History Main / EarNotch

* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS5E25TheCutieRemarkPart1 "The Cutie Remark Part 1"]]: Rainbow Dash in the King Sombra BadPresent timeline is shown fighting in the frontlines with a portion of her ear cut off along with having an artificial wing.

* From the WebOriginal/FurryBasketballAssociation, Buck Hopper, Shane Rufus, Cheeto Wolfote, Bruce Bounder (who's missing half an ear). In a universe filled with Badass Furry characters, this is inevitable.

* If you ever see a cat with the edge of one ear that looks like it's been sliced off, that means it was caught, spayed or neutered, then released.

* The Dimitri Trio in ''WesternAnimation/OneHundredAndOneDalmatianStreet'' each have a notch on one of their ears.
* The stray cat Rita from ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'' has one.
* Modo from ''WesternAnimation/BikerMiceFromMars''.

* Kwazii from ''WesternAnimation/TheOctonauts'' has a nick in his ear, fitting his reckless pirate nature.

* Rocky from ''WesternAnimation/PawPatrol'' has a small yet noticeable notch on one of his ears.

* Don Karnage from ''WesternAnimation/TaleSpin''.
* Furrball from ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures''.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}}:'' Melman the giraffe has a small slit on his right ear.

[[folder:Real Life]]
* {{Invoked}} [[HumansAreCthulhu for livestock]] as a method of herd identification. Some of the more commonly notched livestock species are [[http://www.triplebsires.com/EARNotch.html pigs,]] [[http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/sheep/ansc442/semprojs/2005/identification/sheepidentification.htm sheep,]] and reindeer.
* Field biologists who study elephants will photograph and sketch their ears, using the distinctive pattern of notches and holes in them (along with the growth pattern of the tusks) to recognize individuals.
* For aquatic creatures [[http://www.dolphinstudy.com/dorsal.asp it's often the dorsal fin that's notched]] to assist with individual member identification.
* Rats and cats can gain injuries through fights which result in ear notching. Barn cats can also lose the tips of their ears to frostbite, which still makes them survivors.
* A notch in the left ear on a cat can also mean a stray has been fixed, which is [[RealityIsUnrealistic somewhat less badass]]. Typically, to make it obvious that this isn't merely a battle scar, the entire tip of the ear is clipped off.
* Ear notches are sometimes used to mark laboratory mice to identify them from their cage mates. [[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1693365, In one case]], scientists accidentally discovered a mutant breed of mice they were researching had astonishing [[HealingFactor regenerative abilities]] - because their ear notches kept healing away.
* Probably one of the most famous examples is Evander Holyfield getting a piece of his ear bitten off by Mike Tyson in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Evander_Holyfield_vs._Mike_Tyson_II an infamous match contested on June 28, 1997.]] When Holyfield appeared in animated form on ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb'', they drew the bite in his ear.
[[/folder]]

* The rough-and-tumble Boss in ''Anime/{{Hamtaro}}'' has a ear notch.

* A non-animal version occurs in ''Manga/TokyoGhoul''. Naki, one of the members of [[TheSyndicate Aogiri]], has several large chunks missing out of his left ear. He's from the infamously violent [[ThirteenIsUnlucky 13th Ward]] and WordOfGod states the chunks were ''bitten'' out by his CoolBigBro Yamori. It stands out since their HealingFactor means Ghouls almost ''never'' scar, and hints at his childish and violent nature.

* Franchise/MonsterVerse: In the ''Kingdom Kong'' graphic novel, [[Characters/MonsterVerseKaiju Camazotz]] has the horn variaion in the form of a broken left horn.

* In ''ComicStrip/FootrotFlats'', Major the pig dog--who hunts feral pigs--is missing the tip of one ear.
* In the comic strip ''Outland'' by [[ComicStrip/BloomCounty Berke Breathed]], Mortimer Mouse (a parody of [[Franchise/MickeyMouse Mickey]]) has a bite taken out of one ear--supposedly the result of a scuffle with Disney exec Michael Eisner.

* ''Fanfic/UnderTheNorthernLights'': The reindeer do ear notching as a mark of status and clan affiliation as well as for cosmetic reasons. It's mentioned that by the time of the story this has fallen out of practice, and is only done by the very old-fashioned and the very hard (a good comparison might be a modern Maori who opts for a full facial ''moko'', and insists on having it done the traditional way).

** ''WesternAnimation/MadagascarEscape2Africa'': Alex's father Zuba has a huge notch in his left ear. It's explained how he got it in the prologue. When he discovered that his son had been cub-napped by poachers, Zuba chased after the truck, and tried to free his son, only to get part of his left ear shot off by the poachers. By the time Zuba's vision clears from the blow, he doesn't notice that Alex's crate had fallen off the truck and into the river and continues to chase it. Fade to the present where Alex and the gang crash land in Africa, and Alex reunites with his parents, setting the second part of the plot in motion.
* Giro, the villanous wolf leader from ''Anime/OneStormyNight'', due to him having one of his ears bitten off by Mei's mother before telling her son to run away as he and the other wolf maul her to death.

* Alvin in the live-action adaptation of ''Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' has a notch in his ear, perhaps to identify him as the most reckless, slyest and rebellious member of the group.

* Splinter from ''Film/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' had one from when he was still a regular rat in the live action films. In the computer generated sequel ''WesternAnimation/{{TMNT}}'', he doesn't, prompting one of the directors to joke in the commentary that he's had some work done between films.

* ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' has Harry's dog Mouse with a notched ear. When Harry first gets the puppy he notes that its probably a sign the pup is either more brave or more stupid than the rest of the litter.

