Line #123 Main/AnimalNemesis


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4	%% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks!
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12	[[quoteright:349:[[ComicBook/ThePunisher https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rsz_103123c1ac03e935d54ccf2692deb85b3.jpg]]]]
13	[[caption-width-right:349:One must stand strong, even in the face of an over-whale-ming adversity.]]
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19	->'''Lisa:''' Dad, you can't take revenge on an animal. That was the whole point of ''Literature/MobyDick''.\
20	'''Homer:''' Lisa, the point of ''Moby-Dick'' is to be yourself.
21	-->-- ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''
22	%% One quote on the main page, please. Additional quotes can go to the quote tab.
23
24	A situation in which the Hunter Archetype fixates on an animal as his ArchEnemy as a result of twisted logic, almost always a direct result of a past [[ItsPersonal personal grudge]]. Be it an animal that constantly thwarts his efforts or just some plain old mindless beast that made off with [[AnArmAndALeg one of the human's limbs]], the human dedicates [[RevengeBeforeReason all of his time]] and [[TheDeterminator effort]] toward the capture or [[DisproportionateRetribution killing]] of the beast, [[HeWhoFightsMonsters even if]] it [[TakingYouWithMe kills him]].
25
26	A human SuperPersistentPredator -- in some cases, the Hunter is justified in hunting the animal because ItCanThink. In others, the Hunter himself illustrates that HumansAreTheRealMonsters or HumansAreCthulhu. See HeWhoFightsMonsters.
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28	Please note that animals [[SlidingScaleOfAnthropomorphism with clearly human intelligence, behavior, and ability to communicate with humans]] do not qualify. Someone must be seeking revenge against an animal that acts ''like an animal''. For villains who act animalistic, see FeralVillain.
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30	Frequently, media that [[MobySchtick employ this trope]] will [[WholePlotReference reference]] the TropeCodifier, Herman Melville's ''Literature/MobyDick'', though it would be an oversimplification to say that this trope is the ''whole'' point of the book. It is one of many points.
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32	Compare EnmityWithAnObject.
33	----
34	!!Examples:
35
36	[[foldercontrol]]
37
38	[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
39	* Grandpa Gohei and Akakabuto, the bear who took his left ear and killed his hunting dogs in ''Manga/GingaNagareboshiGin''.
40	* In the film version of ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind'', [[spoiler:Princess Kushana]] has lost an arm (and possibly more body parts) to the insects of the Sea of Corruption. [[spoiler:Hence her attempt to wipe out the Ohmu with the God Warrior]]. This subplot -- origin, motivation, and outcome -- doesn't exist in the manga.
41	[[/folder]]
42
43	[[folder:Comic Books]]
44	* ''ComicBook/GodzillaTheHalfCenturyWar'' is the tale of one man's fifty-year struggle against the King of the Monsters.
45	* ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'' did a WholePlotReference to ''Literature/MobyDick'' at one point. The Transformer in question lives on a world far from most of his race and is a Pretender (a Transformer covered in a pseudo-organic shell that allows him to pose as an organic, but is rather difficult to repair) and so cannot get his leg properly restored. [[spoiler:He finally incapacitates the beast responsible but decides against finishing it off.]]
46	* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Volume 1]]: One of the impossible tasks Thomas Tighe sets for the Holliday Girls is for one of them to help Captain Rab, a clear pastiche of Captain Ahab from ''Literature/MobyDick'', hunt down his whale nemesis.
47	[[/folder]]
48
49	[[folder:Fan Works]]
50	* ''Blog/BetterBonesAU'': Shredtail is very intense about seeking revenge on the boar who killed his mate and kits, developing many hog-hunting techniques that still get used generations later to kill it. He eventually uses a clanmate as live bait to catch it (which gets him sent to [[{{Hell}} the Dark Forest]] after he dies).
51	* In ''Fanfic/TheWitchOfTheEverfree'', after Applejack's parents are killed by [[WhenTreesAttack the Great White Wolf]], she swears revenge on it.
