the game has non-player characters called "mobs" (short for mobile entity). there are many mobs in minecraft. some are real-life animals, like cows, pigs, and sheep. some are based on monsters, such as zombies or skeletons. there are also some which do not exist in the real world in any way, and are unique to minecraft, such as creepers, zombie piglins, and endermen. each mob has different things it can do. for example, players can kill cows to get leather, which can make items, and beef, which can be cooked to make food. the creeper, a hostile mob (meaning it tries to attack the player), will move close to the player and then explode, which usually causes so much damage that will kill the player. from it's name it slowly approaches you and explodes giving you instant death if it gets too close.