Buzz
Animal crimes against humans are no joke. Some monkeys engage in muggings, sharks swipe things, and foxes have a bizarre shoe obsession (nothing is safe). But beyond the typical grab-and-run, some truly wild incidents are happening out there.
Certain primates run full-blown extortion rackets, a kleptomaniac cat raised funds for other felines, and an octopus even turned to photography after pilfering from a diver.
10. A Young Fisherman Was Nearly Shark-Slapped
In 2019, a family embarked on a boat trip near Cape Cod. They spent their day fishing, and at one point, someone caught a bass. Another passenger filmed the seemingly uneventful moment as the fish was reeled in. No one anticipated that this home video would soon turn into an extraordinary spectacle. But then, a shark decided to snatch the fish away.
The great white, which had been lurking unnoticed, didn’t care much for subtlety. It launched itself out of the water, twisting through the air in an acrobatic flip, and tore the bass in half. In the process, the shark’s tail narrowly missed a child’s face. Fortunately for the boy, he escaped unscathed.
9. The Stolen Shoe Collection
In 2020, Christian Meyer left his running shoes on his porch. The next morning, he noticed that one of them was missing. The theft was frustrating. The shoes were costly, and he certainly couldn’t go for a run with only one sneaker. As he started asking around, he discovered that many of his neighbors had also lost their shoes.
Meyer finally discovered the culprit—a fox. He tracked the animal to a dense thicket, where he spent an hour crawling around. (The price of the sneakers likely kept him going.)
Then, he struck gold. The fox had stashed a massive collection of shoes in the brush, including nearly 100 pairs of clogs, sandals, slippers, and running shoes. Interestingly, the fox seemed to favor stealing Crocs above all else.
This may only be the beginning of the shoe mystery. Since Meyer’s missing sneaker was never recovered, the crafty fox could have another hidden stash elsewhere.
8. A Lab Technician Was Robbed by a Monkey
This wasn’t a monkey fed up with lab tests and cages. No, this was a wild primate roaming a medical school in India. In 2020, a lab technician stepped out of his workplace, and that’s when the small thief struck.
The monkey attacked the man, stole his belongings, and scampered off with various medical supplies. The man managed to film the animal perched in a tree before telling anyone about the incident.
When campus authorities found out about the event, nobody offered the victim comfort like a blanket or hot cocoa. Instead, they grilled him about how he allowed a monkey to overpower him and why he chose to film the animal instead of sounding the alarm immediately.
Despite the comedic undertones, the situation was quite dire. Among the items stolen by the monkey were blood samples from COVID-19 patients.
7. A Crow Steals a Credit Card
Crows are incredibly clever. Their innate curiosity has enabled researchers to teach these birds some astonishing tricks. For instance, one trainer taught crows to collect coins from the street and drop them into a vending machine in exchange for a peanut.
In 2018, a crow in Japan tried to figure out a different kind of vending machine. It hopped around the user panel of a ticket machine at Tokyo’s Kinshicho Station, where commuters can purchase train tickets using their credit cards.
Perhaps the bird realized that those flat plastic objects and the machines had some connection. After playing around with the machine for a while, it snatched a credit card.
A woman approached the machine next to the crow’s. When her card was ejected, the bird grabbed it. The crow appeared confused about what to do next and eventually returned the card to the woman. While these birds are exceptionally intelligent, the crow might never have fully understood the situation—perhaps it was simply fascinated by the card’s shiny hologram sticker.
6. The M&M’s House Intruder
Sometimes, bears pay a visit to the supermarket. In this particular case, the local bear Walmart was a couple’s house in California. Located in South Lake Tahoe, their home had been raided at least six times by these large mammals. One bear had a particular fondness for sweets. During his first heist, the bear broke in through the front door and helped itself to chocolate powder, maple syrup, and cinnamon raisin bread.
One day in 2018, the homeowners left for an hour, making sure to secure their house against break-ins. The only exception was a small kitchen window. They left it open, thinking no bear could fit through—especially not Sweet Tooth, who stood at 213 centimeters (7'0″). You know, a really big bear.
Huge mistake.
Sweet Tooth arrived and immediately spotted the open window. He skillfully removed the mesh cover and wriggled halfway through the frame in search of food. His efforts were rewarded when he found a packet of M&M’S on the counter. The bear tore it open and gobbled it down. The whole scene—his mesh removal and snacking—was captured on a security camera and shared on YouTube and the local news.