52	[[/folder]]
53
54	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
55	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'': Though he's usually quite jovial about it, King Fergus has had a bit of an obsession with killing the Demon Bear [[Characters/{{Brave}} Mor'du]] ever since he lost his leg to the bear in the prologue.
56	* ''WesternAnimation/BrotherBear'': Kenai hunting down the bear [[spoiler:(Koda's mother)]] doesn't start with a large personal grudge, but devolves into one. Initially, he is somewhat angry at it, but primarily intends to retrieve a basket the bear stole in order to prove how tough he is. However, after Sitka dies trying to protect him from the bear, Kenai decides to avenge Sitka by killing it. Denahi later tries the same thing when he believes a bear has killed Kenai... but unbeknownst to him, that bear ''is'' [[KarmicTransformation Kenai]].
57	* Amos Slade (and, to a much lesser extent, Copper) during the second half of ''WesternAnimation/TheFoxAndTheHound'', who wants to kill Todd out of revenge for (indirectly) injuring his dog Chief by having him be hit by a train. Originally, he was actually going to be more so, as Chief was originally going to die after being hit by the train.
58	* Buck and Rudy in ''WesternAnimation/IceAgeDawnOfTheDinosaurs''. Their feud starts after Rudy scratches out Buck's eye and Buck knocks out Rudy's tooth. Of course, the "human" in this case is a TalkingAnimal while the "animal" is a SuperPersistentPredator, but that is CarnivoreConfusion for you.
59	* Played for laughs in ''WesternAnimation/Incredibles2'', where Jack-Jack, who strikes up an enmity with a raccoon scavenging in the Parrs' garbage can, and fight until Bob breaks them up.
60	* Inverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{The Jungle Book\|1967}}''; BigBad Shere Khan (a tiger) actually wants to kill Mowgli just for being a human.
61	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Migration}}'': The Mallards (especially Mack and Pam) end up - accidentally - becoming this to the EvilChef, who spends most of the second half of the film hunting them down.
62	* Tick Tock the crocodile is this for Captain Hook in ''WesternAnimation/PeterPan'', as he ate the captain's hand. He's also an interesting example, as while the ending shows he's more than willing to take a bite out of Hook if the opportunity presents itself, the croc for his part isn't all that fussed about getting at Hook, and is content to simply mess with him. Contrast this with the Croc from the original novel, which was hell-bent on finishing the meal it started years ago.
63	* In ''WesternAnimation/TheSeaBeast'', Captain Crow is a professional monster hunter, but he bears a special enmity for the Red Bluster.
64	* Samson and Kazar in ''WesternAnimation/TheWild''.
65	* Spirit and the Colonel in ''WesternAnimation/SpiritStallionOfTheCimarron''. The Colonel tries to break Spirit when the horse is captured and later purifies him until Spirit makes a dramatic canyon jump and the Colonel gives a subtle WorthyOpponent acknowledgment and gives up the chase.
66	[[/folder]]
67
68	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
69	* The first film in the ''Film/{{Anaconda}}'' franchise features Creator/JonVoight as an animal poacher seeking to capture a particularly large specimen of the eponymous snake. Said snake was partly responsible for the death of partner.
70	* Inverted in ''Film/AvatarTheWayOfWater'' with the [[SapientCetaceans tulkun]] Payakan, who lost his family to whalers and whose attempt to get revenge led to tragedy. He's even missing a fin to complete the reference. [[spoiler:Unlike Ahab, however, Payakan does get his revenge when he attacks the boat to free his spirit brother Lo'ak]]
71	* Carl Spackler and that gopher from ''Film/{{Caddyshack}}''.
72	-->'''Carl:''' I smell varmint poontang. And the only good varmint poontang is ''dead'' varmint poontang.
73	* Patterson becomes obsessed with taking down the two lions in ''Film/TheGhostAndTheDarkness''. The film was loosely based on the Tsavo Maneaters (see RealLife below).
74	* In ''Film/{{Immortal}}'', Inspector Froebe has had a grudge against the Dayak ever since it bit half of his face off.
75	* ''Film/IntoTheGrizzlyMaze'': After being attacked by a bear in his sleep, and managing to drive it off by stabbing it under the jaw, hunting guide Douglass became obsessed with hunting and killing grizzlies.
