For repetitive animal behaviors, see Stereotypy (non-human)

When anthropomorphising an animal there are stereotypical traits which commonly tend to be associated with particular species. Often these are simply exaggerations of real aspects or behaviours of the creature in question, while other times the stereotype is taken from mythology and replaces any observation-based judgment of that animal's behavior. Some are popularised or solidified by a single particularly notable appearance in media. For example, Disney's 1942 film Bambi portrays the titular deer as an innocent, fragile animal.[1] In any case, once they have entered the culture as widely recognized stereotypes of animals, they tend to be used both in conversation and media as a kind of shorthand for expressing particular qualities.

While some authors make use of these animal stereotypes "as is", others undermine reader expectations by reversing them, developing the animal character in contrasting ways to foil expectations or create amusement, like a fastidious pig or cowardly lion.

Some modern stereotypes of animals have a long tradition dating back to Aesop's Fables, which draw upon sources that include ancient Egyptian animal tales. Aesop's stereotypes were so deeply ingrained by the time of Apollonius of Tyana that they were accepted as representative of the various types of animals' "true" natures:

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[2]

Animal stereotyping in general

Many animal stereotypes reflect anthropomorphic notions unrelated to animals' true behaviors. Carnivores, for instance, will be viewed as antagonists and their prey as the underdogs. Thus, while a shark feeds as nature intends, in folklore the shark tends to be stereotyped as "cruel", implying a conscious choice to inflict pain. Some stereotypes are based on mistaken or grossly oversimplified impressions; spotted hyenas, for example, commonly portrayed as cowardly scavengers, are efficient pack hunters with complex social structures.

Many misconceptions about animals were born out of ignorance. Due to a lack of biological research people were scared of certain species of whom they knew very little, apart from urban legends or occasional attacks that led to human deaths. Others were considered to be dangerous, merely because of their frightening appearance. This has led some animals to be portrayed as monsters, such as spiders, snakes, crocodiles, wolves, bats, rhinoceroses, gorillas, lions, tigers, bears, eagles, hawks, vultures, piranhas, sharks, whales, scorpions, ... The depiction of them as "monsters" is another example of oversimplification. Animals just follow their natural instincts and are not out to attack people, unless they happen to feel threatened and are in a position where they can't easily get away. Even predators will only possibly attack when hungry or to protect their offspring. In most cases animals are far more scared of people than the other way around and will likely run away.

In the opposite direction several animals who have a non-threatening appearance and actually look cute, cuddly, graceful and playful are often portrayed as adorable: rabbits, dogs, mice, kittens, sheep, seals, dolphins, chipmunks, monkeys, ladybugs, butterflies. Various pet owners tend to treat their pets almost as if they are toys or cute little babies. Once again, this is a serious oversimplification. Monkeys, for instance, may appear to be harmless, but like all animals can return to their natural instincts when people least suspect it and bite.

Despite these considerations, the use of animal stereotypes (the same goes to stereotypes of machinery in real life and fiction) are generally much less problematic than it is for human stereotypes.

Common Western animal stereotypes

Mammals

Armadillos

Bats

Bears

Beavers

Camels

Cats

Cattle

Cheetahs

The super fast cheetah, often depicted as an athletic racer

Cheetahs are known for being the fastest land animal. However, it only uses this ability when following a prey and even then the chase will only last about a minute. If it can't make a kill quickly, it will give up. Afterwards it will be exhausted and retain its normal speed. Examples Chester Cheetah, Cheetah, The Cheetahmen, Cheetara, the cheetah in the soccer team of Bedknobs and Broomsticks



Deer

Dogs

Donkeys

Elephants

Foxes

Giraffes

Goats

Hippopotamuses

Horses

Hyenas

Kangaroos and wallabies

Koalas

Lemmings

The suicidal lemming Lemmings tend to migrate in large numbers, which can include jumping off cliffs into the water and swimming great distances to the point of exhaustion and even death, but such an outcome is unintended. The stereotype of lemmings jumping off cliffs as a deliberate act of suicide was influenced by a Disney documentary, White Wilderness (1958) where the animals were chased off a cliff by the documentary makers, purely for some sensational images. [28] The misconception itself is much older, dating back to at least the late 19th century. [29]



Lions

Llama

The spitting llama Llamas spit at people in real life, but contrary to what most people think they don't actually spit saliva, but materials drawn from its stomach.



