Stereotypes of animals

bron: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_stereotypes

Common Western animal stereotypes

Mammals

• The bloodthirsty or evil bat
  • Only 3 species of bats feed on blood. This stereotypical image is based on vampire stories.
  • Another stereotype associated with bats is that the animal will fly into your hair. This is an urban legend since bats can see in the dark thanks to their sonar system.
• The loyal dog
  • Examples: Pluto, Old Yeller, Rin Tin Tin, Lassie,...
• The dim-witted dog
  • Examples: Goofy, Odie the Dog, Rantanplan,...
• The vicious bull dog
  • Examples: Spike (Tom and Jerry), Butch (the nemesis of Pluto),...
• The cruel or evil wolf
  • The evil wolf is an image frequently depicted in fairy tales such as Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Wolf and the Seven Young Kids, Peter and the Wolf,...
  • The werewolf is another evil stereotype in association with wolves.
• The honorable wolf
  • Through the latter half of the 20th century, the wolf was increasingly portrayed in the opposite manner of the evil wolf, 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 stubborn or stupid ass
  • Examples: Nick Bottom in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Donkey (Shrek),...
• 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 cool cat
  • Portrayed as sly and sometimes playing jazz notably in Disney's The Aristocats, Top Cat, Garfield,..
• The lazy cat
  • Many syndicated comics feature lazy cats, perhaps most notably Jim Davis' Garfield.
• The evil/villianous cat
  • Many cartoons portray cats as mischievous, crafty and antagonistic. Examples: Pegleg Pete, Tom from Tom & Jerry, the cats in An American Tail, Sylvester, Mr. Jinks,...
  • A black cat is often believed to bring bad luck according to ancient superstitions.
  • Witches are often accompanied by black cats.
• 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", (however Lions do not live in jungles) 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 first movement of Camille Saint-Saëns's musical piece Carnival of the Animals depicts the lion as "royal", King Nobel in Reynard the Fox, In C.S. Lewis' Narnia's "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" Aslan the Lion is depicted as the Godly figure and the peaceful yet powerful true ruler of Narnia ...
• The vicious tiger
  • Example: Shere Khan
• The mischievous monkey.
  • The expression "Monkey see, Monkey do"
  • The phrase See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.
  • Other examples: Curious George, Abu,...
• The funny monkey/ape
  • Examples: King Louie, Cheetah in Tarzan,...
• The monstrous or brutish ape (usually a gorilla).
  • Examples: King Kong, General Ursus, many Big Foot stories, the Yeti,...
• The amorous ape who lusts for human women
  • Examples King Kong and Emmanuel Frémiet's 1887 sculpture Gorilla Carrying off a Woman.
• The slow-witted moose.
  • The cartoon character Bullwinkle J. Moose is portrayed as slow-witted.
• 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.^[3]
• The quiet mouse
  • Mice are frequently portrayed in animation as shy and physically-frail, often bookish, nerdy and/or glasses-wearing.
• The heroic mouse
  • Mice are often depicted as heroic characters who have to fight enemies bigger than they are. This is actually ironic, since mice are considered vermin by most people. Examples of heroic mice: Mickey Mouse, Jerry (Tom & Jerry), Speedy Gonzales,also the many heroes of Redwall...
• The evil rat
  • In contrast with mice rats are almost always depicted as villains: Professor Rattigan in The Great Mouse Detective, The Rats of Nimh in The Secret of NIMH,the main symbol for the "vermin" in Redwall is the rat, that is also one of the main vermin that the peaceful creatures must fight...
• The horny rabbit - Following naturally from the phrase "(to) breed like rabbits".
• 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 smart rabbit or hare
  • Examples: Br'er Rabbit, Bugs Bunny
• The fast-running cheetah is another animal noted for its speed
• The comical / always-laughing hyena
  • From the uncanny resemblance its call bears to a human laugh.
  • Example the Hyenas in the films Lady & the Tramp and Lion King
• 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.
  • Examples of greedy and filthy pigs: Napoleon and all the other pigs in Animal Farm,...
  • Pigs are also portrayed as straight men or sidekicks (for example Porky Pig and Orson (U.S.Acres))
• 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.
• The dumb bear
  • Examples: Winnie the Pooh, Yogi Bear, Humphrey Bear, Baloo, Brer Bear,...
• The cuddly, sweet bear.
  • An image based on the teddy bear: The Care Bears, Snuggle,...
• The fearsome bear
  • seen in various cartoons and movies
• The blind or near sighted mole who often wears glasses.
  • Examples: The Mole (Happy Tree Friends), Henk the Mole in Alfred Jodocus Kwak, Bottles (Banjo-Kazooie)
• The boxing kangaroo
  • Jack the Boxing Kangaroo, Das Boxende Känguruh,...
  • Another myth associated with kangaroos is that people can climb inside its pouch and be carried around. This general misconception was famously debunked in The Simpsonsepisode Bart vs. Australia.
• The female hippopotamus who acts like a fat human lady
  • Hippo's are often portrayed as fat females: Fantasia, Madagascar (2005 film), The Wuzzles, Rocko's Modern Life...
• The aggressive bull who attacks everyone and everything within the color red.
  • This stereotype can be found in many comic strips and cartoons and is based on bullfighting where the bullfighter make the bull attack by waving a small red cape (muleta). This has lead to the urban legend that bulls will attack anything in the color red. In reality bulls are dichromatic and attack the waving cape instead of the color. The reason those capes have the color red is because of its association with blood and the tradition itself.

  Birds

  • 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 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.^[4]
  • The wise owl
    • The owl in The Animals of Farthing Wood
    • The owl in Bambi (1942 film)
    • In Greek mythology, Athena is the goddess of wisdom and is regularly associated with the owl.^[5]

  • 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 thieving magpie
    • Magpies are often depicted as thieves who steal shiny things. Examples: the opera The Thieving Magpie by Gioacchino Rossini, the magpie in Alfred Jodocus Kwak,...
  • The overconfident, arrogant duck who isn't as smart as he thinks.
    • Examples: Daffy Duck, Donald Duck, Howard the Duck, Duckman,...
  • The child-stealing eagle
    • Eagles are often depicted in stories as creatures who like to attack humans and especially children and then pick them up with their claws to feed them to their own children. This is a myth, since eagles can only lift things that weigh 4 pounds and they're more likely to attack other, smaller animals. (http://www.american-bald-eagle-photos.com/american-bald-eagles-photos-general-information.htm)
  • The talkative, annoying and smartypants parrot/cockatoo (no distinction).
  • The depressed and shy parrot.
    • Example Paulie

  Reptiles and amphibians

  • The evil / cruel Tyrannosaurus
    • Examples: Fantasia, Jurassic Park, Godzilla(although this character is sometimes heroic),...
  • 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 patient or slow witted turtle / tortoise (No distinctions are generally made between the two.)
  • Toads and frogs are often antropomorphized into fat people.
    • Examples: Mr. Toad in The Wind in The Willows.

  
  Fishes and sea mammals

  • The bloodthirsty shark
    • Examples: Jaws (film)

  • The man eating whale
    • Examples: Monstro in Pinocchio (1940 film), Moby-Dick,...

  • The joyful dolphin
    • Examples: Flipper (1964 TV series)

Bron:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_stereotypes