6 Animals That Love to Steal

In order to stay alive, animals have evolved in an interesting variety of ways—including outright theft. Join Michael Aranda and learn about the clever ways animals have learned to steal and get ahead of the competition in this fun new episode of SciShow! Let's go!

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Images:

[chitin]

Speaking of stealing I remember witnessing an interesting relationship with carpenter bees and bell flowers where the bees that are rather a bit too large to fit into the narrow openings of the flowers to get the nectar and thereby help to pollinate the flowers actually bit at the base of the flower to get directly to the nectar and bypass the pollination completely. You can even see the little scars where they have repeatedly done it before.

[stormbob]

Newly-hatched bees aren't called larvae. They're called ba-bees.

[Yora]

2:42 That's the most shifty looking bird I've ever seen.

[unicornswag]

*_Hustle Hank stole my protein powder._*

[Master_Therion]

It's hard to explain food puns to kleptoparasites because they take food literally.

[amy]

I love how chill Michael always is, he has the calmest voice =)

[brookemauck]

I like how he clarified that the bird doesn't know he's a liar.

[ladyajninja]

LMAO
"Little monkey mobsters"
😂🤣 I laughed out loud, I needed to hear that. Didn't know I did, but I sure did. I love this show.

[masterimbecile]

I was in Gibraltar last summer, and next to the door at the mountain top cafe is placed a stick. A stick used by the staff members to beat back the macaques that would sneak in and steal tourists' sandwiches. Got the pleasure to see this in action.

[sunshinekid]

My sister worked at Disney World and Seaworld parking and watching strollers. So many squirrels are also thieves like the monkeys. They apparently can open Tupperware and unopened chip bags. Never leave your food unattended lol

[squiddler]

*Stealing food* - Level 1 crook
*Stealing random stuff and holding it hostage until the humans give you food* - Level 100 macaque

[noel]

"It seems pretty brutal...cause it is"

[admiii]

Bad bugs, bad bugs, whacha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when- Hey, who took the rest of my lyrics!

[admiii]

Give me a minute to understand this. Ha!! <runs off with the minute>

[admiii]

*Raccoon.* Sad but true story: Once, camping in the woods, I let my family go explore while I unpacked lunch from our car. I start setting food out on our fold-out table, when I spot a raccoon watching me from like 10 meters in front of me on the other side of the table -- not moving, just watching. I know they're sneaky, so I watch him back, _like a hawk._ I watch him as I slowly step back, grab the next food item, and set it on the table -- watching him the whole time. Then I hear a rustle right _behind_ me...

Yeah, I'd say it's literally the oldest trick in the book, except that it predates books, and probably even predates people. One critter holds your attention in front, while the other sneaks up from behind. Well, an oldie but goody trick, 'cuz it worked just fine on me.

I quick turn around to see my family's huge loaf of french bread racing up the hill on the other side of my car, with a raccoon's tail sticking out from under it. Outraged at being _so_ quickly and easily fooled, I race after it like a mad man. I'm gaining ground (raccoon's have short legs), but as I get close, I have to stoop to reach down, and can't quite close the gap. Luckily, I realize in time that I have no idea what I might do if I _catch_ the raccoon -- wrestle with a wild woodland critter full of teeth and claws? I come to a stop, just as the first raccoon running a wide path around me catches up, and they both plunge into this big bush, along with my bread. I hear lots of raccoon chattering; apparently there's a big raccoon den in there, overjoyed at the giant french bread feast that probably outweighs all of them combined.

I'm annoyed, defeated and depressed, but get even more so when I walk back to our table, with all the food planned for our lunch: peanut butter, jam, canned tuna, cold cuts, mayonnaise, mustard ... and no bread ... for the next three days.

[alexhaywood]

My cat learned how to open the fridge, does that count?

[LeatherNeck]

Who ever would have thought that a snail...A SNAIL! (let that slowly sink in)...would be on the "Top Animal Thieves" list?

[benjaminolsson]

I worked in Gibraltar a few years back. They had monkeys that looked awfully similar to those in the video there. I heard they could steal stuff, but never saw it happen.

I did see this mom with its young having a small bag of chips that it probably got from someone or just stole it. I assume it was given to it because it had its baby in its lap and sat on a stone wall next to a path with a bunch of tourists around it.

The monkey pulled on the bag to open it and it worked. But it was the underside of the bag that broke and not the top. All the chips went on the baby and the mom picked it up and basically put its entire head in its mouth and pulled the chips of with its lips. It was hilarious!

I wish I had filmed it. But I was in a hurry somewhere work related. I was an assistant for this businessman and ran errands for him. But it's a fond memory and I smile every time I think of it.

Another funny memory was when these British girls compared me to a Cornetto when I was sunbathing... But that's another story. Hahaha.

[daviddekrey]

Where's the plant kingdom shoutout?! Plants can steal too! They're not just helpless victims! I think about the dodder vine immediately.

[ErraticPT]

You missed out squirrels, they steal from each other (often by faking stashing), from birds and from humans.