Mice

Moles

Moose

The slow-witted moose The cartoon characters Bullwinkle J. Moose and Lumpy are portrayed as slow-witted, as are Rutt and Tuke from Brother Bear . Sam Winchester from Supernatural is often compared to a moose because of his height and the Winchesters' habit of stating the obvious. For example, "It was night, and now it's day" and "Today is Tuesday, but yesterday was Tuesday, too".



Opossums

Otters

Pandas

Pigs

Polar bears

The cuddly, friendly polar bear Professor Paljas in Alfred J. Kwak , Breezly in Breezly and Sneezly

The cute polar bear Examples: Lars the Little Polar Bear, Polar from the Crash Bandicoot series



Rabbits and hares

Raccoons

Rats

Rhinoceroses

The aggressive or villainous rhinoceros Examples: Lord Rataxes, the castle guards in Disney's Robin Hood , Rocksteady Members of the anthropomorphic "rhox" race in Magic: the Gathering are portrayed as noble, but belligerent and hardheaded.



Seals

Sheep

Simians

Skunks

The smelly skunk Chuck Jones' Pepé Le Pew is one of the best-known animated skunks and propagates the incorrect image that the animals emit their scent continuously. Human characters often run in panic from the mere sight or smell of a skunk.



Sloths

The lazy, slow-witted sloth This stereotype is largely true, as sloths do indeed move very slowly in reality due to their metabolism being very low. They are named for the one of the seven deadly sins, sloth, meaning spiritual apathy. In the 2016 animated film Zootopia , sloths are depicted as performing basic tasks extremely slowly to the point where even completing basic sentences is difficult for them. Sid the prehistoric sloth in the Ice Age films is depicted as lively and fast-talking, in contrast to the "slow" stereotype. However, he is also depicted as naive and foolish.



Squirrels and chipmunks

Tigers

Walruses

Weasels

Wolves

Birds in general

Birds are often portrayed as stupid. The English language has the expression birdbrain , for people who aren't very bright. There are many urban legends about birds being so stupid that they accidentally hurt or kill themselves. [35] [36]

, for people who aren't very bright. There are many urban legends about birds being so stupid that they accidentally hurt or kill themselves. Another expression, "eat like a bird", derives from the notion that birds have small appetites.

Some birds have an association with beauty, peace and love. In British English "bird" can mean "pretty, attractive girl". The fact that songbirds whistle has also contributed to an association with peace, beauty and tranquillity.

An often told story claims that when humans touch birds' eggs or baby birds their mother will later reject them, because of the human scent. This is an urban legend, because birds have a limited sense of smell and cannot detect human scent. The story was likely thought up to prevent people from accidentally breaking eggs or separate baby birds from their parents.[37]

Chickens

Game fowl

The skittish and shy quail who manages to evade hunters Examples: Various cartoons from Warner Brothers and Disney

The proud peacock From the saying: "as proud as a peacock". Peacocks are often used as a symbol of vanity and pride.

The nervous pheasant Pheasants are often depicted as being worried about being shot at. Examples include the pheasants from Bambi and Mr and Mrs Pheasant in The Animals of Farthing Wood



Cranes

The graceful crane Examples: Master Crane from Kung Fu Panda , Crazylegs Crane, many ancient Chinese and Japanese water paintings depict cranes this way too



Crows and ravens

Ducks

Eagles

Falcons

The evil falcon Falcons, like eagles, are predatory birds. They are used to kill pigeons for bird control and were used to intercept homing pigeons in both World Wars. Examples: Shan Yu's falcon in Mulan , Falcon from Stuart Little 2 , the German falcons from Valiant .



Geese

Ibises

Magpies

The thieving magpie This image is derived from the belief that magpies sometimes steal shiny objects and bring them to their nest. In reality, while magpies do indeed steal, they do not target shiny objects, instead stealing food and the eggs of other birds. Examples: the opera The Thieving Magpie by Gioacchino Rossini, the magpie in Alfred J. Kwak, the one in the Tintin album The Castafiore Emerald , and in cartoons such as Mr. Bean .



Ostriches

The nervous and easily frightened 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. [47]



Owls

A cemetery monument for Hungarian engineer Adolf Czakó in Kerepesi , depicting him in the presence of an owl, symbolizing the man's wisdom.

Parrots, cockatoos and mynahs

The talkative, annoying, and/or smartypants parrot/cockatoo/mynah (no distinction) Parrots are also often portrayed as if they can actually converse with people, whereas real parrots can only mimic certain sounds. Examples: Paulie , Beo the mynah in the Nero story Beo de Verschrikkelijke ("Beo the Terrible") , Flip in Jommeke , Nigel in Rio , Popugai in 38 Parrots , Iago and Preston from Garfield 2



Pelicans

Penguins

Pigeons and doves

12th century Venetian mosaic depiction of Noah releasing a dove after the Great Flood ended. This is one of the origins of the image of doves as symbols of peace and goodwill.