* Several animals in ''Series/SavageKingdom'' have torn ears due to fights, but the shining example is a leopard named "Torn Ear". She is an old leopard with very torn up ears.

* During the last [[NoHoldsBarredBeatdown fight]] with [[BigBad Higgs]] in ''VideoGame/DeathStranding'', Higgs can attack [[PlayerCharacter Sam]] and chew a piece of his ear off. The ear stays damaged untill the end of the game, but it's only cosmetic.

** Ollie is a mangy-looking stray cat who is missing part of a ear.

* Ear notches are sometimes used to mark laboratory mice to identify them from their cage mates. [[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1693365, In one case,]] scientists accidentally discovered that a mutant breed of mice they were researching had astonishing [[HealingFactor regenerative abilities]] - because their ear notches kept healing away.

** The Golden Guard has a triangular notch in his elf-like left ear.
** [[spoiler:Emperor Belos]] has a similar notch in his left ear, though in his case, [[spoiler:he has significantly more ear trauma than just the notch, considering he [[EarAche carved his human ears into witch-like points]].]]

* The Golden Guard [[spoiler:aka Hunter]] in ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' has a small notch in his elf-like left ear.
* Rocky from ''WesternAnimation/PawPatrol'' has a small yet noticable notch on one of his ears.

* {{Invoked}} [[HumansAreCthulhu for livestock]] as a method of herd identification. Some of the more commonly notched livestock species are [[http://www.triplebsires.com/EARNotch.html pigs]], [[http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/sheep/ansc442/semprojs/2005/identification/sheepidentification.htm sheep]], and reindeer.

* Ear notches are sometimes used to mark laboratory mice to identify them from their cage mates. [[https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1693365/ In one case]], scientists accidentally discovered that a mutant breed of mice they were researching had astonishing [[HealingFactor regenerative abilities]] - because their ear notches kept healing away.

* In the comic strip ''Outland'' by [[ComicStrip/BloomCounty Berke Breathed]], Mortimer Mouse (a parody of [[Franchise/MickeyMouse Mickey]]) has a bite taken out of one ear--supposedly the result of a scuffle with Disney exec Michael Eisner.

** The Spiky-eared Pichu, otherwise known as "Notch-eared Pichu", has a left ear with three spikes coming out of it. She has a unique game sprite, knows Pain Split (a move that Pichu or any other member of the line cannot learn normally), is unable to be transferred outside of the ''Heart Gold and Soul Silver'' games, and cannot evolve. There's no interesting story behind why her ear is like that, and she's almost universally considered a PromotionalPowerlessPieceOfGarbage.

* ''VideoGame/KirbyAndTheForgottenLand'': Elfilin has a notch in his right ear, though he's [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter far more cute and cuddly]] than you'd expect from the trope description. [[spoiler:Possibly given to him in [[EscapedFromALab the lab he escaped from]], though nothing's confirmed.]]

* ''Webcomic/{{Lackadaisy}}'': Rocky has a notch on his ear - which he got [[IJustShotMarvinInTheFace playing with a gun]] [[http://lackadaisy.foxprints.com/exhibit.php?exhibitid=19 because he thought it made him look dashing]].
* Renowned spacer Ace from ''WebComic/CommanderKitty sports'' one. [[http://www.commanderkitty.com/2009/08/16/listen-up-crew/ CK even contemplates getting his own ear notched]].

* The reindeer in ''FanFic/UnderTheNorthernLights'' do ear notching as a mark of clan affiliation as well as for cosmetic reasons (see Real Life for reference). It's mentioned that by the time of the story, it has fallen out of practice, and is only done by the very old-fashioned and the very hard (a good comparison might be a modern Maori who opts for a full facial ''moko'', and insists on having it done the traditional way).
* In ''Fanfic/OldWest'', the left ear of Ramirez Arvenga, a [[ThoseWilyCoyotes coyote]] mercenary and TheDragon of the BigBad, is torn in a shape that resembles a bullet hole.

* Buck from ''WesternAnimation/IceAge3DawnOfTheDinosaurs''.

** The ever-mischievous Stitch from ''WesternAnimation/LiloAndStitch'' has two notches, one on the upper right ear and one on the lower left, [[OffModel although they sometimes appear either mirrored in the wrong spots or as being symmetrical to one another]]. A few of [[Characters/LiloAndStitchExperiments his fellow mischief-making cousins]] in [[Franchise/LiloAndStitch the franchise]] also have notches on their ears.

* Zira from ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKingIISimbasPride'' (pictured above). She's an Outsider and the BigBad. She's very cruel and sadistic towards her enemies.

* Gen in ''ComicBook/UsagiYojimbo'' has a broken horn.
* In the comic strip ''Outland'' by [[ComicStrip/BloomCounty Berke Breathed]], Mortimer Mouse (a parody of [[Franchise/MickeyMouse Mickey]]) has a bite taken out of one ear--supposedly the result of a scuffle with Disney exec Michael Eisner.
* Azrael in ''ComicBook/TheSmurfs'' has one. In the [[Film/TheSmurfs live-action movie]], it is even shown how he gets it.

* Tsu'tey from ''{{Film/Avatar}}''.

* Alvin in the live-action adaptation of ''Film/AlvinAndTheChipmunks'' has a notch in his ear, perhaps to identify him as the most reckless, slyest and rebellious member of the group.

** Ronno, the tough deer WesternAnimation/{{Bambi}} has to fight to defend Faline and his rival in the [[WesternAnimation/BambiII prequel]].

* Field biologists make sketches of elephants' ears, using the distinctive pattern of notches and holes in them (along with the growth pattern of the tusks) to recognize individual elephants.