History Main / PredatorsAreMean

->''"Oh, I know what it is. You're afraid, because I'm the Big, Bad Wolf! Well, I'm not surprised. I AM the villain in every story."''

* {{Deconstructed}} and {{Subverted}} in [[WesternAnimation/{{Zootopia}} Zootopia]]. The movie takes place in a {{World of Funny Animals}}, where regular mammals have evolved to become intelligent, although [[FantasticRacism prey animals still see predators with these stereotypes in mind.]] These stereotypes are only reaffirmed when [[spoiler: it’s revealed that the predators are going savage and attacking innocent civilians on sight.]] However, it turns out that predators are some of the nicest characters in the film, and that they’re just trying to live their lives like anyone else. [[spoiler: The real reason that they were going savage is because they were being forcefully injected a drug by [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain racist sheep]].]]

This is a common way to deal with predators in talking animal fiction. This trope may be one of TheOldestOnesInTheBook, despite predators serving a vital ecological role (no apex predators=too many herbivores=ecosystem completely collapses), or needing to eat meat to live. On the other hand, to the mouse, what the owl is like inside isn't as relevant as that it's trying to eat you. When the story focuses on a prey animal, there's not a lot of ways to keep predators from being monstrous. SapientEatSapient is a justified case of this, since there are sapient predators that know what they are doing and sapient prey that has a right to live. The more anthropomorphic they are shown to be the more likely they are to overhunt. There are still a few ways to avoid this though, the most famous being with the fish-eating characters who are often spared sympathy thanks to their targets being non-sapient (see NoCartoonFish for more about that trope).

Subtrope of GoodAnimalsEvilAnimals and AlwaysChaoticEvil. Often seen in conjunction with CarnivoreConfusion. Can overlap with HumansAreTheRealMonsters, and maybe even HumansAreCthulhu (particularly in {{Xenofiction}}). Goes hand-in-hand with SuperPersistentPredator, HerbivoresAreFriendly, ScavengersAreScum. Contrast PredationIsNatural. In-universe might explain the XenophobicHerbivore. May be one of the reasons why ReptilesAreAbhorrent--note that [[LovableLizard lizards]] and [[WiseOldTurtle turtles]], two groups that include herbivores, get to be protagonists more often than snakes and crocodilians, which are all predators. At times some predators appear as a non-anthropomorphic third party in a conflict either because they are the only true animals or because they have no interaction with the established individuals in which case they may be neutral characters just as likely to eat the bad guys- if not more so. Certain predators have their own pages, such as [[FoulFox foxes]].

[[folder:Real Life]]
* This trope had a major distorting effect on early conservation efforts in late 19th and, to some degree, in early 20th centuries. Many early conservation advocates felt that, while "moral" species like the deer were worth preserving, "immoral" species like wolves were not and deserved to be hunted to extinction.
-->[[OldShame Since then]] I have lived to see state after state extirpate its wolves. I have watched the face of many a newly wolfless mountain, and seen the south-facing slopes wrinkle with a maze of new deer trails. I have seen every edible bush and seedling browsed, first to anaemic desuetude, and then to death... In the end the starved bones of the hoped-for deer herd, [[GoneHorriblyRight dead of its own too-much,]] bleach with the bones of the dead sage, or molder under the high-lined junipers. I now suspect that just as a deer herd lives in mortal fear of its wolves, so does a mountain live in mortal fear of its deer.
-->-- '''Aldo Leopold''', ''Thinking Like a Mountain''
* A seemingly rare real-life example at first would be the monstrous [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_(crocodile) Gustave]], an enormous Nile crocodile. Gustave is believed to be at least 60 years old, but might be closer to a hundred, has been the target of several hunts that have all failed, and was last seen in June 2015 while dragging an entire bull buffalo into the water. He's suspected to have killed around 300 humans as well, but this is often seen as a exaggeration. But in truth much of his reputation amounts to little more than hearsay. [[SubvertedTrope His habits]] are [[PredationIsNatural not different]] than a typical crocodile, just attacking prey that happened to be big enough to be worth going after and was nearby instead of actively seeking out victims, and he found humans were such a source of food after multiple regional wars resulted in a massive numbers of dead bodies being dumped in the rivers. Compare even his high-balled fatality listing of 300 to [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters the tens or hundreds of thousands]] of war victims in the same area.
* Another unusual real-life example is the shark(s) of the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore_shark_attacks_of_1916 1916 Shark Attacks]], seemingly the same shark [[note]]which is believed to either be a juvenile Great White or Bull Shark[[/note]] attacked five swimmers along the New Jersey coastline between the 1st and 12th of July, 1916. This particular incident helped to spread fear of sharks and the false notion that all sharks are vicious man-eaters and not simply carnivores that mistake humans for their actual prey.
* Another rare example would be [[DeviousDolphins dolphins]], dolphins are known to hunt not only for food but also as a social activity within pods and for fun. {{Downplayed}}, in that there are also many examples of dolphins saving the lives of humans and other animals, with no apparent self-interest motive.
* Orcas in particular are known to engage in intentional cruelty seemingly for sport: one infamous example is them uaing ''live seal pups'' as "volleyballs", launching them in the air and striking them with their tails as a game of sorts.
* Chimpanzees, the most actively-predatory of the simian primates, are known for deliberate acts of sadism and violence with their own kind, often involving gang wars between troops, cannibalism and infanticide. ApeShallNeverKillApe is averted ''hard'' when chimps are concerned.
* If one needs to notice how untrue this trope actually is, just look at your nearest pet store. From dogs, to cats, to the tamer varieties of lizards and fish; almost all of the more common pets are predators in a natural setting. Predatory animals tend to have more complex social interactions and higher intelligence compared to herbivores, which is specifically the reason some do quite well as pets.
[[/folder]]

