ARK: Survival Evolved Wiki
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Steam 223.0
Nov 12, 2015
Xbox One 729.0
Dec 16, 2015
PS 501.0
Dec 6, 2016
Logo Mobile 1.0
May 24, 2018
Nintendo Switch 599.0
Nov 30, 2018
Epic Games 311.74
Jun 11, 2020
Stadia 678.15
Sep 1, 2021
Variants
Spawn Command
cheat summon Kairuku_Character_BP_C
or
cheat SpawnDino "Blueprint'/Game/PrimalEarth/Dinos/Kairuku/Kairuku_Character_BP.Kairuku_Character_BP'" 500 0 0 35
Variant Kairuku (Gauntlet2)
cheat summon Kairuku_Character_BP_STA_C
or
cheat SpawnDino "Blueprint'/Game/Genesis2/Missions/ModularMission/Gauntlet2/STA/Dinos/Kairuku_Character_BP_STA.Kairuku_Character_BP_STA'" 500 0 0 35
Taming Method
Preferred Kibble
Preferred Food
Preferred Food ARK: Survival Evolved Mobile
Equipment
22 - 30 °C / 72 - 86 °F
Egg Incubator (Genesis Part 2) Egg Incubator: 26 °C / 79 °F
Incubation Time
1h 30m 54.109s
Baby Time
2h 48m 21.01s
Juvenile Time
11h 13m 24.041s
Adolescent Time
14h 1m 45.051s
Total Maturation Time
1d 4h 3m 30.102s
Breeding Interval
18h - 2d
Habitat

Common             Rare
  Untameable   Cave

The Kairuku (Ky-roo-koo) is one of the Creatures in ARK: Survival Evolved.

Basic Info[]

Dossier[]

This section is intended to be an exact copy of what the survivor Helena Walker, the author of the dossiers, has written. There may be some discrepancies between this text and the in-game creature.

NoteHelena
Species

Kairuku waitaki

Time

Late Paleogene

Diet

Piscivore

Temperament

Friendly

Wild

Kairuku waitaki is an amazingly docile and friendly creature, to everything but fish. Honestly, I'm not quite sure how Kairuku manages to stay populated across the Island's colder climes, with the many predators stalking these frozen lands. It is weak, and has only one small defensive trait: suspended in Kairuku blubber are small, dense particles that act as a light form of armor. Adding to Kairuku's problems, a clever survivor discovered that refining Kairuku blubber (concentrating the particles in it) can yield a natural form of the same Polymer utilized in advanced tribes' manufacturing processes. This has caused many tribes to hunt Kairuku extensively, a practice colloquially known as "Kairu Clubbing."

Domesticated

There is no reason to tame Kairuku for combat, since they are useless at it. Still, Kairuku are regularly tamed for their cuteness and friendly nature, and the fact that their bodies run extremely hot. Just standing near Kairuku can help keep a survivor stay warm through long, harsh nights on the icebergs.

Behavior[]

The Kairuku can be found on the mainland of the northwestern part of the island, or swimming in the waters surrounding them. They are sparse throughout the eastern shores of the island, often being hunted by dilos. They are passive creatures that will not attack anything. If they are attacked, they will attempt to flee. They can often be seen in small colonies consisting of individuals of various ages.

Appearance[]

Resembles a typical penguin in all aspects save for their long, pointed beak and wood stork-like head scales. Although clumsy and sluggish on land, they are excellent swimmers.

Color Scheme and Regions[]

This section displays the Kairuku's natural colors and regions. For demonstration, the regions below are colored red over an albino Kairuku. The colored squares shown underneath each region's description are the colors that the Kairuku will randomly spawn with to provide an overall range of its natural color scheme. Hover your cursor over a color to display its name and ID.

This information can be used to alter the Kairuku's regions by entering cheat SetTargetDinoColor <ColorRegion> <ColorID> in the cheat console. For instance, cheat SetTargetDinoColor 0 6 would color the Kairuku's "back and markings" magenta.