Songbirds

Storks

The baby-delivering stork In western folklore, parents have told their children for centuries that babies are delivered by a stork. Examples can be found in the film Dumbo and the short Lambert the Sheepish Lion . Ollie from Alfred Jodocus Kwak , Vlasic ....



Swans

Vultures and buzzards

Woodpeckers

Woodpeckers are often portrayed as if they just peck other creatures as a defense, while real woodpeckers only peck at tree bark. Examples: Woody Woodpecker, the bad-tempered woodpecker in The Sword in the Stone



Reptiles and amphibians

Alligators and crocodiles

Dinosaurs and pterosaurs

Frogs and toads

Snakes

Lizards

Turtles and tortoises

Fish and sea mammals

Dolphins

Fish

The joyful fish. This stereotype is especially popular with tropical fish who often have bright colors. Examples: Cleo from Pinocchio , Flounder, Nemo, Marlin, Dory, Gill, from Finding Nemo , Oscar from Shark Tale



Goldfish

Orcas

Piranhas

The gluttonous piranha These fish are often portrayed as if they eat anything thrown into the water they swim in. Though piranhas are notorious for this behaviour, studies have proven that they don't always attack creatures in the water straight away. Examples: Piranha (1978 film), the piranhas in You Only Live Twice .



Sharks

Whales

Invertebrates

Ants

Bees

Butterflies

The beautiful, graceful, peaceful butterfly Butterflies are one of the few insects depicted as beautiful, rather than disgusting and/or repulsive. This image is derived from their often colourful wings and the fact that they are light and fragile creatures.



Crickets and grasshoppers

Crustaceans

Flies

Ladybugs

Ladybugs are always depicted as female in popular culture. This is a very old association. Though historically many European languages referenced Freyja, the fertility goddess of Norse mythology, in the names, the Virgin Mary has now largely supplanted her, so that, for example, "freyjuhœna" (Old Norse) and "Frouehenge" have been changed into "marihøne" (Norwegian) and "Marienkäfer" (German), which corresponds with "Our Lady's bird". [74] This also explains with it is one of the few insects associated with beauty, luck, peace and tranquility, making it a popular logo and mascot. Examples: The ladybirds in the songs Ladybird, Ladybird and "Mala Biedroneczka" are described as a mother with children. The ladybug in James and the Giant Peach is a motherly character. Cococinel in the 1990s animated series of the same name is female and Ferda Mravenec ("Ferdy the Ant")'s partner is also a ladybug.

This also explains with it is one of the few insects associated with beauty, luck, peace and tranquility, making it a popular logo and mascot. An antithesis would be Francis from A Bug's Life, who is tremendously troubled for constantly being mistaken for a female despite having a male voice and clearly identifying himself as a male.

Mantises

Spiders

Octopus

Termites

The destructive termite Because of the termite's reputation of eating wood and wrecking homes and buildings, which is greatly exaggerated in cartoons.



Wasps

Worms

Common East Asian animal stereotypes

Animal stereotypes in East Asian cultures (China, Japan, Korea, etc.) include:

Indian animal stereotypes

India has a rich tradition of animal stories and beast fables, including one of the world's oldest collections of stories, the Panchatantra and its later derivatives such as the Hitopadesha. Throughout these fables, the talking animals behave as humans (unlike the Aesop model, in which animals behave as animals), and are used to invoke characters with stereotypical personalities. There is also a distinction between wild and domesticated animals. Some common stereotypes include:

Lion: king of the forest; demonstrates all royal strengths and weaknesses. Brave, noble and proud but can be haughty and foolish. Has natural rivalry with the elephant. [88]

Jackal: greedy and cunning (akin to the fox in European tradition); sometimes punished but often gets away. Is often a manipulative minister to the king. [89]

Hare: small and vulnerable but compensates by being crafty, outwitting stronger rivals. [89]

Elephant (wild or domestic): noble, proud, strong; enemy of the lion but like the lion can be naive and, when in rut, wild and unpredictable. [90]

Cat (domestic or wild): cunning and hypocritical, with a calm appearance hiding murderous intentions. [91]

Tiger: Symbol of might and courage; celebrated as national animal of India. [92]

Dog: considered unclean and impure, reviled—not a pet but a pest; considered to lack self-respect. [90]

Mongoose: loyal and useful pet, best known for its natural enmity toward snakes. See The Brahmin and the Mongoose.[93]