* Played mostly straight in the ''VideoGame/MonsterHunter'' series. Predators are likely to attack you on sight while herbivores tend to shy away and get killed. There are exceptions however: Diablos is an extremely aggressive and territorial monster which also happens to be herbivorous.
** This is played with in ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterWorld'', several monsters of all kinds tend to just ignore you, either doing their own thing or hunting down their regular herbivorous prey. Even certain Elder Dragons like the Kushala Daora and the Kirin, who could be classified as animals above even Apex Predator, tend to mostly disregard your existance unless you decide to attack them. There are exceptions however in naturally extremely aggressive and territorial monsters like the Odogaron, who will roar and attack you on sight as soon as it spots you. Even when they do, however, it's never as a show of malice, in fact most of them see you as a threat rather than prey.

* The introduction of Bullet the Super Squirrel in ''WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls'' has this, with the eagle that originally tries to kill Speedy for food is treated like a monster for, you know, being a predator. But then, Bubbles never did care much for animals that weren't cute.

* Made evident in ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/10639175/ Phineas and Ferb's Dinosaur Adventure]]''. In contrast to the herbivorous dinosaurs which are usually peaceful and majestic, but potentially dangerous when threatened, the ''Ceratosaurus'', ''Ornitholestes'', and ''Allosaurus'' are presented as vicious and hostile towards the time-travelling main cast. It's PlayedWith a mother ''Allosaurus'' -- she is even more dangerous than a hungry predator due to needing to protect her young.

* Made evident in ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/10639175/ Phineas and Ferb's Dinosaur Adventure]]''. In contrast to the herbivorous dinosaurs which are usually peaceful and majestic, but potentially dangerous when threatened, the ''Ceratosaurus'', ''Ornitholestes'', and ''Allosaurus'' are presented as vicious and hostile towards the time-travelling main cast. A subversion occurs with an ''Allosaurus'' being a caring mother to her hatchlings, though she too is presented as dangerous because of this.

* Made evident in ''[[https://m.fanfiction.net/s/10639175/ Phineas and Ferb's Dinosaur Adventure]]''. In contrast to the herbivorous dinosaurs which are usually peaceful and majestic, but potentially dangerous when threatened, the ''Ceratosaurus'', ''Ornitholestes'', and ''Allosaurus'' are presented as vicious predators hostile towards the time-travelling main cast. A subversion occurs with an ''Allosaurus'' being a caring mother to her hatchlings, though she too is presented as dangerous because of this.

* ''Franchise/TransformersGenerationOne'': This is the idea behind the team of evil animal robots being called "Predacons", even though [[NonIndicativeName only three of the five actually transform into predatory animals]]. Their equally villainous successors in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' are more consistent in actually being predators, though their heroic opponents also have a large number of predators among their ranks.

* A word of warning: even if it's hardly fair to call them "evil", approaching a predatory animal in the wild ''is'' dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. Unless you have proper training, it's best to leave them alone, lest they see you as a threat. To be fair, ''any'' wild animal, regardless of diet, is dangerous to approach without proper knowledge or handling: even domestic cows can be deadly to approach if one is inexperienced.