Kairuku PaintRegion0
Region 0:
Back and Markings
13
14
20
22
24
27
34
35
Kairuku PaintRegion1
Region 1:
Beak
14
19
21
23
28
30
32
33
36
Kairuku PaintRegion2
Region 2:
Feet
13
14
20
22
24
26
27
29
31
33
34
35
X mark

Region 3 is not used
for this Creature.

Kairuku PaintRegion4
Region 4:
Osteoderms
14
20
22
24
27
29
31
34
X mark

Region 5 is not used
for this Creature.

Drops[]

The younger the Kairuku is, the more prime meat (0-6) and Organic Polymer it drops. Using a Wooden Club will also increase the yield of Organic Polymer.

Base Stats and Growth[]

Attribute Base Value Level Increase Taming Bonus
Wild Tamed Additive Multiplicative
Health Health 95 +19 +5.4% 0.07
Stamina Stamina 200 +20 +10%
Oxygen Oxygen N/A N/A N/A
Food Food 900 +90 +10% 15%
Weight Weight 70 +1.4 +4%
Melee Damage Melee Damage 8 +0.4 +1.7% 14% 17.6%
Movement Speed Movement Speed 100% N/A +1% 200%
Torpidity Torpidity 300 +18 N/A 0.5
Movement
[u/s]
Base Speed Sprinting Speed Stamina
Wild Tamed1 Tamed2 Wild Tamed1 Tamed2
Walking 70 ? ? 147 80.85 242.55 4
Swimming 450 ? ? ? ? ? ?
  • 1These are the base speeds of the creature at 100% Movement Speed.
  • 2These are the speeds of the creature tamed and non-imprinted.
  • For a comparison of the speeds of all creatures, see Base Creature Speeds.
Attack Values
Melee Stamina Cost Attack Range Description
Base Minimum Activation The Kairuku pecks at the target.
0 80 0 125
Attack Type Damage Projectile Values Torpor Values Status Effect: Stamina Status Effect: Torpidity
Life Impulse Radius Base Mult Duration Damage Mult Amount Duration Damage Mult Amount
Melee 8

Wild Stats Level-up

Type in values of a wild creature to see on which stats it's emphasized. Green values on a high-level creature are very good for breeding. If you have already tamed your creature you can try to recover the breeding stats with an external tool.[1]

Kairuku

The stat-calculator does not work in the mobile-view, see here for alternatives: Apps

Note that after the creature is tamed it gets bonuses on some stats depending on the taming effectiveness. This makes it hard to retrieve the levels on a tamed creature, so this tool is only for wild ones, but gives a first impression, how well the stats are distributed.

Taming[]