76	* ''Film/{{Jaws}}'': Quint, at least, wants revenge against the shark (as a stand-in for the sharks that killed many of the men after the Indianapolis, which he was on, sank). The others are more motivated by "we need to kill it because it keeps eating people".
77	** This became the go-to plot for many '70s killer animals flicks, such as ''Film/{{Grizzly}}'' and ''Film/OrcaTheKillerWhale''.
78	* ''Franchise/JurassicPark'':
79	** In [[Film/JurassicPark1993 the first film]], we have [[RaptorAttack "The Big One"]] to [[GreatWhiteHunter Muldoon]], who knows just how monstrous the former is and is determined to stop her. [[spoiler:He fails.]]
80	** In [[Film/JurassicWorld the fourth film]], [[RaptorAttack Delta]], one of Owen's trained raptors, expresses a clear hatred toward the main human villain [[BloodKnight Vic Hoskins]]. Played with, due to the fact that Hoskins doesn't seem to realize that she hates him and even tries to calm her just before she [[spoiler:mauls him to death]].
81	* Steve and the shark that ate his partner from ''Film/TheLifeAquaticWithSteveZissou''. He eventually overcomes his need for vengeance and is satisfied just to see it again.
82	* Franchise/MonsterVerse:
83	** In ''Film/KongSkullIsland'', Colonel Packard becomes obsessed with hunting down [[Characters/MonsterVerseKingKong the titular ape]] after Kong annihilates most of his helicopter squadron. His single-minded obsession endangers the lives of the surviving members of the expedition, most of whom just want to get off the damn island, and ultimately [[spoiler:gets Packard killed without causing any lasting harm to Kong]].
84	** [[Characters/MonsterVerseGodzilla Godzilla]] has also been this to Mark Russell and Ren Serizawa respectively. In ''Film/GodzillaKingOfTheMonsters2019'', Mark despises Godzilla and wants him dead, due to Mark's son being among the casualties of Godzilla's battle against the [=MUTOs=] and Mark having spent the last several years holding onto that grief. The novelization of ''Film/GodzillaVsKong'' reveals that Ren wants Godzilla dead because he blames Godzilla for his lifetime of ParentalNeglect and for the late Ishirō Serizawa's HeroicSacrifice to save Godzilla permanently dashing Ren's hopes of reconciling with his father. Mark learns during the former movie to let go of his grudge against Godzilla, whereas Ren does not.
85	* ''Film/{{Nope}}'': The Haywoods and their allies at first see the [[spoiler: giant flying animal]] they call Jean Jacket as a way to get rich and famous. But then it starts [[spoiler: eating hordes of people]], and they decide it has to die.
86	* In ''Film/OfUnknownOrigin'', a New Yorker becomes so obsessed with eliminating the pesky rat infesting his apartment that he eventually trashes his own place in frantic pursuit of it.
87	* ''Film/PigHunt'': Before his death, John's uncle was obsessed with hunting the Ripper: [[FullBoarAction a legendary 3000 lb. killer boar]].
88	* Jake Cullen (played by Bill Kerr) in the movie ''Film/{{Razorback}}'' hunts and kills razorback boars because a particularly big one killed his grandson.
89	* In ''Film/RingOfFear'', Dublin O'Malley hates the tiger that almost killed him, and plots to turn it into an AnimalAssassin to use against Clyde Beatty, the man who saved him from the tiger: thereby destroying the two beings he holds responsible for his humiliation and downfall.
90	* In ''Film/SandsOfTheKalahari'': EgomaniacHunter O'Brien develops a vendetta against the tribe of baboons that keeps antagonizing the survivors. By the end of the film, it seems this feeling is mutual.
91	* Invoked in ''Film/SoulSurfer'' when the shark is shown harpooned and dangling as a trophy. Apparently, Bethany Hamilton's surfing buddies think that when you mess with one of their own, ItsPersonal.
