Animals are domesticated or wild creatures that encompass a wide range of species. Mammals and other vertebrates are most common in the Grand Theft Auto series which can be found on land and in the ocean. Grand Theft Auto: London 1969 was the first game to introduce interactive animals in the franchise. Grand Theft Auto V has the most extensive variety of any GTA game.
Animals in the 2D Universe[]
In Grand Theft Auto: London 1969/Grand Theft Auto: London 1961, pigeons can be found all over London. The ones found on ground level act like props similar to trash cans and traffic cones, and can be pushed by vehicles and dragged long distances around the map. Pigeons can also be seen on building rooftops through the game's top down perspective, as animated sprites.
Animals in the 3D Universe[]
In the 3D Universe, animals don't play very major roles in the games. In Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, seagulls can be spotted flying overhead, but the seagulls in GTA III are just static props, much like the DeadDodo airplane. In GTA Vice City, seagulls can be shot down with a sniper rifle.
In The Definitive Edition for GTA III, the seagulls are absent.
In two of the cutscenes for Juan Cortez's missions, Cortez offers Tommy seafood: a lobster on one occasion, and a tapir head on another, but Tommy refuses to have either. In one of the cutscenes for Ricardo Diaz's missions, Diaz is implied to be shooting pigeons with a shotgun, although they never appear on screen.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas features other birds alongside seagulls; hawks fly low over the desert and dove-like white birds can be seen flying around rural areas. Also, with the addition of diving underwater in GTA San Andreas, marine life can be spotted, such as schools of fish, jellyfish, dolphins, and sea turtles. These, too, are unsolid, and just static props. The fish are programmed to jump away from the player if they get too close to them. Birds will instantly despawn when hit by any gunfire. Oysters also appear, but serve as collectibles.
Tony the talking parrot in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.
One particular named animal in the game is Ken Rosenberg's talking parrot named Tony, which can only be seen in the opening cutscenes for the missions Intensive Care, The Meat Business and Freefall. The bird's role in the game is minor, appearing only a few times as a comic relief when Ken resides in Las Venturas. The parrot utters, among others, Mafia slang terms and foul language, as well as a quote from Tony Montana: "I haven't fucked anybody over in my life who didn't have it coming to them", from the 1983 film Scarface.
The only other animal who is named in the game is Herbie, an astral goat who belongs to The Truth during the events of GTA San Andreas. However, the goat is never seen in any mission or cutscene whatsoever. The Truth claims that he travels around on Herbie and that he has not driven in fifteen years, despite owning a Camper. It is presumed that the goat doesn't exist at all and it is just Truth's hallucination.
Flies can be seen buzzing around trash piles throughout the state, including in the maintenance closet in the Four Dragons Casino.
In Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, seagulls return once again and remain just as they were in GTA Vice City, even including a statistic counting how many the player has shot. Toshiko Kasen also owns a canary which she frees before she commits suicide.
Animals in the HD Universe[]
Grand Theft Auto IV[]
In Grand Theft Auto IV, the only animals are flying rats (pigeons), seagulls, and cockroaches. The flying rats will not move from their location, but will coo and peck at the ground. There are 200 flying rats in Liberty City and they can be shot, resulting in a puff of feathers and blood. Shooting all 200 flying rats unlocks an achievement; an Annihilator on top of a helipad in Star Junction, and it is also required for 100% completion.
Cockroaches have a role in the story: they appear in the mission The Cousins Bellic, when Roman Bellic kills a cockroach in his apartment, and Niko starts criticizing his lies about having a mansion and hot girls, when he actually has a roach-infested apartment. Seagulls are observed exclusively at the Liberty Ferry Terminal between 5 AM to 9 AM and 2 PM to 6 PM. They are categorized as a particle effect and do not have any collision.
Seagulls once again return in The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. These seagulls function identically to flying rats; they do not move from their location, and have to be killed to achieve 100% completion. There are 50 seagulls around the city, and they can be "collected" by shooting them. In TLAD, collecting all seagulls will unlock an Innovation, both at the player's safehouse and as a bike deliverable by Clay. Killing all seagulls in TBoGT spawns an APC at Yusuf Amir's construction site.
In the game's ambient city audio, there is a dog barking sound, but there are no dogs in the game. They would eventually appear in Grand Theft Auto V.
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars[]
Cockroaches appear in the dumpsters that can be searched around Liberty City. They can be killed in some versions and the number of squashed cockroaches is recorded as a stat.
Grand Theft Auto V[]
Animals return in GTA V and play a much larger role in the storyline.
