Wanamingo Wanamingos are mutant creatures that appear in " Fallout 2 " . Background . They are strange mutant animals that live mostly underground . Despite the rumors of their extraterrestrial origin , they were actually created with FEV as weapons for waging war on other countries and escaped into the wastes . In that aspect , they are similar to deathclaw s . In " Fallout 2 " , they are called " wanamingos " only in Redding and " aliens " elsewhere , but eventually , " wanamingo " came to be used for the species as a whole across the wastes . Characteristics . Biology . Morphologically , wanamingos are bipedal lifeforms that bear almost no resemblance to any other form of terrestrial life . They possess a large central body with a sizable mouth full of razor - sharp teeth , and a pair of long , tentacle - like appendages that appear to be used for both grasping objects and to batter opponents in combat . The creature ' s large head lacks visible sensory organs , but it does not seem to require eyesight in order to discern the location of prey . The creatures are devastating in close combat , chewing at foes and lashing at them with their tentacles . Through a process not entirely understood , these attacks also induce radiation poisoning . They hatch from eggs laid by a wanamingo queen — a large grey - colored wanamingo which others fearlessly protect . They aren ' t intelligent in the usual sense , but they do seem to have a hive - mind mentality . Range . Long - lived but unable to reproduce without a queen , they are slowly dying out by 2241 . The only known queen lives in the wanamingo mine in Redding . All " aliens " living in that mine are killed by the Chosen One in 2242 . Other wanamingos can be found scattered throughout the wasteland between Redding and San Francisco , most notably in the San Francisco tanker . As stated in the Fallout Bible , the Wanamingos go extinct 5 years after the events of Fallout 2 ( i . e . by 2246 - 2247 ) . . Gameplay attributes . Wanamingos are fierce foes and a potent threat to lower - level players . They are highly resistant to most damage types and can hurl a flurry of powerful attacks at their enemies in close combat . However , they have a natural weakness to fire and will flee if one of their feet becomes crippled . Variants . Wanamingo . Wanamingos are strange mutant animals that live mostly in underground colonies . They are often mistaken for extra - terrestrial beings , due to their otherworldly anatomy . They can easily shrug off damage which would tear the flesh from the bone of a human , and are truly a force to be reckoned with . Wanamingo queen . The wanamingo queen is the matriarch of the wanamingos , found in the depths of the mine in Redding . This is the only queen known to exist in 2241 . She can lay eggs for the reproduction of the wanamingos and can be found deep underground in her breeding room . Mutant wanamingo . Mutant wanamingo is a creature cut from the final version of " Fallout 3 " . This is a wanamingo very mutated by radiation . Its mouth has been enlarged , it has been rendered sans tentacles and has taken a pinkish color . It appears wildly different than those encountered in " Fallout 2 " . Appearances . Wanamingos appear only in " Fallout 2 " . Mutant wanamingos do not appear in the files of " Fallout 3 " , but can be found in the book " The Art of Fallout 3 " , an art book available with the Collector ' s Edition of the game . This book also includes a new version of wanamingo mutated by radiation .