Heron

The heron is a members-only skilling pet that can be obtained while training Fishing. The chances of getting it are dependent on the player's Fishing level, and the time it takes to gather a resource.

A heron can be turned into a great blue heron by feeding it 3,000 spirit flakes. The recolouring can be reversed by feeding the great blue heron any raw fish, while one spirit flake can be used to turn it back to blue.

When a player receives the pet, it will automatically try to appear as their follower. At the same time, a message in the chatbox will state You have a funny feeling like you're being followed. However, if a player receives a pet while having a follower out (for example, a cat), it will be placed into their inventory. When this occurs, the message in the chatbox will instead state You feel something weird sneaking into your backpack. This message also occurs if there is one last inventory space while the player already has a pet following them, in which case the pet will appear in the inventory instead and the resource dropped to the ground.^[1]

On death, if a player loses their pet (as a follower or in your inventory) it will wander around for 30 seconds before disappearing completely. It can then be reclaimed from Probita in East Ardougne.

Shown below are the base chances of receiving a heron.

A player's actual chances of receiving it is 1 in B - (Lvl * 25), where B is the base chance and Lvl is the player's Fishing level. The only exception is Fishing Trawler, which offers a 1/5000 chance to obtain a heron following a successful trip at minimum, scaling up to a 1/2,500 chance with full contribution.^[2] With minnows and karambwanji, the pet chance is rolled once each time fish are obtained (i.e. when experience is given), regardless of the number that were fished.

The fastest method on average to receive the heron is through 2-tick fishing, specifically sharks. If not using tick manipulation, anglerfish with diabolic worms are the fastest alternative. Using shark lures to catch sharks reduces the drop rate of the heron, making it 4x, 5x, or 6x rarer depending on if you use 1, 3, or 5 lures at once respectively.

To find the pet chance for a method at a given level, refer to the skill pet chance calculator.

Note: The Heron cannot be obtained from Harpoonfish at the Tempoross activity.

• The heron's dialogue is a quote from the 2003 film Finding Nemo, in which Nigel, a pelican, attempts to save Dory and Marlin from seagulls by transporting them away in his mouth.
• The heron's dialogue is similar to a quote from Terminator 2: Judgement Day when Sarah Connor is fleeing the T1000 in the mental hospital. "Come with me if you want to live!"
• The great blue heron's dialogue makes multiple references:
  • If offered burnt fish, the player will state that it is valuable, referring to other players who collect piles of burnt food.
    • The heron's reply calling the player a dancing donkey is a combination of a reference to celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and the Dancing Donkey Inn.
  • If offered a cooked fish, the heron will demand that the player uncook it; when the player states that they cannot, the heron in turn remarks about a cat who mastered uncooking, referring to Evil Bob and ScapeRune.
  • If offered eel sushi, the heron will talk about "bird culture", a reference to the popular cartoon Rick and Morty.
    • Likewise, the quote "How could a member of my own house say something so horrible?" is a reference to the popular cartoon Avatar: The Last Airbender.

v t e Pets
Boss pets	Aggy Baby mole Beef Bran Dark core Dom Huberte Kalphite princess Little Nightmare Moxi Muphin Scurry Skotos Smolcano Sraracha Maggot marquess Snakeling Phoenix Prince Black Dragon Tiny Tempor Vorki Yami Dagannoth Kings Dagannoth Prime Jr. Dagannoth Rex Jr. Dagannoth Supreme Jr. God Wars Dungeon General Graardor Jr. K'ril Tsutsaroth Jr. Kree'arra Jr. Nexling Zilyana Jr. The Forgotten Four Baron Butch Lil'viathan Wisp Raids Olmlet Lil' Zik Tumeken's Guardian Slayer Abyssal orphan Gull Hellpuppy Kraken Noon Smoke Devil Nid Ikkle Hydra Wilderness bosses Callisto cub Chaos Elemental Jr. Scorpia's offspring Venenatis spiderling Vet'ion Jr. Minigames Abyssal protector Jal-Nib-Rek Lil' Creator Penance Pet Smol Heredit TzRek-Jad Youngllef
Skilling pets	Baby chinchompa Beaver Fox Pheasant Giant squirrel Heron Mr mcgroot Rift guardian Rock Golem Rocky Soup Tangleroot Quetzin
Cats	Kitten Adult Overgrown Wily Lazy Hellcat Toy
Other pets	Bloodhound Broav Chompy chick Egg Fish Herbi Mayor of Catherby Rock Spooky chair Archibald
NPC followers	Dr Banikan Elias White Gary Gnome child Grubfoot Ivan Strom Knight of Varlamore Nieve Prince Itzla Arkan Silif Veliaf Hurtz Zanik

v t e Tempoross
NPCs	Tempoross Captain Pudi Captain Dudi Cannoneer First Mate Peri First Mate Deri Spirit pool
Gameplay	Fishing spot Raw harpoonfish Harpoonfish Crystallised harpoonfish Lightning cloud Harpoonfish cannon Mast Shrine Totem pole
Rewards	Spirit flakes Big harpoonfish (stuffed) Casket Dragon harpoon Fish barrel (sack) Tackle box Tome of water Soaked page Spirit angler's outfit Headband Top Waders Boots Miscellaneous Great blue heron Tiny tempor Mounted harpoonfish
Scenery	Ammunition crate Buckets Fire Hammers Harpoons Ropes Water pump
Related	Strategies Reward pool Ruins of Unkah Spirit Anglers Tempoross Cove Tempor of the Storm Ferry The Tempor Tantrum