92	* Ahab was referenced in the movie ''Film/StarTrekFirstContact'', when Captain Picard brutally guns down several Borg in the holodeck and refuses demands to self-destruct the Enterprise in lieu of stopping the mechanical menaces personally, all because of the violations he suffered when they assimilated him and his anger over Starfleet's inability to halt their encroaching on Federation space. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] when the 21st-century woman referencing the book admitted that she hadn't actually read it and only remembered the idiom that went with it. Soon after the release of that movie, Patrick Stewart played Ahab in a made-for-TV movie of Moby Dick, mainly because he was so good at a referenced state of mind that they decided he would be good for the real thing.
93	** Ironically, this film introduced the [[HiveQueen Borg Queen]], moving the Borg too far up the SlidingScaleOfAnthropomorphism to count as a straight example of this trope; up until that point the Borg Collective had been portrayed as a HordeOfAlienLocusts with some sort of controlling AI that might not even be sentient, and individual drones developing any individual personality traits was outright ''harmful'' to it.
94	* In ''Film/WhiteHunterBlackHeart'', film director John Wilson becomes obsessed with hunting and killing one particular bull elephant at the expense of the film he is supposed to be in Africa to shoot: jeopardizing his own career, and those of his cast and crew.
95	[[/folder]]
96
97	[[folder:Literature]]
98	%%* Quint, the obsessed shark hunter from ''Literature/{{Jaws}}''.
99	* ''Literature/BretKingMysteries'': ''The Secret of Hermit Peak'' features the mountain lion Old Stubfoot (whose name comes from losing two toes in a trap). Stubfoot is notorious for killing livestock (including Rusty King's new colt). Bret and the others are trying to hunt down the nimble and crafty mountain lion when they stumble into a mystery involving human villains.
100	* The {{Western}} novel ''Killers of Man'' by Ralph W. Cotton features a wealthy businessman determined to get revenge on the grizzly bear that took his leg.
101	* In ''Literature/LordElMelloiIICaseFiles'', Waver develops a vendetta against a stray cat that invades his office and bit his shoes... his most favorite shoes that he bought with his first teaching paycheck! He stays up all night researching {{curse}}s to get back at the cat... and then the cat gets injured by a car, and he changes his tune and [[PetTheDog takes care of the cat]] instead.
102	* OlderThanRadio: One of the best known examples is the deadly rivalry between Captain Ahab and Literature/MobyDick. The relationship has been subject to much parody and homage (many of the examples on this page in some way reference the story). Ahab himself [[LampshadeHanging hung a lampshade]] on this trope in the original novel -- he essentially said that if he could not hunt down the abstract fates that ultimately cost him his leg, the eponymous whale -- the ''instrument'' of fate -- [[ClosestThingWeGot would be the next best thing]]. The book itself deconstructs this, as it's unlikely that the whale even recognized Ahab, much less understood why the loudmouth human was hunting him.
103	* Parodied in ''Literature/{{Railsea}}'' by Creator/ChinaMieville, in which Captain Naphi is perpetually hunting Mocker-Jack, the blonde giant mole that took her arm. In the community Naphi comes from, '''every''' real hunter is required to have an Animal Nemesis that they've been maimed by and which has some symbolic or metaphorical meaning to them, and it turns out that [[ObfuscatingDisability she didn't actually lose the arm]] and was only pretending to have an ArtificialLimb so they'd take her vendetta seriously.
104	* This happens a few times in Creator/TerryBrooks' ''Literature/{{Shannara}}'' series:
105	** In ''[[Literature/TheHeritageOfShannara The Druid of Shannara]]'', [[PsychoForHire Pe Ell]] fixates on [[BigCreepyCrawlies The Rake]] after it nearly strangles him to death. He eventually drops it down a hole for [[SummonBiggerFish The Maw Grint]] to eat.
106	** In ''[[Literature/TheHeritageOfShannara The Elf Queen of Shannara]]'' Wren Elessedil is pushed into a near fatal encounter with [[GiantSpider The Wisteron]], the spider/monkey hybrid that makes its home in the In Ju swamp. In the end she has to track it to its lair and kill it in order to retrieve a magical artifact that it has stolen.