Kairuku Level 1 Narcoberry Narcotic Bio Toxin Time
Basic Kibble Basic Kibble 1 0 0 0 0:00:36
Raw Mutton Raw Mutton 2 0 0 0 0:01:07
Cooked Lamb Chop Cooked Lamb Chop 4 0 0 0 0:02:14
Raw Prime Meat Raw Prime Meat 3 0 0 0 0:01:41
Cooked Prime Meat Cooked Prime Meat 5 0 0 0 0:02:47
Raw Prime Fish Meat Raw Prime Fish Meat 6 0 0 0 0:01:41
Raw Meat Raw Meat 7 0 0 0 0:03:54
Cooked Prime Fish Meat Cooked Prime Fish Meat 11 0 0 0 0:03:09
Cooked Meat Cooked Meat 13 0 0 0 0:03:37
Raw Fish Meat Raw Fish Meat 16 0 0 0 0:04:27
Cooked Fish Meat Cooked Fish Meat 32 0 0 0 0:04:27
KO: Wooden Club Hits × 30; Slingshot Hits × 13; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Bow × 4; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Crossbow × 2; Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 2; Shocking Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 1
Torpidity-depletion: 1 / s, Time until all torpidity is depleted: 00:05:00
Kairuku Level 30 Narcoberry Narcotic Bio Toxin Time
Basic Kibble Basic Kibble 2 0 0 0 0:01:12
Raw Mutton Raw Mutton 4 0 0 0 0:02:14
Cooked Lamb Chop Cooked Lamb Chop 7 0 0 0 0:03:54
Raw Prime Meat Raw Prime Meat 5 0 0 0 0:02:47
Cooked Prime Meat Cooked Prime Meat 9 0 0 0 0:05:00
Raw Prime Fish Meat Raw Prime Fish Meat 11 0 0 0 0:03:04
Raw Meat Raw Meat 13 0 0 0 0:07:14
Cooked Prime Fish Meat Cooked Prime Fish Meat 22 0 0 0 0:06:17
Cooked Meat Cooked Meat 26 0 0 0 0:07:14
Raw Fish Meat Raw Fish Meat 32 6 2 1 0:08:54
Cooked Fish Meat Cooked Fish Meat 64 6 2 1 0:08:54
KO: Wooden Club Hits × 83; Slingshot Hits × 34; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Bow × 10; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Crossbow × 6; Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 4; Shocking Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 2
Torpidity-depletion: 1.67 / s, Time until all torpidity is depleted: 00:08:14
Kairuku Level 60 Narcoberry Narcotic Bio Toxin Time
Basic Kibble Basic Kibble 3 0 0 0 0:01:47
Raw Mutton Raw Mutton 6 0 0 0 0:03:21
Cooked Lamb Chop Cooked Lamb Chop 10 0 0 0 0:05:33
Raw Prime Meat Raw Prime Meat 7 0 0 0 0:03:54
Cooked Prime Meat Cooked Prime Meat 13 0 0 0 0:07:13
Raw Prime Fish Meat Raw Prime Fish Meat 17 0 0 0 0:04:44
Raw Meat Raw Meat 20 6 2 1 0:11:07
Cooked Prime Fish Meat Cooked Prime Fish Meat 33 0 0 0 0:09:26
Cooked Meat Cooked Meat 39 4 1 1 0:10:51
Raw Fish Meat Raw Fish Meat 49 30 8 4 0:13:37
Cooked Fish Meat Cooked Fish Meat 98 30 8 4 0:13:37
KO: Wooden Club Hits × 137; Slingshot Hits × 56; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Bow × 16; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Crossbow × 9; Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 7; Shocking Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 4
Torpidity-depletion: 2.17 / s, Time until all torpidity is depleted: 00:10:28
Kairuku Level 90 Narcoberry Narcotic Bio Toxin Time
Basic Kibble Basic Kibble 4 0 0 0 0:02:23
Raw Mutton Raw Mutton 7 0 0 0 0:03:54
Cooked Lamb Chop Cooked Lamb Chop 13 0 0 0 0:07:13
Raw Prime Meat Raw Prime Meat 9 0 0 0 0:05:01
Cooked Prime Meat Cooked Prime Meat 18 0 0 0 0:10:00
Raw Prime Fish Meat Raw Prime Fish Meat 22 0 0 0 0:06:07
Raw Meat Raw Meat 27 30 8 4 0:15:01
Cooked Prime Fish Meat Cooked Prime Fish Meat 44 5 2 1 0:12:34
Cooked Meat Cooked Meat 53 28 7 4 0:14:44
Raw Fish Meat Raw Fish Meat 66 65 17 9 0:18:21
Cooked Fish Meat Cooked Fish Meat 132 65 17 9 0:18:21
KO: Wooden Club Hits × 191; Slingshot Hits × 78; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Bow × 22; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Crossbow × 13; Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 9; Shocking Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 5
Torpidity-depletion: 2.63 / s, Time until all torpidity is depleted: 00:12:05
Kairuku Level 120 Narcoberry Narcotic Bio Toxin Time
Basic Kibble Basic Kibble 5 0 0 0 0:02:58
Raw Mutton Raw Mutton 9 0 0 0 0:05:01
Cooked Lamb Chop Cooked Lamb Chop 17 0 0 0 0:09:27
Raw Prime Meat Raw Prime Meat 11 0 0 0 0:06:07
Cooked Prime Meat Cooked Prime Meat 22 0 0 0 0:12:13
Raw Prime Fish Meat Raw Prime Fish Meat 28 0 0 0 0:07:47
Raw Meat Raw Meat 33 55 15 8 0:18:21
Cooked Prime Fish Meat Cooked Prime Fish Meat 55 26 7 4 0:15:42
Cooked Meat Cooked Meat 66 55 15 8 0:18:21
Raw Fish Meat Raw Fish Meat 83 107 28 14 0:23:04
Cooked Fish Meat Cooked Fish Meat 165 106 28 14 0:22:56
KO: Wooden Club Hits × 245; Slingshot Hits × 100; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Bow × 28; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Crossbow × 16; Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 12; Shocking Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 6
Torpidity-depletion: 3.05 / s, Time until all torpidity is depleted: 00:13:21
Kairuku Level 150 Narcoberry Narcotic Bio Toxin Time
Basic Kibble Basic Kibble 5 0 0 0 0:02:58
Raw Mutton Raw Mutton 11 0 0 0 0:06:07
Cooked Lamb Chop Cooked Lamb Chop 20 0 0 0 0:11:06
Raw Prime Meat Raw Prime Meat 14 0 0 0 0:07:47
Cooked Prime Meat Cooked Prime Meat 27 7 2 1 0:15:00
Raw Prime Fish Meat Raw Prime Fish Meat 34 0 0 0 0:09:27
Raw Meat Raw Meat 40 91 24 12 0:22:14
Cooked Prime Fish Meat Cooked Prime Fish Meat 67 55 15 8 0:19:08
Cooked Meat Cooked Meat 80 91 24 12 0:22:14
Raw Fish Meat Raw Fish Meat 100 156 41 21 0:27:47
Cooked Fish Meat Cooked Fish Meat 199 154 41 21 0:27:39
KO: Wooden Club Hits × 299; Slingshot Hits × 122; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Bow × 34; Tranquilizer Arrows with a Crossbow × 19; Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 14; Shocking Tranquilizer Dart Shots × 7
Torpidity-depletion: 3.46 / s, Time until all torpidity is depleted: 00:14:24