Dogs appear in the game, and can be interacted with in various ways by the player. There are two named dogs in the game, the first being Chop, a large Rottweiler belonging to Lamar Davis, that appears in several missions. Franklin can take the dog on walks and interact with him, boosting Chop's happiness; the other one is Dexie, owned by Kerry McIntosh, appearing in the mission Vinewood Souvenirs - Kerry, in which Trevor has to chase the dog in order to retrieve his collar.
There is also a new Hunting side mission, which consists of Trevor hunting down different kinds of animals and sending photos of their corpses to Cletus.
If Michael, Franklin, or Trevor run over various animals, such as coyotes, cows, and deer, they may comment on it.
The Out of Your Depth achievement/trophy requires the player to be eaten underwater by a shark.
The enhanced version of GTA V for PS4, Xbox One and PC, introduced new animals into the game and a new collectible mission to photograph them. Peyote Plants were also added, which, once consumed by the player, allow the player to temporarily control different types of animals.
Grand Theft Auto Online[]
Only cockroaches have existed in Grand Theft Auto Online for a long period after its release, likely for reasons related to server load. As part of the continuation of The Diamond Casino & Resort update, however, Peyote Plants were added; this brought many animal species into GTA Online, albeit only player-controlled ones.
El Rubio owns a panther, which can be found at his compound on Cayo Perico, which functions identically to a cougar.
In The Contract update, Chop was added to the game and can be interacted with at the Agency. He also appears in Short Trip - Seed Capital in Lamar's car.
In The Chop Shop update, wildlife is made available exclusively for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S Editions, alongside a new daily collectible/activity in the form of the Wildlife Photography competition by the LS Tourist Board.
Grand Theft Auto VI[]
Grand Theft Auto VI will introduce new animals to the series, including alligators, ducks, flamingos, and iguanas.
List of animals in the Grand Theft Auto series[]
| Animal names | Game(s) available in |
|---|---|
| Water | |
| Alligators | Grand Theft Auto VI |
| Dolphins | Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Grand Theft Auto V [E&E], GTA VI |
| Eels | GTA VI |
| Fish | Grand Theft Auto III, GTA San Andreas, The Ballad of Gay Tony, GTA V, Grand Theft Auto Online |
| Hammerhead Sharks | GTA V [E&E] |
| Humpback Whales | GTA V [E&E] |
| Killer Whales (Orcas) | GTA V [E&E], GTA VI |
| Jellyfish | GTA Vice City, GTA San Andreas |
| Loch Santos Monster | GTA Online |
| Oysters | GTA San Andreas |
| Sea Turtles | GTA Vice City, GTA San Andreas, GTA VI |
| Sharks | GTA Vice City, GTA San Andreas, GTA V, GTA VI |
| Starfish | GTA San Andreas, GTA V, GTA Online |
| Stingrays | GTA V [E&E] |
| Land | |
| Boars | GTA V |
| Cats | GTA V [E&E], GTA VI |
| Chickens | GTA V |
| Chimpanzees | GTA V |
| Cougars | GTA V, GTA VI |
| Cows | GTA V |
| Coyotes | GTA V |
| Deer | GTA V, GTA VI |
| Dogs | GTA V, GTA VI |
| Foxes | GTA VI |
| Iguanas | GTA VI |
| Monkeys | GTA V, GTA Online |
| Panther | GTA Online |
| Pigs | GTA V |
| Rabbits | GTA V [E&E] |
| Raccoons | GTA VI |
| Rats | GTA V |
| Snakes (but not moving and only seen in the terrarium) | GTA V, GTA Online, GTA VI |
| Squirrels | GTA VI |
| Yeti | GTA Online |
| Air | |
| Canary | Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories |
| Crows | GTA V |
| Doves | GTA San Andreas |
| Double-Crested Cormorants | GTA VI |
| Ducks | GTA VI |
| Great Cormorants | GTA V |
| Flamingos | GTA VI |
| Hawks | GTA San Andreas, GTA V |
| Parrot | GTA San Andreas |
| Pigeons | Grand Theft Auto: London 1969, Grand Theft Auto: London 1961, GTA IV, GTA V [E&E] |
| Seagulls | GTA III, GTA Vice City, GTA San Andreas, GTA Liberty City Stories, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories, The Lost and Damned, GTA IV, TBoGT, GTA V, GTA VI |
| Insects | |
| Butterflies | GTA V, GTA Online |
| Cockroaches | GTA IV, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars, GTA V, GTA Online |
| Fireflies | GTA V, GTA Online |
| Flies | GTA Vice City, GTA San Andreas, GTA Vice City Stories, GTA IV, GTA V, GTA Online |
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