107	** ''Literature/TheVoyageOfTheJerleShannara'' sees Redden Alt Mer wracked with fear for the first time in his life after a bad run-in with the Graak. Convinced that the only way to shake off his fear is to descend into the Crake rainforest and face the Graak, Redden nearly gets his entire party slain trying to feel tough again.
108	* ''Literature/{{Ironhead}}'': The main character reluctantly resolves to kill the eponymous alligator that lives near his home after it becomes a danger to his father (who is mentally disturbed and unaware of his surroundings). He respects how Ironhead has been there longer than his family and [[spoiler:is relieved when the alligator simply moves on after his pond dries up.]] TheHero is also hunting an eight-foot rattlesnake to sell to a zoo for money to take care of his father, but gives the snake less attention and personal investment than Ironhead.
109	* This was Prince Rilian's undoing in ''[[Literature/{{Narnia}} The Silver Chair]]''. Yeah, the snake that killed his mother was [[spoiler:really a ScaledUp mind-controlling witch and thus perfectly capable of forming intent]], but he had no way of ''knowing'' that.
110	* Invoked in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' novel ''[[Literature/IronWarriors Storm of Iron]]'': an Iron Warrior captain imagines that he is hunting a legendary beast of Olympian lore while trying to kill a Warhound Titan (Warhounds are the smallest of the [[HumongousMecha Titans]], with a focus on infantry/armour support role rather than a "level cities" role). He ultimately slays it at the very end of the novel, [[spoiler: only for its twin to open fire and [[NotEnoughToBury obliterate him with several turbolaser shots]].]]
111	[[/folder]]
112
113	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
114	* A BottleEpisode of ''Series/BreakingBad'' has Walter White acting bizarrely [[FlyCrazy obsessed with killing a fly]] that's somehow entered his laboratory. It's both a microcosm of his obsessive personality and a sublimation of his feelings of guilt and frustration regarding Jesse.
115	* ''Series/TheColbertReport'': Creator/StephenColbert and bears (and owls).
116	* Happens in an episode of ''Series/DesperateHousewives'' in which Lynette spends half an episode hunting down a possum because [[spoiler:Possums = Cancer]].
117	* Sawyer in ''Series/{{Lost}}'' has managed to do this on two separate occasions. Once chasing after a boar who ransacked his tent and then chasing after a treefrog which annoyed him with its croaking. [[spoiler: He eventually caught up with both of them with help from Kate and Hurley respectively. He decided to let the boar go as it was "just an animal" but then rejected Hurley's offer to relocate the frog and simply [[KickTheDog crushed it in his hand]]]].
118	* Al Bundy went through this in one episode of ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'', becoming obsessed with a rabbit that ruined his vegetable garden and trying to kill it. Of course, this is PlayedForLaughs, especially given that the rabbit has the intellectual advantage.
119	* Gordy and the WeaselMascot of ''Series/NedsDeclassifiedSchoolSurvivalGuide''. In the GrandFinale, [[spoiler:he (with the help of the other teachers) finally catches it after tearing down half the school. Then it turns out to have had babies, so they adopt it as a mascot]].
120	* In the TV series ''Series/TheNewAdventuresOfHuckleberryFinn'', Tom, Huck and Becky are lost at sea when they encounter Captain Mordecai, a whaler with a mission to kill a [[NighInvulnerability monstrous unkillable whale]]. His countless failures have driven him mad as a result. All are later [[SwallowedWhole swallowed by the whale]]. The captain holding the trio [[NeverMyFault responsible for his latest failure]], pursues them [[FantasticVoyagePlot through the vast, strange and weirdly colored innards]] of the gigantic mammal. The children manage to escape through the whale's blowhole, but Captain Mordecai is seemingly trapped inside his eternal nemesis for the rest of his life.
121	* ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'': The season 5 episode "[[Recap/StarTrekVoyagerS5E14Bliss Bliss]]" had the crew caught by some sort of SpaceWhale (a bioplasmic life-form) that was using telepathy to trap starship crews in [[LotusEaterMachine hallucinations of their heart's desire]] so it could eat their starships, and [[ProjectedMan the Doctor]] and Seven of Nine (who are partially resistant to the effect) end up getting help from an alien hunter who is very much Captain Ahab to its Moby Dick. Although ''he'' is absolutely convinced that [[ItCanThink the creature is self-aware and intelligent]] and eating starships ForTheEvulz to boot, the ''Voyager'' crew are rather skeptical, but we never find out one way or the other.
