworks (and you will if you want your Salvage building for your garrison), you'll find tons of these along the coast.
Thicket Skitterer - Lots found all over the middle of Spires of Arak. Wander around the middle of the zone and you can't miss them.
Extra Pet: Hydraling - Drops from a mob named Varasha in a tunnel around The Writhing Mire. Here's a
guide on finding your Hydraling.
Extra Pet: Ikky from Kaliri Egg - You need to start a quest chain in Spires to get this pet. You'll come upon the quest naturally if you quest in the zone. It begins at a point just east of Axefall.
Extra Pet: Kaliri Hatchling - Buy from Vesharr, the daily pet quest NPC in Spires of Arak. Costs 10 gold. You can find a guide on him
here. Beat him once and then he'll sell to you.
Extra Pet: Veilwatcher Hatchling - Another purchase from Vesharr. Costs a hefty 1,000 gold, but if you're a pet collector, it's not too much... and you'll get a discount once you get Revered/Exalted with the Arakkoa Outcasts.
Note: You might notice "Son of Sethe" listed as a Spires of Arak pet, but he's actually a vendor pet you get with Arakkoa reputation. The vendor is in your capital city in Ashran which means Warspear for Horde and Stormshield for Alliance. He costs gold and apexis crystals. As far as I can tell, you don't get a reputation discount with this pet.
Talador has a bunch of pets in it, and it's also got a few extra drops from mobs and looted objects.
Brilliant Bloodfeather - Littered throughout the zone. You can't go five yards without running into one of these little birds. Lots around the first questing areas in the zone - Fort Wrynn and Voljin's Pride.
Flat-Tooth Calf - Found near the water just to the east of the Tomb of Lights. So puffy! So cute! One of the cuter pets this expansion has had to offer. Unfortunately, IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND.
Kelp Scuttler - As you'd expect, lots along the coast. You can find them all along the southwestern coastline, as well as on the northern coastline.
Mud Jumper - All around the rivers and islands in the eastern half of the zone. Tons of Mud Jumpers... no Flat-Tooth Calf spawns... *kicks pebble*
Royal Moth - The Royal Moth also hangs out in Shadowmoon, and you'll find tons all around the zone in Talador. Just about as common as the Brilliant Bloodfeather.
Shadow Sporebat - Spawn point is around Zangarra. Seems to be an inconsistent spawn, but probably a nighttime pet spawn.
Waterfly - Inland waterways have lots of Waterflies. Tons of them (they, too, seem to spawn in great numbers instead of the Flat-Tooth Calf). They also spawn in Shadowmoon Valley.
Extra Pet: Eye of Observation - You'll need some friends to get this pet. He drops from Orumo the Observer, and a full party needs to step on the runes. The pet isn't a 100% drop.
Extra Pet: Stonegrinder - Easy to find in northern Talador. He's a pretty neat little mechanical pet. I created a guide
here to help you find him.
Extra Pet: Teroclaw Hatchling - Another easy to find pet. You'll see little nests of eggs all around Talador - particularly near the starting quest hubs for each faction. Here's a
guide on how to get your Hatchling.
So, after flying all around Warlords of Draenor collecting these pets, you should get your achievement, Darenor Safari. As of this writing, I'm still working on that dumb Flat-Tooth Calf...
Hint: Want to know which pets from a certain zone you have and which you're missing? Just type the name of the zone in the search bar of the Pet Journal. So, for Gorgrond (for example), just type Gorgrond and you'll get a list of all the pets that drop in that zone. That way, you don't need to type in every single pet name individually to see if you've got it!