5. A Seagull Overcome by Curry
In 2016, a hungry gull was in a desperate search for food. According to veterinarians later at his hearing (well, actually at the sink where they gave him a good scrub), this was a young bird suffering from hunger. So, when the gull spotted meat at a UK factory, he dove straight for it.
Perhaps the bird got a bit too eager. Or maybe he had never made off with a vat of chicken tikka masala before—because that’s exactly what the gull ended up in.
By the time the gull arrived at the wildlife clinic, the curry had turned his feathers a bright orange. His plumage was almost painful for the vets to look at. But what surprised them more was the tantalizing scent of curry that clung to the bird. After a thorough wash with detergent, the orange was gone, but the delicious aroma remained.
Despite nearly drowning in curry, looking like a traffic cone, and being scrubbed like a dirty plate, the gull came out just fine. He was treated to a diet of fish and cat food for weeks before being released back into the wild.
4. The 47-Second Gem Heist
A brazen diamond heist happened in 2018, but the police never showed up. To be fair, they were not informed of the event and SWAT probably would have stepped on the crook without realizing it. The individual boldly stealing a diamond was an ant.
But YouTubers avidly followed the drama after someone posted the video online. The clip shows how the ant chose a gem almost as big as itself and tottered away with it.
Not much is known about where this happened. But since there were other diamonds, it was probably on a workbench of some kind. For roughly 47 seconds, the camera followed the ant in a slow-speed chase across the table. Then the video suddenly ended.
The ant’s fate is unknown, but the insect became a viral sensation for pulling off (at least for a while) the world’s smallest diamond heist.
3. The Monkey Extortion Hustle
Looking for a new camera or sunglasses? Head to Bali and stand behind a tree full of monkeys. These little bandits will provide the goods—for the right snack, of course.
For years, long-tailed macaques at the Uluwatu Temple have been running a profitable operation. They target tourists and run off with anything they can grab, including jewelry, flip-flops, and glasses.
Other places might have dealt with the monkeys differently, but at Uluwatu, the temple staff have become skilled negotiators. They buy back the stolen items with food, though it's a tricky process. If the monkey doesn’t like the menu, there’s no deal.
In 2010, researchers documented that four macaque gangs carried out 201 robberies in just four months. The situation stands out for many reasons (besides the high number of thefts).
For one, the monkeys figured out how to barter with humans. In fact, these are the only wild animals known to run a robbery-and-swap business. They even passed this criminal trade on to their offspring, ensuring it stays in the family.
2. An Octopus Captured Photos With A Stolen Camera
Picture this: a man is battling a giant octopus, forced to choose between holding onto his camera or risking drowning. The octopus triumphs and begins snapping pictures of its own tentacles. This isn’t a scene from a cheesy horror film—it actually unfolded in 2013 when an underwater photographer tried to take pictures of a giant Pacific octopus off the coast of the Pacific Northwest.
What started as a charming encounter soon turned bizarre. The female octopus casually extended a few tentacles from her den and posed for two pictures. But just as the photographer was preparing to take the third shot, things took an unexpected turn.
The octopus seized the camera and held on tight. While the diver fought back, the octopus yanked at his mask and protective clothing, forcing him to retreat to avoid the dangers of the icy cold seawater.
On another dive, and after another battle, the diver and a companion finally managed to wrest the camera from the octopus's grasp. When they returned to land and reviewed the footage, they discovered a series of blurry, self-portrait photos taken by the octopus herself.
1. Cat Burglars Are Real
Denis, the six-month-old cat, was deemed ready to leave the house by his owner. However, Bedfordshire wasn’t quite ready for Denis. The curious kitten began stealing all sorts of items around the neighborhood and proudly presenting them to his family as 'gifts.'
By 2012, Denis had become a notorious local thief. His owner had to keep track of everything Denis swiped in boxes and often referred to the ‘evidence’ when neighbors came asking about their missing belongings.
The cat's crime spree was impressive—ranging from bags, shoes, and shirts to dolls, newspapers, paintbrushes, and, unsurprisingly, a lot of underwear. According to his family, Denis had a special fondness for stealing boxer shorts.
