13 Most Vengeful Animals in the World (+Pics)

Do animals are capable of holding grudges? There is no scientific proof to establish that animals can take revenge, but several instances exist to prove that they do. According to most scientists, animals can have personality traits comparable to humans, so there is a possibility that they can hold grudges. 

Tigers have been observed holding grudges; similarly, leopards, gorillas, camels, and even cows repeatedly showed their resentment against wrongdoers. Elephants are also known to have taken revenge against humans. Here are 13 animals thought to hold grudges against humans and retaliate.

Read: 13 Amazing Animals With Manes

Contents

13 Most Vengeful Animals in the World

1. Tiger

Researchers find tigers the most vengeful animals on Earth. Getting on the nerves of an apex predator like a Tiger is terrible and could have undesirable consequences. There was an instance of a Siberian tiger (also called the Amur tiger) that tracked down and killed the Russian poacher Vladimir Markov, who shot it in the Russian Far East in 1997. 

Markov shot and wounded the tiger during a hunt and made the mistake of taking food from a tiger. As a result, the tiger not only located the man’s cabin but destroyed his belongings and waited for him to return home to execute his attack. It proves that the tiger can be very vengeful. 

In Seethathodu, Kerala, India, there was an incident of a male tiger went on a rampage in 2016. First, the poacher named Baby shot and killed the tigress and cub and then shared their meat. Then, three days later, as they met, the tiger pounced on Baby and severely mauled him before carrying him into the forest. 

2. Dog

Dogs also become vengeful at times. In 2015, a man in Chongqing, China, found a stray dog lying in his parking space before parking his car one evening. Instead of shooing the dog, he kicked it out of the way.

The canine took the kicking incident as an assault and returned with more dogs, and they all proceeded to vandalize the man’s car, using their jaws to make dents and bite the windshield wipers. His neighbor witnessed the dogs attacking the vehicle, and the man was shocked to find his car full of dents the following day.

3. Octopus

Octopuses are intelligent creatures who remember things. They also have good vision. But, unfortunately, the following incident proves they can also hold grudges and take revenge whenever they get the chance.

Truman, an octopus that used to live at the New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts, disliked a woman volunteer at the aquarium and would shoot a stream of water at her at every opportunity he got. Later, the lady left for college, and Truman hadn’t been found shooting water at anyone. But when she returned for a visit a few months later, it shot a stream of water at her the moment he saw her.

4. Leopard

How vengeful a leopard could be can be proved by an incident in Kenya. In Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya, the park rangers captured and relocated a female leopard that became a nuisance after feeding on some communities’ livestock. But the leopard refused to leave the cage of the pickup truck used to transport her. 

Things got nasty when one of the rangers, Alexander Rono, poked the leopard with a long stick from the truck’s cabin to make her leave the cage and escape. The leopard did not like the pokes but did not leave the cage.

When she finally did, she turned toward the front of the vehicle and attacked Alexander. She engaged Alexander in a severe scuffle and repeatedly tore his face with her 8-centimeter (3 inches) claws. Alexander suffered severe injuries as it required 21 stitches to close his wounds, and he almost went blind. 

5. Crows

Crows recognize people who trouble them very well; they often taunt and dive-bomb these people whenever they see them around. It is said Crows not only hold grudges; they tell their friends and family about them.” 

Some researchers capturing and attaching identification bands on some crows discovered that the crows made noises and swooped at them whenever they entered their territory. Then the researchers started wearing masks while capturing and tagging the birds.

Soon the crows started making noises whenever they saw the masked person around. The crows didn’t forget the faces even after a whole year. More interestingly, the crows taught their children about their enemies, who also scolded and dive-bomb the perceived enemies without seeing them capture a crow.

6. Camel

Camel is one animal that never forgives or forgets. They have good memories and hold grudges against people who harm them. Harming a camel will likely lead to a revenge attack, possibly ending in death.

In 2016, One Indian man Urjaram was killed by his camel. The man had been engrossed in attending some guests in his home in Mangta village, Rajasthan, India. Somehow he forgot about the camel, which was out in the scorching sun for the whole day.

At night, when Urjaram tried untying the camel, the angry camel caught him by the neck, lifted him and threw him back to the ground. Then it started chewing the neck until the head was separated from the body. It took about six hours to calm the angry camel down by 25 villagers.

7. Gorilla

Gorillas are incredibly sophisticated, brilliant animals having deep emotions. They readily learn sign language and utilize it to communicate. However, they can also become vengeful if someone does something wrong. 

A woman who worked at the Philadelphia Zoo would prod the gorillas, constantly misbehaving with the animals. One day, when she stuck her arm through the bars of the tunnel to wiggle the large steel plate that acted as a door to the gorilla enclosure, gorillas noticed her attempting to fix it and pulled the steel plate firmly down on her bare arm.