122	[[/folder]]
123
124	[[folder:Video Games]]
125	* In Chapter 5 of ''VideoGame/BugFables'', Kabbu leads his team on a revenge-driven quest to slay the Beast, a giant [[CreepyCentipedes centipede]] that killed his mentor and his best friend. It should be noted that, normally, Kabbu is an IdealHero who serves as TheHeart to the team, and when he [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness became obsessed with killing the beast]], his teammates are understandably worried. Also worth mentioning that, while every character in the game is a bug, the main characters are sentient bugs, and the beast is an animalistic "lesser bug", though it [[ItCanThink does show sadistic tendencies]] while preying on Kabbu and his friends.
126	* The game ''VideoGame/CabelasDangerousHunts 2009'' is about a famed big game hunter who swears revenge on a bear who killed his best friend.
127	* In ''VideoGame/{{Evolve}}'', Torvald is on a mission to kill the monster that destroyed his ship, killed his crewmates, and left him a ruin of a man. WordOfGod is that that particular monster is a unique adaptation of an as-of-yet unseen breed.
128	* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsA2'' has a sidequest revolving around a clan named House Bowen, whose leader seeks revenge on a gigantic cockatrice for killing his wife.
129	* In ''VideoGame/RuneScape'', players can meet a whaler named Hubbub, whose ship was destroyed and crew killed as he tried to kill the blind white whale named Shuma, in revenge for her destruction of human villages in the Eastern Lands, including his own.
130	* In ''VideoGame/TheSimsMedieval'', your hero can be given the "Whale Ate My Parents" trait, which, er, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin speaks for itself.]] The result is that they will become obsessed with whales to the point of occasionally getting a "Whale Rage" buff.
131	* ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' features an old fisherman named Drachma who chases the giant flying whale Rhaknam for [[spoiler:killing his son decades ago]]. Like the rest of the game, it's an old tale/genre/mentality (obviously ''Literature/MobyDick'' in this case) [[JustForFun/RecycledINSPACE Recycled In]] [[WorldInTheSky Air]].
132	* ''Videogame/{{Maneater}}'' is centered around the conflict between the titular shark that serves as the protagonist and the sharkhunter Scaly Pete after Pete scarred the shark as a pup, who then proceeded to bite off his arm. As the game progresses the conflict escalates as Pete's efforts leads to him [[spoiler:losing his leg and his son]], becoming more and more obsessed with hunting for vengeance.
133	[[/folder]]
134
135	[[folder:Web Comics]]
136	* ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'' parodies this with the [[ArtisticLicensePaleontology birdosaurus]], a dinosaur that follows the doctor around and performs minor actions with more serious consequences (e.g. stepping on the stone that sets off all the traps while the doctor is standing in the trapped area), which he has developed an intense, somewhat disproportionate hatred for.
137	-->'''Doctor [=McNinja=]:''' I hate you. I hate you so much. I will hunt you down forever. When you die, my laughter will be so '''bright''', it will be the last thing you will hear, '''see''', '''smell''' and '''feel'''.
138	* ''Webcomic/BronzeSkinInc'' :From the anger that Supervisor Vanessa shows when she discovered coatis thefts, it seems that she treats them that way in her mind.
139	* ''Webcomic/{{Oglaf}}'': [[http://oglaf.com/ahoy/ This]] strip has an entire ship of obsessive hunters who are hunting the great white whale which took their legs. As it turns out, [[VisualPun the whale actually]] [[AppendageAssimilation TOOK their legs]], and used them to move onto the land.
140	* Belkar of ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'' has a grudge against Windstriker, [[KnightTemplar Miko's]] horse. Said horse is one of the characters he asked the Oracle if he'd wind up killing, and he is quite disappointed when he discovers that [[spoiler:Miko has died, leaving Windstriker in the Outer Planes]], meaning he'll never be able to kill Windstriker.