Note that the values are for optimal cases, always bring extra supplies!
For a level-dependent count of resources needed, try an external taming calculator.

KO Strategy[]

The Kairuku has low health and high torpor, making it very difficult to knock one unconscious without killing it. An engram-quality bow or a Longneck Rifle with Tranquilizer Darts are recommended, as the former deals damage in smaller increments, allowing for easier control, and the latter deals low damage and high torpor.
Once attacked, all Kairuku in the area will attempt to flee, but their slow speed makes it easy to keep up with them so long as they do not reach the water.

Combat[]

This section describes how to fight against the Kairuku.

General[]

Kairukus are harmless creatures that can be easily killed by any player. They provide great amounts of material for a small fight, so attacking them can be very beneficial to a player of any level.

Strategy[]

Since it is incapable of fighting back, any battle is purely one-sided in favor of the player. It is possible to take a Kairuku down to tame using tranq arrows, however, the guaranteed way to knock one out is with tranquilizer darts shot from a longneck. Do not try to knock out a Kairuku with another dinosaur for the Kairuku will die very quickly.

Weaponry[]

Kairukus can be easily killed with bare hands. Anything that does greater damage will simply make the process faster. Often, simply walking over them with a mount that applies crush damage(Rex, Spino, Giga, Bronto, etc.) will kill them, sending their bodies rolling to the side.

Dangers[]

Fighting Kairukus is not dangerous as they cannot possibly hurt the player. However, due to the cold climate in the Snow Biome, it is recommended to wear Fur Gear while fighting them. Also make sure to not chase them into bigger dinosaurs that are dangerous, like Sabertooths or a pack of Direwolves. Its biggest threat however is the fact that if you kill it you have to live with the soul crushing guilt of having done so. (the same can be said with Dodo)

Weakness[]

Kairukus are slow, have low health and don't fight back.