That gorilla was there to keep the door clamped on her arm. Eventually, the gorilla relinquished the door and released the woman’s arm. Unfortunately, she suffered several fractures and would not return to the primate house again.

Read: 15 Most Agile Animals in the World

8. Elephants

Elephants are also said to be vengeful in many stories. Here is an incident in July 2016, around the Champua forest range in Keonjhar, India, to go by the saying.

Members of several villages suffered elephant invasions over two weeks. Sixteen elephants from two different herds launched attacks on the villages for many nights and destroyed 54 homes.

Investigations revealed some poachers from a neighboring state killed a male elephant for its tusks on July 11. However, the rest of the herd directed their aggression at the village and launched simultaneous attacks that left the villagers under trees or in makeshift sheds.

9. Skuas

Skuas live in Antarctica. While they evolved without human interaction, now they can remember human faces and attack whom they assume to be enemies. Korean scientists based on King George Island started a study by checking on the skuas’ nests, eggs, and chicks between 2014 and 2015. The uncomfortable skuas started attacking the researchers who were close to their nests.

To confirm whether the birds recognized them or attacked any human, one researcher who had previously visited the nest visited the nests with another researcher who never had visited there. The birds attacked the researcher seen around their nest before while ignoring the one who had never been there. 

10. Bear

Bears could also be vengeful especially grizzly bears and occasionally black bear that has been wounded or cornered. In 1915, Japan became a place of brutal attacks from a bear. Attacks in Sankebetsu by bears remain the bloodiest in Japanese history. 

A mighty male bear named Kesagake that feeds on corn fields becomes trouble for settlers. They tried to shoot him up, but that injured bear escaped. However, it returned and started a ruthless invasion of the settlers’ houses, killing several people between December 9 and 14, 1915. Finally, an exceptional group of hunters killed it on December 14, 1915.

11. Monkey

Monkeys also need to be mentioned in this list of vengeful animals. Lavool is a 5000-person town about 300 miles east of Mumbai. The monkeys started to take “revenge” after a pack of dogs killed an infant monkey. Monkeys killed around 250 dogs in ‘revenge’ attacks. 

The monkeys started snatching dogs as soon as they spotted them and dragging them to the top of trees and tall buildings. The monkeys then throw the dogs off the heights and let them die. They killed almost all the dogs in the locality in the primate purge. Officials from a local forest department tried to capture the vengeful monkeys but could not entrap any of them.

12. Cow

A sharp increase in the number of people bitten by cows and buffaloes in New Delhi proves that cows can be vengeful. In addition, a surge in building projects that blocked their traditional grazing routes left the creatures bewildered and panicked, causing many attacks on people.

The situation had been created by neglecting these animals wandering Delhi’s roads by their owners. Unfortunately, The animals lose their way home due to the fast-changing city landscape. As a result, they get strayed and panic. Moreover, traffic produces too much noise. As animals hear much higher frequency sounds than humans, this can cause animals to turn violent in public places, although they do not want to hurt people.

13. African Buffalo (Cape Buffalo)

This animal has a very vengeful reputation. These magnificent beasts may look cattle-like, but they are a different species. Attempts made to domesticate these animals have failed. Nevertheless, these visually powerful animals kill two hundred people annually, more than the attrition caused by lions. In addition to humans, lions and crocodiles are the only animals likely to attack buffalo.

Nikki Atcheson, a Professional Hunter, typical for African safaris, was hunting with a party of trackers and came upon a large buffalo in a thick brush forest. Although Atcheson could only see parts of the animal, she aimed and fired.

The buffalo was severely wounded but alive. Instead, the bull ambushed the group, following a blood trail. It ran straight for Atcheson, goring her with one horn and tossing her like straw in the wind. Eventually, the buffalo died, yet it critically wounded Atcheson.

Read: 17 Stunning Animals That Live in Water and on Land

Conclusion

Remember, hunters, are always aggressive toward animals when they hunt. Usually, prey species aren’t vengeful and run away from hunters regardless of the circumstances.

However, we have seen how a tiger shows revenge, and they don’t forget. Therefore, getting close to some animals becomes very dangerous. If you cause harm to one of them, it will remember you and can retaliate.

Disclaimer: This blog should not be considered as being professional pet medical advice. The content published on this blog is for informational purposes only. Please always consult with a licensed and local veterinarian for medical advice.

About Shaun Clarke

Shaun is passionate about pets and animals, especially dogs, cats, and rabbits. He owns a dog and a couple of cats too. He loves visiting wildlife sanctuaries and shares a strong bond with animals. When he is not writing, he loves to do a barbecue in the backyard with his family and friends.