Stereotypes of animals

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Stereotypes of animals show that certain animals are commonly represented with particular traits. When anthropomorphising a (non human) animal there are several stereotypes associated with some species that are frequently repeated. Sometimes this is an exaggeration of a real aspect of the creature, while other times it is taken from myth with the true origin forgotten. Such stereotypes are present in real life but are most commonly found in film and television.

Some stereotypes are popularised by one appearance in media. For example, Disney's 1942 film Bambi portrayed the titular deer as an innocent, fragile animal.^[1]

While some authors make use of these animal stereotypes others develop the character in the totally opposite direction.

Many modern stereotypes of animals have a long tradition dating back to Aesop's Fables, which drew upon sources that included Ancient Egyptian animal tales. Aesop's stereotypes were so deeply ingrained by the time of Apollonius of Tyana that they were accepted for animals' "true" nature:

	And there is another charm about him, namely, that he puts animals in a pleasing light and makes them interesting to mankind. For after being brought up from childhood with these stories, and after being as it were nursed by them from babyhood, we acquire certain opinions of the several animals and think of some of them as royal animals, of others as silly, of others as witty, and others as innocent.
—Flavius Philostratus, The Life of Apollonius of Tyana, 5.14.

[edit] Common modern (primarily Western) stereotypes

• The evil octopus
  • Many portrayals of octopuses in movies depict them as evil, such as The Little Mermaid and War of the Worlds
• The loyal dog
• The cruel wolf
  • Through the latter half of the 20th century, the wolf was increasingly portrayed in the opposite manner, as an especially dignified and capable wild form of dog and symbol of Nature. (eg. the Kevin Costner film, Dances With Wolves)
• The solitary or renegade wolf
  • From the phrase "Lone Wolf".
• The evil / cruel Tyrannosaurus
• The stubborn ass
  • From the character of Nick Bottom in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream
• The horny or virile donkey/stallion/bull
• The wily, cruel or intelligent fox
  • Reynard the Fox, a character in stories from medieval Europe, is depicted as a trickster.
  • Roald Dahl's book Fantastic Mr. Fox shows the fox as an intelligent saviour.
  • In Furry fandom, foxes are seen as extremely promiscuous, or "yiffy".
• The stupid and or easily frightened Chicken
• The cock/rooster who has delusions of grandeur or is vain.
  • The "Chanticleer and the Fox" tale from the Canterbury Tales.
• The gossipy goose
• The lazy cat
  • Many syndicated comics feature lazy cats, perhaps most notably Jim Davis' Garfield.
• The cute kitten
  • The Garfield character Nermal is an ironic representation of this stereotype.
• The proud, brave, or noble lion
  • From the assumed position at the "top" of the food chain, the lion is often referred to as the "King of Beasts" or "King of the Jungle", and is frequently portrayed as the literal ruler of the other animals in a given territory (eg. Disney's 1994 movie, "The Lion King").
• The mischievous monkey.
  • The expression "Monkey see, Monkey do"
  • The phrase See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
• The slow-witted moose.
  • The cartoon character Bullwinkle J. Moose is portrayed as slow-witted.
• The nervous ostrich
  • Ostriches are often portrayed as being nervous and are widely thought to bury their heads in the sand at the first sign of danger. In reality this is not true; the ostrich is more likely to respond by fleeing, or, failing in that, delivering powerful kicks, easily capable of killing a man or a lion.^[2]
• The wise owl
  • In Greek mythology, Athena is the goddess of wisdom and is regularly associated with the owl.^[3]
• The smelly skunk
  • Chuck Jones' Pepé Le Pew is one of the best-known animated skunks and propagates the idea that the animals emit their scent continuously.
• The lazy sloth
  • Sloth, one of the seven deadly sins, meaning spiritual apathy.
• The unforgetting elephant
  • From the folk-saying "An elephant never forgets."
  • Another popular misconception of elephants is that they fear mice, possibly thanks to cartoon depictions.^[4]
• The quiet mouse
  • Mice are frequently portrayed in animation as shy and physically-frail, often bookish, nerdy and/or glasses-wearing.
• The formal penguin
  • From the typical colouring which resembles a tuxedo or Black tie suit--they are often portrayed as upper-class restaurant waiters, prime examples occurring in the Disney movies Mary Poppins and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
• The curious / playful otter
  • From anyone who has ever watched one at an aquarium.
• The horny rabbit - Following naturally from the phrase "(to) breed like rabbits".
• The patient turtle / tortoise (No distinctions are generally made between the two.)
• The hyperactive / fast-running rabbit / hare (Again, generally not distinguished from each other.)
  • Both preceding stereotypes are probably most widely known due mainly to the fable of The Tortoise and the Hare.
• The fast-running cheetah is another animal noted for its speed
• The diligent ant and the lazy / carefree grasshopper
  • Both of these stem mainly from another fable The Ant and the Grasshopper in which the former works hard to prepare for the winter while the latter wastes the summer and fall having fun, only to have to beg food from the ant or starve. For this reason, grasshoppers are also sometimes characterized as social parasites (as in the Pixar movie A Bug's Life).
• The comical / always-laughing hyena
  • From the uncanny resemblance its call bears to a human laugh.
• The wanton and vicious wasp
  • Wasps are often portrayed as deliberate stingers of humans.
• The wiktionary:dopey (or "bumbling") bumblebee
• The evil snake
  • From its depiction in the Book of Genesis as an incarnation of Satan that deceives Adam and Eve into the first sin.
• The greedy and/or filthy pig
  • Both aspects are due to the natural pig lifestyle (when raised on a farm rather than a feedlot)—"greedy" from the way they devour any food put in front of them, "filthy" from the fact that a pig-sty is generally a soup of mud and feces which the pigs don't seem to mind at all (this also gives rise to the saying "Happy as a pig in shit.")
  • The stereotype may also derive in part from Judeo-Islamic cultures, whose concepts of kosher/halal teach that pigs are "unclean" for various reasons.
• The criminal raccoon
  • From the bandit-like black "mask" over its eyes. Also known for being notorious scavengers.
• The hyperactive squirrel
  • From their extreme speed.

[edit] Common modern Eastern Stereotypes

• The loyal / savage dog
  • While domesticated dogs were welcomed, wild dogs were dangerous to both humans and their cattle.
• The royal elephant
  • Most notable in Thailand and India, elephants are symbols of royalty.
• The proud horse
• The thieving mouse
  • As a mouse was a common pest, they were likened to thieves. However, in Japanese tradition, a mouse also guarantees a good harvest.
• The comical or lecherous octopus
  • Ultros is a prominent example.
  • In Japanese culture, the octopus is sometimes used in sexual situations. One famous example is a woodcut entitled The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife. A subset of Hentai makes use of octopus-like creatures in Tentacle porn.
• The stupid / rich pig
• The lucky / acquisitive cat
  • Cats are said to bring luck to business ventures. Many Japanese videogames feature anthropomorphic cats ("neko") in mercantile roles (e.g. Squaresoft's Secret of Mana) as well.
• The cute kitten
  • Catgirls occupy a niche in Japanese culture, most oftentimes as females dressed to some degree as a humanoid with cat elements like cat ears and a tail.
• The devoted / tricky rabbit
  • The former is from a Buddhist story where a rabbit offered itself as a gift to Buddha by leaping into a fire. In Kojiki, a white rabbit appears as a trickster.
• The friendly snake
• The proud tiger
• The wise and old turtle / tortoise

[edit] References