141	* ''ComicStrip/ThePerryBibleFellowship'': Parodied in [[http://pbfcomics.com/comics/svens-revenge/ this]] strip. A man believes he's killed a shark that killed his father, but then realizes the "scar" he identified the shark by is a natural feature of a whole ''species'' of shark.
142	* ''Webcomic/SleipnirEquineInvaderFromJupiter'': Downplayed with Clint regarding Jericho, a stallion with whom he had an antagonistic relationship as a child. Still alive and healthy as, well, a horse almost two decades later, Jericho promptly headbutts Clint into a patch of mud and feces before trying to bite him, forcing Jess to break up the fight before her brother can get hurt. [[spoiler:Despite the antagonism between them, Clint is heartbroken when General Kincaid kills Jericho when the horse attacks him to protect Clint.]]
143	[[/folder]]
144
145	[[folder:Western Animation]]
146	* There was a character in Disney's ''WesternAnimation/AladdinTheSeries'' that was obsessed with hunting down some sort of desert whale/shark, in what was obviously a homage to ''Literature/MobyDick''. His quest was actually quite practical, as the belly of the sand shark was covered in precious jewels. Far from seeking revenge, the captain was hunting for ''sport'', and when he does catch it, he has no idea what he will do now, so he decides to cut the shark free and hunt it again.
147	* In the opening of ''WesternAnimation/DanVs Anger Management'', Dan is about to launch a nuclear warhead that will cause World War III at a family of squirrels he's currently upset at.
148	* ''WesternAnimation/DastardlyAndMuttleyInTheirFlyingMachines'': The Vulture Squadron vs. Yankee Doodle Pigeon.
149	* ''WesternAnimation/DragonsTheNineRealms'': The BigBad Buzzsaw blames Thunder for the fire that destroyed his lumber company. As such, he starts hunting him down seeking to kill him. After learning about the Riders, he extends his animosity to Thunder's Rider Tom as well. However, his main target remains Thunder.
150	* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/DragonTales'' had the main characters help a [[SkyPirates sky pirate]] hunt down a giant flying whale for eating his ship. At the end of the episode, they successfully capture the whale, and it turns out that the ship said whale ate was a toy ship.
151	* Leela in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' episode "Möbius Dick", a WholePlotReference to ''Literature/MobyDick''. It parodies the concept further, as the SpaceWhale she hunts [[spoiler: feeds on obsession, so it naturally antagonizes ship captains. Leela eventually overwhelms the whale's will with a bigger obsession than revenge: finishing her delivery!]]
152	* ''WesternAnimation/TheMonkAndTheFish'': A comic animated short in which a monk grows increasingly obsessed with catching one perfectly ordinary little fish in a reservoir, going from a fishing rod to a net to a bow and arrow to diving in himself.
153	* Alfred and the wombat in ''WesternAnimation/MikeLuAndOg''.
154	* In ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'' this is essentially an institution, with every single one of the show's [[CardCarryingVillain Card-Carrying]] [[MadScientist Evil Scientists]] (of which there are many) having an intelligent animal secret agent as a "nemesis," and seemingly more than one organization devoted to the training and assignment of these agents. Unlike most examples, these animal nemeses tend to be the aggressor in the dynamic (being sent to foil their human enemies' evil schemes as a matter of routine), and the results tend to be reciprocal FriendlyEnemy relationships. The series' most prominent example is, of course, Perry the Platypus as nemesis to Dr. Heinz Doofenshmirtz, [[spoiler:until the latter makes a HeelFaceTurn and they become a regular old InterspeciesFriendship by the end of the series and into StealthSequel ''WesternAnimation/MiloMurphysLaw''.]]
155	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'':
156	** In one episode, Homer is menaced by a bear and constructs a metal "safety suit" in order to kill the creature and regain his respect, which elicits the page quote. However, this gets subverted when Homer realizes the bear is lashing out in pain due to an electronic tracking tag on its ear, so he removes the tag, ends up befriending the now gentle bear, and gives it the suit so it can brave a gauntlet of hunters to get to a wildlife preserve. Which sparks a feud between the bear and a particularly mean-spirited elephant.
