Gnawty

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"Beaver" redirects here. For the characters fromVirtual Boy Wario Land, seeBeaver (Virtual Boy Wario Land).

Gnawty

Artwork fromDonkey Kong Country

First appearance

Donkey Kong Country (1994)

Latest appearance

Donkey Kong Bananza (cameo) (2025)

Latest portrayal

Mark Betteridge (1994)^[1]

Derived subjects
Neek Sneek

Comparable
Awk Dozy

Notable members
Really Gnawty Very Gnawty

Gnawties, sometimes referred to asGnawty Beavers,^[2]^[3] are walleyed beavers and basic enemies who first appear inDonkey Kong Country. They are typically the weakest and smallest in aDonkey Kong game's arsenal of enemies, similarly toGoombas from theSuper Mario franchise, being vulnerable to regular attacks such as stomps and rolls.

History[edit]

Donkey Kong Country[edit]

Rambi the Rhino defeats a Gnawty in Jungle Hijinxs of Donkey Kong Country

Two Gnawties inJungle Hijinxs, one of which has just been defeated byRambi

“Gnawty the beaver can berolled orjumped on!”

—Cranky Kong,Donkey Kong Country

InDonkey Kong Country, regular Gnawties are common enemies, being identified by their green-gray fur. They are one of the weakest enemies encountered byDonkey Kong andDiddy Kong on their journey, as they simply walk from side to side and can be defeated with any attack. The sound they make when defeated is the same as Diddy Kong's. A brown-fur variant of Gnawties is present in the game's two ruins-themed levels, which moves around while standing in the center hole of amillstone, behavior reminiscent of how a hamster uses ahamster wheel. In contrast to regular Gnawties, this variant cannot be defeated, as their millstones are indestructible and render them unreachable. These Gnawties act differently depending on the level they are in: the millstone-riding Gnawties inMillstone Mayhem move up and down or back and forth more or less quickly on a set path, while the ones inTemple Tempest remain stationary until being passed by the Kongs, whom they proceed to chase on land and in the air at different speeds along a set path until they encounter a dead-end wall.

Additionally, two of the game's bosses are Gnawties,Very Gnawty andReally Gnawty, both of whom require more hits to defeat than regular Gnawties. Very Gnawty is green-gray and Really Gnawty is pink-brown, reflecting the colors of both types of Gnawties. Although the Gnawty appearing on the original box art is a blue-gray fur, there are none of this color in the game.

In thegame's Game Boy Color remake, the regular Gnawties have a dark gray and green color (with one appearing dark green in the end credits), and the millstone-riding ones are red and gold. The millstone-riding Gnawties stand on top of the millstone rather than in its center, and the millstone itself is smaller. Giant Gnawties are featured in the Buddies Beware stage of theCrosshair Cranky mini-game mode, where they chase severalAnimal Buddies that Donkey Kong must help to escape by filling in the holes in their path. In addition to their size, these Gnawties stand out from other by a gray and orange color. They are the only enemies to appear in this mode alongsideKritters andKing K. Rool. In theGame Boy Advance remake, all Gnawties have a light gray fur, including the millstone-riding variant. However, theirphotograph in theScrapbook uses Very Gnawty's original artwork.

Donkey Kong Land[edit]

Gnawties, calledBatty Rats,^[4] are enemies inDonkey Kong Land. They appear in most levels, functioning identically to the green-gray ones seen inDonkey Kong Country. However, the millstone-riding variant does not return.

Uho'uho Donkey-kun[edit]

K rool's forces in Uho Uho Donkey Kun, first volume

A Gnawty amongK. Rool's troops inUho'uho Donkey-kun

Gnawties appear in the first volume of theUho'uho Donkey-kun manga, where they are under the command of King K. Rool and his first subordinate, a larger and more powerful Gnawty simply called "Gnawty". In the first chapter, their appearance is more animal-like than in games. They are part of the forces that attack Diddy Kong and seize thebanana hoard, which they then take to Gnawty. Later, they chase Donkey and Diddy who had gone in search of their bananas, but are finally defeated with the help ofRambi.

In the third chapter, they look more like their game counterparts, and their tails become checkered like Gnawty's. They take part in his plan to steal the Kong's bananas by transporting them in carts to the Gnawty's ruins (which is the Japanese name for the Millstone Mayhem and Temple Tempest levels in the game). While Donkey and Diddy have gone there, a Gnawty in a millstone attacks them by passing through a wall. As they are pursued, they jump onto the millstone, following its movement, and dismount it just before reaching a precipice. The Gnawty, too distracted by them to notice it, falls in.

Donkey Kong 64[edit]

A Gnawty inDK Isles

Gnawties (generically referred to asBeavers in-game and in most other sources) are enemies inDonkey Kong 64. They are larger and have light blue fur, a light yellow belly and beige ears, hands, feet and tail. Like their two previous appearances, they can be defeated with any attack. Gnawties are common in the surrounding shore ofDK Isles and inJungle Japes, and a few also appear inCrystal Caves. They are the opponents of the game's firstBattle Arena stage, Beaver Brawl. Apart fromKremlings, they are the only enemies to be present in one of these stages. In the area surrounding theCranky's Lab of Jungle Japes, Gnawties appear to be larger, with one of them being extremely larger. Despite their size, these Gnawties are as weak as regular ones.

Gnawties are the main focus of theBeaver Bother! minigame, where aKlaptrap has to guide a certain number of them into a pit before time runs out. Gnawties also appear inRambi Arena, where Rambi has to defeat as many Gnawties as possible before time runs out; defeating a Gnawty would reward two points to Rambi. Sometimes a gold Gnawty with a light blue belly appears in the arena, and defeating it rewards ten points.

Gold and blue Gnawties of various sizes appear at several moments in the game's main menu. In one of them, Rambi is chased by a little blue Gnawty and an even smaller gold Gnawty as all three roll alongbarrels. In another, a tower of four gold and blue Gnawties walks across the screen. Each one is smaller than the one below, the gold Gnawties lifting those above them with their noses while the blue ones hang upside down and one of them lifts the others with its feet. In another, a little blue Gnawty flees as Rambi is charging at it. Shortly after, the Gnawty reverses direction while joined by a little gold Gnawty, both now being pursued by Rambi, who then suddenly runs away when a gold Gnawty so enormous that its steps shake the ground starts chasing him, with the other two Gnawties following behind. In another, five very little blue and gold Gnawties approach Donkey Kong and stare at him. Donkey tries to shoo them away, but they squeak at him before fleeing when Rambi dashes through the background.

In one of the segments of the secret ending, a little gold Gnawty comes up behindDogadon and shouts at him as he is yelling at Diddy Kong. Dogadon then slowly tilts his head to look, but as the Gnawty shouts again, he quickly takes refuge behind Diddy Kong, sobbing. The Gnawty then stops, and when Dogadon cautiously raises his head, it resumes shouting, scaring him again. In another segment, a group of five little blue and gold Gnawties all scream together, accompanied by a giant gold Gnawty whose screams are so loud they shake the ground.

Donkey Konga 2[edit]

Statues of Gnawties holding torches appear on the score counter in the Battle mode ofDonkey Konga 2.

Donkey Kong Bananza[edit]

A Beaver fossil inDonkey Kong Bananza

The Beaverfossils inDonkey Kong Bananza are based on Gnawty's originalDonkey Kong Country artwork. These fossils can be found in theForest Layer, and an alternate color of said fossil in theGroove Layer.