10 Animals I would bring in a zombie apocalypse

How does nature’s best match up against the undead

Photo by Aedrian Salazar on Unsplash

World War Z, The Walking Dead, Train to Busan, Resident Evil, High School of the Dead — the zombie horror subgenre has pretty much found its way into all forms of media. While specific rules differ between adaptations, the general concept remains similar: a virus that resurrects the dead into walking corpses, which attempt to infect more people through bites.

However, having animal companions in a zombie apocalypse, though not a new concept, is rarely explored in these media. Most of the films and shows that I’ve watched either don’t feature animals or the animal will tragically die halfway through the story.

Today, in the name of fun, I’ve decided to come up with 10 animals I think would make great companions in a zombie apocalypse, not ranked in any order. The first five are the more common and expected picks, and I’ve come up with five more unconventional choices that I feel will give you an advantage in navigating the zombie apocalypse.

Some factors that I’ve mainly considered include:

1. How tame is said animal? (So no tiger from The Walking Dead)
2. The food cost of said animal
3. How likely is the animal not to be eaten by the zombies
4. How useful would the animal be other than as a companion?

Dog

Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

Dogs have been man’s best friend for 15,000 years, and over the course of humanity’s development, they have served various purposes that make them a worthy inclusion in this list. When humans first tamed dogs, they were used as hunting partners. With their sharp senses, they could easily track prey, and with an insane amount of stamina, they were able to drive prey animals into a position where it was easier for their human counterparts to land the finishing blow. On top of this, a dog’s keen senses would be extremely useful as an early alarm system. Food shouldn’t be an issue either; you could share some of your hunts with your dog, and it would be just fine. There should also be plenty of kibble and dog food left in abandoned supermarkets.

Cat

Photo by Mikhail Vasilyev on Unsplash

This pick is less orthodox, however, like dogs, cats have provided companionship for humans for centuries. Despite not having as many combat abilities as dogs, cats would be able to function extremely well as an early alarm system. They have extremely fine-tuned senses that are capable of detecting changes in their environment, allowing them to detect and escape danger long before a human would. Their hunting prowess is also often overlooked since they don’t team up with humans to capture prey. House cats specialise in hunting smaller, more agile prey like rodents and birds, which means lesser pests around. What’s more important is the cat’s behaviour to bring and share some of their kills with their human owners. This is because cats view us as bigger cats that are too incompetent to hunt, and hence, will sometimes bring kills back as a form of sharing. While this behaviour may be annoying during peacetime, it could be invaluable during an apocalypse.

Horse

Photo by David Dibert on Unsplash

We all saw this coming. If dogs didn’t exist, then horses would have become man’s best friend. Horses have been extremely useful throughout human history, used in transport, combat, hunting, and even farming. The amount of utility they could provide in a zombie apocalypse is insane. Not only can they be used as a quick getaway, but they can also carry tons of supplies, which would be useful for supply runs. They can also be useful in hunts, using their speed to keep pace with larger game such as deer. Food shouldn’t be an issue either; you just need to let it graze on an open field or on overgrown weeds, and it should be fine.

Donkey

Photo by Ansgar Scheffold on Unsplash

This is a similar case to the horse, although not so much for hunting. In agriculture, donkeys are mostly used as beasts of burden for plowing and carrying heavy loads. A donkey’s ability to navigate through more difficult terrain might, in fact, make them more useful than a horse. Another lesser-known usage of donkeys is as guard animals. When encountering predators, donkeys bray loudly and kick with their front hooves, making them useful alarm systems. The combat potential of donkeys are often overlooked; they often will kick and bite threats. There have even been cases of donkeys straight up killing coyotes before their owners can get to them.

Hawk

Photo by Martin Adams on Unsplash

Hawks are another group of animals that have been trained to help humans hunt in the past. These birds are mostly used to hunt small animals such as rabbits. Hawks are also able to be trained as aerial scouts, using their sharp eyesight to spot threats from afar; they could detect and warn their owners of threats or prey from miles away. Their ability to fly would also keep them far out of reach of the undead threats.