Utility[]

Roles[]

  • Organic Polymer: Killing and harvesting a Kairuku will produce organic polymer. Surprisingly, the best tools for this are the Wooden Club and Chainsaw (Scorched Earth). Having a male and female Kairuku results in the ability to breed them, producing a baby that can be killed and harvested for polymer and also prime meat, which is cruel but effective.
  • Storage Container: Kairukus make great storage boxes for any light weight materials like fiber or hide. Pretty much anything you will have a huge quantity of stacks and don't want to make multiple containers for. They can sit on top of your smithy for easy access (Level weight). Kairukus make especially better storage boxes compared to other small dinos for two main reasons: their diet is one of the easiest to satisfy (a nearby trough with any meat) and they provide an insulation bonus to cold when you are close to them making any cold base locations more manageable without having to actively do anything.
  • Water Combat: While helpless on land, a swarm of trained Kairuku can be quite an effective escort underwater. A dozen or more set to follow a player and defend them can take out any sea creature due to their agility and speed underwater. Most effective when their melee, speed, and stamina are leveled up. The swarm movement is truly beautiful to watch. You will need to be a conscientious shepherd as individuals can get stuck in rock formations or in coastal areas.
  • Egg Farm: Kairuku can make a good egg farm for smaller creatures if you do not wish to waste greater kibble on such creatures.
  • Pet: Due to their cuteness, they are definitely a survivor's favorite.
  • Fisher:
  • Damage:

Passive Abilities[]

  • Insulation - Standing next to a Kairuku provides 26 ColdHypothermic insulation, which decreases based on your distance from it, up to about 1 foundation horizontally or 1 wall vertically. Standing next to multiple Kairuku will compound the effect.

Collectibles[]

Spotlight[]

Notes/Trivia[]

For information pertaining specifically to the real-world Kairuku, see the relevant Wikipedia article.

  • Dossier revealed on 9/14/15 on Steam.[2]
  • Kairuku's genus name means "diver who returns with food" in Māori.
  • The Kairuku is the first creature in the game to have babies in the wild.
  • Kairuku can be picked up by anything that has the ability to carry(baby, juvenile, adolescent and adult).
  • The Dossier states that hunting Kairukus is a practice called "Kairu Clubbing." This is most likely a satirical reference to seal clubbing (which is the hunting of seals for their pelts and blubber without them putting up a fight), because both animals are small, blubberous, and found in cold climates.
  • K. waitaki is the same name as the type species of genus Kairuku. All other animals in the game share only the generic name with their real-life counterparts.
  • Since the v241, The best way to move them is to pick them up in your hands and toss them, but you can't hold a tool or weapons while doing so.
  • If you do tame a Adolescent or younger wild Kairuku (likely through the use of Tripwire Narcotic Trap Tripwire Narcotic Trap or ForceTame), you won't be able to imprint on them when the timer finishes.
  • Kairuku are able to wear helmets like the Gigantopithecus Gigantopithecus and Mesopithecus Mesopithecus
    • Will Wear the Flak Helmet on a backwards Pitch due to the face mask on the helmet.
  • Real world penguins breathe air and hold their breath underwater, but Ark's Kairuku don't use oxygen.

Changelog[]

Patch Changes
223.0 Kairuku Kairuku is added to the game
223.1 Reduced Organic Polymer Organic Polymer yield from Wooden Club Clubbing a Kairuku by 40%
261.0
262.0 Kairuku now only spawn on icebergs and snowy coasts on The Island
293.100 With the new kibble rework, Kairuku now has a favored kibble, Basic Kibble Basic Kibble. Base taming affinity effectively increased by 30%

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. ARK Smart Breeding
  2. Jat (14 September 2015). "Introducing the Kairuku!". Announcements. ARK: Survival Evolved Steam Community. Retrieved September 30, 2015.
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