10 Animals That Humiliated and Harmed Historical Leaders

They may have commanded armies and built empires, but no leader has ever completely controlled everything around them. History is filled with examples of powerful rulers whose authority crumbled the moment an animal—large or small, fierce or harmless—entered the picture. Animals cannot be bribed, threatened, or reasoned with, which means even the greatest leaders occasionally found themselves humbled, embarrassed, or even injured by them.

Here are ten amusing—and sometimes tragic—times history’s most influential figures were outmatched by creatures great and small.

Related: 10 Fossilized Animals Caught in the Act

10 Rabbits

Napoleon Bonaparte’s military genius earned him a reputation for near invincibility, but even he was not prepared for an attack led by… rabbits. To celebrate the end of France’s war with Russia, Napoleon organized a massive rabbit hunt, acquiring several thousand domesticated rabbits for the occasion.

However, as soon as the cages were opened, the rabbits swarmed toward Napoleon and his guests instead of fleeing. Because they were tame and accustomed to being fed, they rushed the hunting party in anticipation of food. Instead of their usual meals, they went for buttons, boots, and anything else within biting distance.

Napoleon reportedly tried shooing them away and even laughed at first, but the animals kept coming in waves. Eventually, he was forced to retreat to his carriage to escape the furry onslaught—a rare moment when the legendary general found himself outmaneuvered.^[1]

9 More Rabbits

Napoleon was not the last world leader to suffer rabbit-related embarrassment. In April 1979, President Jimmy Carter became the subject of media mockery after an encounter with what reporters gleefully dubbed a “killer rabbit.”

Carter was fishing alone from a small boat when he noticed a swamp rabbit swimming directly toward him—an unusual behavior for the species. The startled president splashed water with his paddle to divert the animal, later explaining that the rabbit appeared to be fleeing predators, not launching an attack.

When the story reached the press, however, the narrative transformed into a cartoonish image of a president under siege by a ferocious bunny. Newspapers ran sensational headlines, and political opponents seized on the incident to ridicule Carter’s leadership during an already challenging presidency.

Though the moment was harmless, the “killer rabbit” saga endured as one of the strangest political anecdotes of the era.^[2]

8 Chickens

For centuries, storytellers have used animal anecdotes to poke fun at rulers—and few tales are as famous as the one involving Emperor Honorius and his beloved rooster. Honorius ruled during a turbulent period in the Western Roman Empire, but according to the historian Procopius, his attention was often focused on far less important matters.

Procopius claimed that Honorius adored a pet rooster named Roma, named after the capital itself. When a messenger arrived in 410 AD to deliver the devastating news that the city of Rome had fallen to the Visigoths, Honorius allegedly panicked—not for his empire, but for his chicken. Only when reassured that Roma the rooster was alive did he sigh in relief.

While the story is almost certainly satirical, its purpose was clear: to portray Honorius as a man unfit to rule. Whether true or not, the anecdote has endured as a symbol of imperial incompetence.^[3]

7 Whales

Procopius recorded another animal-related humiliation—this time involving Emperor Justinian I of Byzantium. Unlike Honorius, Justinian had no affection for the creature causing him trouble. The problem was a massive whale named Porphyrius, which terrorized ships in the Bosporus Strait for decades.

Porphyrius reportedly capsized vessels, disrupted trade routes, and became notorious enough that Justinian declared its capture a matter of state importance. Multiple coordinated attempts were made to trap or kill the whale, but all failed. The mighty emperor found himself powerless against a creature that defied every effort to control it.

In the end, Porphyrius met his fate not through imperial might but misfortune: he beached himself and was killed by locals. Still, the episode became part of Justinian’s legend—proof that even rulers who rebuilt Hagia Sophia and reshaped empires could be thwarted by a single stubborn whale.^[4]

6 Monkeys

Some animal encounters are merely humiliating; others have tragic consequences. In October 1920, King Alexander of Greece died at age 27 after a bizarre and unexpected monkey attack on the grounds of the royal palace near Athens.

