Hunting and tracking in Project Zomboid

Tracking is a Survival skill with 10 levels. You use it through Search Mode with the focus set to Animal Tracks (one source). A track you find shows a yellow marker. Right-click it and choose Inspect to get the species and a direction arrow. You earn XP by finding and inspecting tracks, and by sneaking near deer or rabbits.

That table is from one guide written for 42.20.4. Higher levels are also said to show how old a track is and to make you quieter near wildlife (one source).

Books: Animal Pawprints (levels 1 to 2), Hunting with Hemingway (3 to 4), Long Range Animal Tracking (5 to 6), The Smell of Ivory (7 to 8) and Understanding Animal Behavior Through Spoor Placement (9 to 10). See skill books.

Hunter trait: one data site says it costs 8 points and gives +1 to Aiming, Tracking, Sneaking, Short Blade and Butchering. Another guide says no trait or occupation gives Tracking. Check the trait screen in your own game.

• Deer (buck, doe and fawn) are always wild.
• Rabbits come in three wild breeds.
• Raccoons, mice and rats also exist.
• Squirrels and small birds can only be caught in traps (one source). See trapping.

Deer travel in groups of about 2 to 5 does plus males and fawns, and rabbits in groups of about 3 to 8 (one source). Players and guides agree that deer are found at forest edges, tree-lined fields and farmland more than in dense woods.

A 2023 developer blog described animal groups feeding around 05:00 to 07:00 and in the late afternoon, and resting at midday. That was a work-in-progress design, so treat the times as a hint.

1. Go to a forest edge or field, crouch, and turn on Search Mode with the Animal Tracks focus.
2. Walk a zigzag. Inspect each track and follow the arrow.
3. If you lose the trail, circle back from the last track you inspected.
4. Sneak once you see the animals. Deer run early.
5. Stand still and take a broadside shot with a rifle (one source).
6. Check for zombies before you walk to the carcass. The shot was loud.

Rain, fog and darkness make searching less effective (one source). Bows are not in the base game, according to player reports. A car will kill a deer, but roadkill gives much less meat. No source we found gives deer health, damage numbers or an Aiming level you need. See firearms and stealth.

• A rabbit fits in a bag. A deer carcass is bulky, so bring a car and use the trunk (one source).
• A butcher hook gives more and better meat than butchering on the ground, and it gives the hide.
• Build 42.20 increased the meat cuts from large animals on the hook (one source).
• Any sharp knife or cleaver works. Small animals use the Butcher Small Animal recipe.
• You get meat, bones, the hide and the brain, which is used for tanning (one source).
• Drying racks do not take meat, so cook it or freeze it (one source).

The full process is on the butchering and leather page.

• 42.20 fixed animal stress jumping to 100% near a running engine (one source).
• 42.22 Pre-Release: animals no longer die when their map cell unloads, and rabbit kits no longer starve (one source).
• One guide still calls Tracking unfinished, and early-2025 players reported tracks not showing even while XP went up. We have not seen that confirmed for 42.21.

Not found in any source: blood trails from wounded animals, wind or scent, carcass weight, and antler or head trophies as a butchering yield. If you can confirm any of these in game, tell us.