A question about zombies

[Doclector]

Who says there aren't? Even Resident Evil gives us the Cerberus dogs.

And yes, I'm far more terrified of undead dogs and bears than of humans.

Well, in the most widely accepted version of the viral zombie, the somnabulist, created and used by many zombie movie makers but detailed by Max Brooks, the virus only reannimates humans. Animals can be infected, and it will kill them, but they won't come back. Eating said animals isn't advised though, as the virus will still be present.

It varies here and there, some versions do have zombie animals (the most widespread being the T-virus, which seems capable of infecting anything, even plant matter), and some versions may make animals full-on immune, which isn't advisable, as the question arises of why nobody's looked to them for research into a vaccine, but in the most popular version of the zombie virus, animals simply aren't re-animated.

 

[Dusty Donuts]

To be fair, I think being eaten by one thing or the other will kill you just as well, so there isn't much terror in the fear of death from either of them. Human zombies always have a freaking tendency to stand there and look horrifying. Zombie animals are always portrayed as frenzied, murderous things, so you know, pick your poison and all that.

 

[Gormech]

Zombie Insects would be the worst, I mean think about it. You sit down for a minute to catch your breath, looking around incase Zombies or other Survivors come along when suddenly your hand starts to itch. You look and all of a sudden ANTS. ANTS EVERYWHERE, BUT THEY AREN'T NORMAL ANTS THEY ARE ZOMBIE ANTS! THEY ARE BITING YOUR HAND, OH GOD THEY'RE ALL OVER YOUR PANTS!!!! THEY'RE CRAWLING INTO YOUR SKIN OH MAH GAWDFSAJFAJRFAKILLMEHFREUSIFAFDITBURNSJEFI!!!

And with that, over a thousand people will now have to re-evaluate their zombie survival plan. Just running away from the city isn't an option anymore.

 

[Angie7F]

What about pet cemetery (movie)?

 

[ThePenguinKnight]

Whenever I hear Zombie Apocalypse I don't think about human zombies to be the threat, it's the animals and insects for sure. They are equipped by birth with weapons to rend and kill with when the best we can muster is some punching, kicking, and biting. Zombie ants, little hard to defend against ants.

 

[Ignatz_Zwakh]

Depends mainly on the mythos. I've always thought of zombies (In terms of Hollywood undead) as being archetypically a human problem. The whole idea of the new society consuming the old and zombies being representative of Capitalism and modern-day fears etc,etc. Not really something that would bother animals, hell, they'd adapt. I mean, house-pets might be at risk...

 

[White_Lama]

Megasnip

Thanks for posting that, now I don't have to look for it myself and get nightmares.

Then again, that picture gave me nightmares.

 

[Melondrupe]

As far as it comes to video games, one just assumes it's for the same reason as the typical lack of children in zombie focused games, they either didn't think about them seriously or believe they will be a hassle to deal with in game. Flying creatures are typically annoying to deal with, especially if they're small. For insects, unless they magnify their size, they'd probably be more so frustrating to deal with than birds. The scene from the House of the Dead 2 movie where a man gets infected from a mosquito bite were it to be implemented into a game, might just come off more as a nuisance.

It'd be exciting to deal with zombified lions, bears and rhinos and such given their thicker hides and denser bones. The question is, will they be out to eat other species or just their own kind. If only their own species, there could be a possible benefit in zombified horses.


For movies, humans are cheaper and easier to deal with, one would guess.

Also probably depends on what type of level of disaster the creator wants: Dark Age level or Extinction level. Having mosquitoes or something on the level of mites be able to transfer the virus, I'd see extinction level happening.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

There are always zombie animals, it's just they are often overshadowed by human zombies because they largely outnumber animals, especially in rural settings, and most animals instinctively run away from zombies rather than try to fight them head on, like most humans do.

The most interesting and terrifying realization about animals in a zombie apocalypse can be best illustrated in the third Resident Evil movie, Extinction. With that massive outbreak of zombies polluting the natural environment, many of its carnivorous animals either die out or become extinct because of the lack of herbivores to eat or being unable to hunt in the changing terrains. The herbivores that do survive, which are usually scavengers, are forced to feed off the flesh of "killed" zombies that liter the wasteland, in turn, contracting the virus and spreading it to other animals that they attack.

In the movie, Alice, the protagonist, witnesses a crow feasting on the flesh of a recently "killed" zombie. A flock of crows, or a murder, to be precise, then proceed to attack a caravan of survivors, who bravely fight them off with a mounted flamethrower, and later dispatched by Alice.

So yeah, even if humans are able to find a cure/vaccine to counteract that virus, there is still a possibility that animals can contract the virus and have it change overtime (like the flu or common cold) that it will still pose as a threat in the future.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Eh, zombies are inherently silly anyway. They are essential a perpetual motion machine disease. You get bitten, invariably die and become a zombie, and run around with no energy source till a bullet hits you in the head.

Just say Voldemort is making Inferii, that makes much more sense. And since you need magic zombies, you can have your magic work, or not on animals if you like.

 

[Mister K]

You want zombie animals? Read S.King's "Pet cementry".