Zynga teased us a little while with the introduction of animals in Mafia Wars and recently, they all went live: and “all” means quite a few animals in all the cities available in the game, so you might be wondering which are the best animals in Mafia Wars you can get for free or regular coins, especially since some of them have some really crappy stats, at least for high level players…

The best Mafia Wars attack animal (best attack stats): the Chain Viper.
Stats: 46 Attack, 33 Defense
Lootable: YES!
Where to get it: Bangkok, Episode 7, Silence A Shadow Kingdom Patrol mission

The best Mafia Wars defense animal (best defense stats): the Forest Scorpion
Stats: 25 Attack, 37 Defense
Lootable: YES!
Where to get it: Bangkok, Episode 4, Set Up An Opium Shipment mission

Also, there are two even better animals you can get in Mafia Wars, but these are not lootable, are expensive and quite difficult to get to. They are available in Bangkok (again), in the Faction Stores, meaning that in order to get them you’ll need to have an allied status with the Triads or Yakuza. However, it is definitely worth the trouble since their stats are:

Banded Krait: 51 Attack, 28 Defense
Xiamen Tiger: 26 Attack, 52 Defense

Did you get any of these top animals already?