157	** Another episode has Homer try to go after some food-stealing raccoons, only for Bart to remind him about [[NoodleIncident his feud with the worms]]. Not only did Homer lose, ''but the worms made him build a statue of himself bowing before them''.
158	* The ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats2011'' episode "Ramlak Rising" (yet another WholePlotReference to ''Literature/MobyDick'') gives us a peculiar [[InvertedTrope Inversion]]. Ahab-{{Homage}} Captain Koinelius Tunar, a [[{{Fishmen}} Fishman]] who sails the [[SandIsWater sand sea]], has sworn vengeance on the creature who destroyed his home and took his [[AnArmAndALeg eye and leg]]. His nemesis the Ramlak is a giant {{Planimal}}, a ManEatingPlant that's [[HybridMonster hybridized]] with the ambulatory capabilities of a GiantSquid. Like Captain Ahab, Tunar has degenerated into prizing RevengeBeforeReason and shares Ahab's fate almost exactly, while quoting his dialogue.
159	[[/folder]]
160
161	[[folder:Real Life]]
162	* Predators sometimes, for whatever reason (usually because humans make decent hunters but also slow, easy prey), will imprint upon humans as prey and go out of their way to hunt people even over what they would normally hunt. The only way to deal with such animals, known appropriately as [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man-eater Man-Eaters,]] is to invoke this trope, hunt them down, and euthanize them[[note]] another alternative to this is to relocate animals to nature reserves, although this is more common with endangered species [[/note]]. The most notorious and well known example are the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsavo_maneaters Tsavo Maneaters.]] They were killed by Lt. Col. John Henry Patterson, who went full Captain Ahab to bring them down.
163	** A modern-day example is Gustave, a monstrous Nile crocodile who hunts humans and other animals just for the sake of killing, and has survived countless attempts at killing him. He was last seen in 2015, dragging an entire bull into the water. So far no one has been able to catch him, much less kill him.
164	** Big cats, it's theorized, can become addicted to the sodium content in human blood due to feline's need and enjoyment of salty flavors. This is especially cited as a possible factor for tigers in India that become such pathological maneaters they'll even forgo their normal prey in favor of humans, which causes village-wide hunting parties to terminate them.
165	* [[CreepyCrows Crows]] not only have the ability to remember faces, they have the ability to hold grudges and to ''transfer that knowledge''. [[http://www.cracked.com/article_19042_6-terrifying-ways-crows-are-way-smarter-than-you-think.html They're also smarter than you expect.]]
166	* Quite frequently if a human is attacked or killed by a dog/shark/magpie/leopard/whatever, the animal responsible (or thought responsible) will be killed, even though that ends up with nothing but a dead animal.
167	* According to Antoine-Vincent Arnault, Napoleon's greatest rival was not a man, but rather his wife's pet pug, Fortune, who apparently was very possessive of its owner and decided to make its animosity clear by attacking Napoleon on his and his wife's [[CoitusInterruptus wedding night.]]
168	-->'''Napoleon:''' Do you see that gentleman? he is my rival. He was in possession of Madam's bed when I married her. I wished to remove him, but it was quite useless to think of it. I was told that I must either sleep elsewhere or consent to share my bed. That annoyed me considerably, but I had to make up my mind. I gave way. The favorite was less accommodating ..."
169	* After Chicago gangster "Nails" Morton was thrown, dragged and kicked to death in 1923 when the horse he was riding went wild, enraged members of Dean O'Banion's Northside gang took this to absurd extremes by giving a mob-style execution to an animal incapable of understanding one. After either renting the horse from the stable or allegedly stealing it at gunpoint, it was led to where Nails had been killed; Louis "Two-Gun" Alterie, known as being hot-headed even for a Northsider, supposedly punched the horse in the face, and the beast was then killed with four bullets to the head. The incident, along with other rough outlines of the O'Banion gang's history, would go on to inspire the plot of ''Film/ThePublicEnemy1931''.
170	* In 1932, [[UsefulNotes/TheEmuWar Australia fought a war against emus]]. The emus won.
171	[[/folder]]

Context Main / AnimalNemesis