Vulture

Photo by Roberto Navarro on Unsplash

The first unorthodox pick I’m going to place on this list is the vulture. Zookeepers and scientists who worked with vultures often describe them as intelligent and can even form close bonds with their caretakers. As such, it is plausible to train them as aerial scouts that can help detect potential threats and maybe even potential hunts, similar to hawks. In fact, in some parts of Africa, vultures have been used as scouts to help rangers watch out for poachers. Vultures also possess one of the strongest immune systems in the animal kingdom, which means that it is possible that they would be immune to whatever virus is causing the zombie apocalypse. If so, this would also mean that these birds could potentially pick off immobilized undead to keep the virus from spreading without being infected.

Camel

Photo by Hongbin on Unsplash

This is another pick that wouldn’t be at the top of people’s lists. Camels would provide a similar niche to horses and donkeys, mostly being used as a mount and sometimes as a means of transport. One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding the camel is that they are desert specialists. Camels, while mostly used in regions with lots of deserts, are actually all-terrain animals that are capable of traversing through snowy terrain, tropical terrain, and there have even been cases of camels swimming across oceans! This potentially makes them even better than a horse at doing their jobs. Camels are also extremely hardy and can eat a wide variety of vegetation, ranging from grass to cacti. They are also able to live without food or water for extended periods of time, which is an extremely useful trait in the uncertain world of the apocalypse.

Ferret

Photo by Rohan Chang on Unsplash

Ferrets are small mammals that are often kept as pets. Famous for their ability to play dead, you may have come across a cute video of them or two online. Most of the time these creatures are featured as cute with a personality similar to that of a cat. However, what most people are unaware of is that these creatures are extremely proficient hunters. With their long slender bodies, ferrets are often used to hunt small burrowing mammals such as mice and rabbits. The ferrets would be let loose into the burrows of it’s prey, flushing them out into the waiting arms of the hunters. In an apocalypse, on top of helping hunt small game, ferrets can be used to retrieve items or scout areas, using their long slender bodies to navigate tight corners and crevices, allowing them to reach places no one else could.

Cormorant

Photo by Kevin Grieve on Unsplash

This is an extremely niche pick. Some people are unaware that this bird even exists, but some fishermen in Asia have shared a rather unique relationship with cormorants for centuries. Respected for their fishing ability, fishermen would tie a small noose around the cormorant’s throat to prevent them from swallowing the fish, and then just let them do their thing. After the cormorants have caught a substantial amount of fish, the fisherman would loosen the noose and share some of the fish as a reward. In an apocalypse, having a cormorant as a companion and using this technique would essentially mean an infinite amount of fish. However, this would only work if you live or settle near a large body of water with fish in it. Cormorants, like the other birds mentioned in this article, could also be trained to function as aerial scouts.

Crow

Photo by Matteo Paganelli on Unsplash

At this point, it is no mystery that crows are extremely intelligent creatures capable of forming bonds and sometimes even making deals with humans. The potential uses that corvids provide are limitless. While having little to no combat potential compared to other animals on this list, crows can still help out with hunts. Wolves have been doing this: packs would sometimes partner with ravens, and during chases, the ravens would fly directly above the prey, guiding the wolves on the location of the unlucky prey. You don’t even need to train the crow to get value out of them; you could strike a deal with a wild crow by offering it food in exchange for items.

Final thoughts

This concludes my list of 10 animals that would make great companions in a zombie apocalypse! It is important to remember that these picks are all based on my personal opinion, so feel free to disagree and suggest your own picks in the comments! After all, this is just a fictional, theoretical scenario, right? Well, if a zombie apocalypse ever happens, I know who I’m grabbing as a companion!

If you enjoyed this article you can support me here: *yarzsjd.medium.com/subscribe*