Alexander was walking with his dog when a pet Barbary macaque owned by a palace worker attacked the animal. While trying to break up the fight, the king was bitten several times. The wounds became infected, and despite attempts at treatment—including discussions of possible amputation—he died three weeks later.

His death triggered a political crisis. Alexander had been placed on the throne after his father’s exile, and his passing destabilized an already fragile government. Remarkably, his daughter was born just months after his death, never having met him.^[5]

5 Deer

King Christian V of Denmark, who ruled from 1670 to 1699, was known for his obsession with a sport called par force hunting. Inspired by the court of Louis XIV, Christian insisted on personally delivering the final blow to the exhausted deer at the end of each chase—a ritual symbolizing aristocratic dominance.

But in November 1698, Christian chose a red deer that had not yet been fully subdued. When the king dismounted to finish it off, the animal kicked him violently, and some accounts say it also fell on top of him. His injuries worsened over the following months, and he died the next year.

Par force hunting was notoriously dangerous and physically demanding, even for experienced nobles. The king’s fatal miscalculation became a cautionary tale—and the sport was eventually banned in Denmark in the late 18th century.^[6]

4 Dogs

Dogs may be man’s best friend, but even the best-behaved can misread a situation—especially one with a history of aggression. In 1933, British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald visited President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the White House. During the visit, he encountered Major, Roosevelt’s German shepherd and a former police dog.

For reasons unknown, Major lunged and tore a large piece from the prime minister’s trousers, leaving MacDonald unharmed but deeply embarrassed. Roosevelt’s staff scrambled to find a replacement pair of pants while reporters delighted in the symbolism, noting the tension between Britain and Germany at the time.

Major already had a notorious reputation for biting staff members and even chasing the First Lady’s horse. After the incident with MacDonald, the dog was quietly relocated to Roosevelt’s Hyde Park estate.^[7]

3 Pigs

Medieval Paris was a bustling maze of narrow, muddy streets—and livestock roamed freely through it. Pigs in particular wandered among the population, acting as informal garbage collectors. But on October 1, 1131, this everyday scene turned deadly for the French heir, Prince Philippe.

Riding at speed through a crowded lane, Philippe startled a pig, which bolted directly into his horse’s path. The animal spooked, throwing the prince violently to the ground. His head struck a stone, and he died that night, likely from a broken neck.

The tragedy shocked the kingdom. In response, city authorities banned pigs from the streets, and enforcement was strict enough that executioners were permitted to kill any roaming swine they encountered. Philippe’s death became a key moment in Parisian urban regulation.^[8]

2 Sparrows

In 1958, Mao Zedong launched the “Four Pests Campaign,” aiming to eradicate flies, mosquitoes, rats, and sparrows, which he believed harmed agricultural yields. Scientists warned that sparrows consumed large numbers of insects, but Mao insisted on their extermination.

Citizens across China banged pots and pans to prevent sparrows from landing, causing millions to die from exhaustion. Over the next two years, an estimated two billion sparrows were killed. But without them, locust and rice borer populations exploded.

The ecological collapse contributed to a devastating famine during the Great Leap Forward. Desperate to correct the mistake, China later imported sparrows from the Soviet Union—but massive agricultural damage had already been done. The campaign is now considered one of the most disastrous wildlife-control decisions in history.^[9]

1 Elephants

In 1962, workers excavating beneath the Vatican discovered the skeleton of an elephant—an extraordinary find, yet not entirely unexpected to historians. The remains belonged to Hanno, a famous pet of Pope Leo X and one of the most unusual animals ever to live in the papal court.

Gifted to the pope in 1514 by King Manuel I of Portugal, Hanno quickly became a sensation. Artists, poets, and nobles flocked to see him, and Leo commissioned elaborate artwork in the elephant’s honor. But Hanno’s presence also fueled emerging Protestant critiques. Supporters of Martin Luther pointed to the elephant as a symbol of papal excess during a time of corruption and financial strain within the Church.

Hanno died young after being treated with gold-infused medicine—an extravagant remedy that likely worsened his illness. His burial beneath the Vatican cemented his legacy as both a beloved curiosity and an inadvertent contributor to the growing dissent that sparked the Reformation.^[10]