Despite never having managed to tame one of these, I think I know how it goes down. To make it easier to understand, I have divided this tutorial into segments called “Stages”.

Stage 1: The Prep Period

As it’s name suggests, during this Stage you will be preparing for the initial taming procedure by gathering resources and readying creatures. During this period, you will want to do the following:

-Gather biotoxin (preferably via a Spino for melee damage and to easily lure the Cnidaria to shore for easy killing. If a tamed Spino is not available, get them to notice you and then get to shore and snipe them with a crossbow). This is to keep the Quetzal asleep, as I didn’t realize how fast their torpor drops.

-Gather meat (and prime meat, if possible) for when you are actually taming the Quetzal. A Spino or Therizinosaurus up against some Paraceratherium may prove vital in earning enough meat, assuming the tamed creature in question can both take a beating, and DELIVER a beating.

-Ensure that you have tranq darts and their respective weapon (regular tranquilizer arrows won’t work because A. a bow may miss a lot, and B. Quetzals have a high torpor cap and an apparently quick torpor drain.) If you do not have these, ensure to stock up.

-Get your Tapejara ready (ensure it is on max hunger and is wearing a saddle). If you have multiple Tapejara and only one saddle, find the Tapejara who is currently wearing the saddle, take it from him/her, and put it on your primary/strongest Tapejara (Specifically health, speed and stamina are your friends in this situation).

Stage 2: Search and Attack

During this Stage, you will be in the air on your Tapejara (or Quetzal if you already have one) in a one-sided mid-air shootout. You will want to do the following once you have located a Quetzal:

-Switch to the front seat on your Tapejara and whistle to Target the Quetzal. Have your Tapejara set to follow so that it doesn’t try to land once it realizes that it is without a driver. Then whistle passive when you are getting too close (wild Quetzals are friendly, so don’t worry). This is done to preserve the stamina of your Tapejara.

-Ensure your ranged weapon is loaded with tranq darts, and shoot the Quetzal. Once it gets hurt, it will get scared and will overreact for a second, usually fearfully cawing at you as it does so. This might give you some time to sneak a few extra darts in. It will then sprint forward while looking back to ensure that you aren’t getting closer. Wait until it is out of render range, and then follow it. When you get close again, it will not be scared anymore. Rinse and repeat until unconscious.

Stage 3: Quetzal Protection

Once the Quetzal is unconscious, things apparently start to get heated. Not only do you have a somewhat quick torpor drain to work with, but you are also dealing with a creature that needs to be unconscious when taming but is also vulnerable to predators when unconscious that it normally would not be. Given these circumstances you will likely want to do the following:

-Build a fortification around the now sleeping Quetzal to give predators a harder time getting to it. If you have too few resources for this to be an option, then feed the Quetzal until it has eaten once. Once it has eaten, you and your tamed creatures will no longer be able to hurt it, so now you can summon one of your tamed creatures, for instance a Bronto, for guard duty. This will ensure that you are able to defend the Quetzal without having to worry about man-made structures to protect it.

-Check on the Quetzal regularly. This may seem like an obvious one, but not only does the Quetzal have a quick torpor drain, but even with a fine and mighty Brontosaurus guarding it, the Quetzal still is not immune to your mistakes during the time that it is unconscious, i.e if a predator such as a Raptor or pack of Raptors comes along, you’re gonna need to get back there on the double-time. For Rexes, have spiked wall traps and multiple Brontosauruses to try and beat them back for a bit. Even packs of Rexes will have a hard time getting past such a combination, especially if the Brontos in question are A. Adequately trained and B. Hopefully paired with some also adequately trained Paraceratherium. Heck, you could even add a tamed Rex to that if you really wanted to, which would give wild Rexes an even bigger struggle just to get to the Quetzal. Strength in numbers, after all.

Overall, this is a best-case scenario setup, and most people probably won’t have nearly this many resources. So my advice is this: practice makes perfect. If the Quetzal dies the first time, that’s okay. Rinse and repeat until you nail it down. This is just an outlook on the supplies and tactics you will most likely want to bring to the table in the case of wanting to tame a Quetzal. I wrote this tutorial/advice out of pure interest, and I hope that it helps an aspiring quetzal tamer like myself. Thanks for reading.