Subtrope of GoodAnimalsEvilAnimals and AlwaysChaoticEvil. Often seen in conjunction with CarnivoreConfusion. Can overlap with HumansAreTheRealMonsters, and maybe even HumansAreCthulhu (particularly in {{Xenofiction}}). Goes hand-in-hand with SuperPersistentPredator, HerbivoresAreFriendly and ScavengersAreScum. Contrast PredationIsNatural. In-universe might explain the XenophobicHerbivore. May be one of the reasons why ReptilesAreAbhorrent--note that [[LovableLizard lizards]] and [[WiseOldTurtle turtles]], two groups that include herbivores, get to be protagonists more often than snakes and crocodilians, which are all predators. At times some predators appear as a non-anthropomorphic third party in a conflict either because they are the only true animals or because they have no interaction with the established individuals in which case they may be neutral characters just as likely to eat the bad guys- if not more so. Certain predators have their own pages, such as [[FoulFox foxes]].

* A word of warning: even if it's hardly fair to call them "evil", approaching a predatory animal in the wild ''is'' dangerous if you don't know what you're doing. Unless you have proper training, it's best to leave them alone, lest they see you as a threat.

* Inverted in ''Anime/{{Aggretsuko'', where Haida (a hyena) is bashful and awkward. [[BewareTheNiceOnes Unless you threaten Retsuko.]]

* ''Film/JurassicWorld's'' website lists most of its carnivorous dinosaurs, pterosaurs and sea lizard as having high "Aggression Indexes" (in layman's terms, the carnivores have {{Hair Trigger Temper}}s). Plot relevant ones include the infamously carnivorous ''UsefulNotes/TyrannosaurusRex'', long-time villains ''[[RaptorAttack Velociraptor]]'', the fish-eating pterosaur ''[[PteroSoarer Pteranodon]]'' and SHARK-eating sea lizard ''[[SeaMonster Mosasaurus]]''. Given what Jurassic World is like, it's possible that they did this on purpose so the animals could live up to the expectations of the public, as most of these animals would have been relatively docile in real life[[note]]Amusingly, ''Pteranodon'' is the one that would most likely have had a bad temper in reality, though this would have had less to do with it being a carnivore and more to do with it being a polygynous breeder (and all of the park's specimens are female)[[/note]]. In the raptors' case this is consistent with how they were depicted in the previous films and the ''Pteranodons''' high aggression level is a plot point in the film, seeing as the saurian BigBad of the film frightens them into a maddened frenzy and sics them on a helicopter that was pursuing her. There are exceptions, though; the fish-eating ''Baryonyx'' and ''Suchomimus'' have a medium Aggression Index, as does the opportunistic pterosaur ''Dimorphodon''. ''Gallimimus'', the one omnivore of the mix, has a low Aggression Index.

* Another unusual real-life example is the shark(s) of the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore_shark_attacks_of_1916 1916 Shark Attacks]], seemingly the same shark [[note]]which is believed to either be a juvenile Great White or Bull Shark[[/note]] attacked five swimmers along the New Jersey coastline between the 1st and 12th of July, 1916. This particular incident helped to spread fear of sharks and the false notion that all sharks are viscous man-eaters and not simply carnivores that mistake humans for their actual prey.

* If one needs to notice how untrue this trope actually is, just look at your nearest pet store. From dogs, to cats, to the tamer varieties of lizards and fish; almost all of the more comment pets are predators in a natural setting. Predatory animals tend to have more complex social interactions and higher intelligence compared to herbivores, which is specifically the reason some do quite well as pets.

* The ''Literature/{{Redwall}}'' series tends to do this a lot, with the villains almost always being predatory or omnivorous species such as weasles, foxes, stoats, snakes, rats, hawks and other 'vermin' species, and explicitly eat meat-often making comments about eating the hero or hero's friends. The heroes, however, are never said to eat any kind of meat, fish being the only animal they will consume, otherwise being completely vegetarian, even though mice, badgers, hedgehogs and otters, commonly featured among the heroes, are omnivores, domestic cats (which are carnivores), rabbits (herbivores), and dormice (herbivores) don't take sides, bees (herbivores) are bad, and many normal, non-sapient herbivores have been seen. This does bring morality into question as there has been at least one talking, intelligent fish.

* Another real-life example is the shark(s) of the [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore_shark_attacks_of_1916 1916 Shark Attacks]], seemingly the same shark [[note]]which is believed to either be a juvenile Great White or Bull Shark[[/note]] attacked five swimmers along the New Jersey coastline between the 1st and 12th of July, 1916. This particular incident helped to spread fear of sharks and the false notion that all sharks are viscous man-eaters and not simply carnivores that mistake humans for their actual prey.