Red Dead Redemption 2 nature documentary shows bears fighting wolves and pigs eating men

One Red Dead Redemption 2 player is making a series of videos cataloging one of the game's more underappreciated qualities: realistic animals.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is widely praised for how it depicts a fictionalized version of Western and Southern America in 1899, which feels almost shockingly alive. And there's no doubt the animals, which exhibit a range of behaviors you'd actually see in their real-life habitats, contribute greatly to that sense of realism.

The YouTube channel Red Dead Guides is responsible for this lovely compilation of animals like foxes, dogs, horses, and bears just doing their thing in Red Dead Redemption 2, just as they do in the real world. Foxes can be seen diving into snow in search of food, deers drink from streams, bears fight off wolves trying to take their food, and domestic dogs make fools of themselves rolling around in mud. As the video demonstrates, a closer look will reveal birds pecking away at leftover scraps and even pigs feasting on human remains, a grim reminder of nature's undiscriminating reality.

The video is the first in a series designed to showcase the lengths Rockstar went to make Red Dead Redemption 2 feel like a living, breathing place. The second entry in the series, just released Wednesday, shows a cat using a door as its personal scratching post, a dog urinating on a barrel ("mind your leg"), and more. It's all fascinating stuff that you might not notice while you're busy surviving an ambush or playing blackjack.

Be sure to familiarize yourself with our most essential Red Dead Redemption 2 tips, lest you wind up like the poor chap being eaten by pigs.