Who would win: every human in the world vs. every animal in the world?

I'm thinking the animals would easily defeat us, since trying to get all 8 billion+ humans to agree on a plan of attack would be a near-impossible task. By the time we'd be done trying to coordinate a plan, I figure the lions and cheetahs would have already devoured us, not to mention the larger animals like the elephants.

Even so, I think we shouldn't underestimate the smaller creatures like rodents and insects. Most of them carry diseases, so if they came in large numbers, they could easily wipe out a good percentage of humans.

However, if humans were allowed to use the military's weapons, like tanks and canons, I think we might have a fighting chance. But if we went straight to using the nukes, it would result in no winner since the whole planet would die.

Would the animals win, due their sheer numbers and combined strength? Or would the humans win because of our combined intellect and vast knowledge of the animal kingdom? What do you think?

ArdMacha ,

Given that the vast majority of animals in the world are now domesticated and cattle, we already won.

RizzRustbolt , (edited )

You know that meme about having immortality but if a snail catches you then you die? There's a snail out there in the real world that can actually kill you.

Animals win.

Breezy ,

Is a snail an animal? Because if this question put spiders and bugs etc into the animal category theres nooooo way humans survive a single month of fighting. Just imagine for example the deadly mosquito squad that could be sent all over. How could we survive against anything like that, mice might be hard enough, but small bugs you dont see, theres just no way.

If we make it strictly mammals, we definitely have a fighting chance.

Feathercrown ,

If the bugs target our food supply we'd be done for

plz1 ,

Gardener here, I think it's too late.

Mnemnosyne ,

If this means that every animal immediately goes berserk and tries to kill all humans, and 'animal' includes bugs, then the animals probably win.

Those people in relatively secure places without enough animals when it starts could survive, but there's probably be 50% or higher casualties among the general human population in less than a day.

Feathercrown ,

Could you survive by going somewhere that bugs can't? Can any bugs survive extreme cold?

Mnemnosyne ,

I don't think 'going' anywhere would be an option. If you're in basically, most of the civilized world, and not in a very secure structure, you're immediately fucked. I said more than 50% but I guessed that as a very conservative estimate. We don't normally realize just how many living things are around us, mostly bugs, but also small rodents and the like. If every one of those within a significant radius of every human suddenly went berserk and wanted the humans dead, most people are not in areas where the number of attackers would permit much survival.

Those who currently live in certain desert environments, in certain cold environments, and so forth, would probably survive the first day, and then might have a hope of making it longer. But most environments in which there isn't enough animal/bug life around to immediately kill you present serious other problems such as food supply. If you live at McMurdo Sound Antarctica, you're probably not going to immediately be killed. But you will soon have issues feeding yourself and keeping warm.

People in Iceland or northern Norway and other similar places might have the best chances. Probably not quite enough things around to kill everyone immediately, but the environment is one in which they might be able to become self-sufficient, but in the long term I have my doubts even for them. If the bugs and animals and such are so focused on killing humans that they no longer perform their normal functions, then you're looking at immediate and total ecological collapse. If they're not, then the population of bugs and animals will increase in all areas other than the most extreme environments, and sooner or later what few humans survived in those extreme environments are going to have to attempt to emerge.

If humans had prep time, maybe. Assuming we could get over our normal difficulties cooperating and actually prepare for the event. There'd at least be a lot of survivors. But if it came as a surprise, suddenly someone flips a switch and the entire animal kingdom is trying to make every single one of us dead? We're pretty much fucked.

MrsDoyle ,
@MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.works avatar

Do viruses and bacteria count? Antibac resistance is building. I imagine a virus that fritzed our brains would give animals some advantage.

Feathercrown ,

Neither of those are animals

potpotato ,

But what if poison ivy became sentient and chased humans down?

Cybermonk_Taiji ,

And the animals are all much better at organizing than the humans are?

Your hypothetical is flawed champ

tobogganablaze , (edited )

since trying to get all 8 billion+ humans to agree on a plan of attack would be a near-impossible task.

We wouldn't need even close to that many humans. Just a couple of million people (the size of a medium-large military force) with the proper funding could probably kill off all of the large to medium animals within a few decades.

Killing of all the arthropods would be more tricky and we probably couldn't completley eradicate them just because we wouldn't be able to find them all.

Of course that's purley for winning in a direct confrontation. Without any animals we'd probably go extinct not long after, so it's not really a win in the end.

therealjcdenton ,
@therealjcdenton@lemmy.zip avatar

Humans absolutely. Our ability to create tools to kill will always be better than what animals are limited to by genetics

Paragone ,

We're already IN the 6th great extinction: humans ARE exterminating the marine & terrestrial ecologies.

MammyWhammy ,

Mostly by accident, imagine what we could do if we were trying to kill everything off.

HeyThisIsntTheYMCA ,
@HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world avatar

Fungus comes in the outside challenger and beats us all

Kolanaki ,
@Kolanaki@yiffit.net avatar

It's a stalemate with fungus. We can't kill it and it isn't capable of doing more than just sitting there. Menacingly.

HeyThisIsntTheYMCA ,
@HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world avatar

It looks so delicious sauteed in butter but then again so do we

Kolanaki ,
@Kolanaki@yiffit.net avatar

Long pig goes great with mushrooms.

3yEh1SzB7B ,

See the Last of Us

FuglyDuck ,
@FuglyDuck@lemmy.world avatar

If we loose, everyone loses.

Just saying.

iegod ,

We won. Not even close.

weariedfae ,

If you include insects and arthropods and everything suddenly turns into uberbloodlust-kill-all-humans then non-human animals win, hands down. I think people overestimate their ability, the effectiveness of weapons, and the sheer number of insects that are near you at all times. Insect biomass alone outstrips humans by an insane margin. Very few mammals or other animals would get a lick in, I think. There is no hermetically sealed bunker that would hold for long, and that won't save you from the mites already on your skin although they probably can't do a ton of a damage.

Lemmeenym ,

Mosquitoes are the only thing that kills more humans than other humans. In fact, if you look at the top 10 animals that kill humans and add up 2-9s per year totals they're a bit less than mosquitoes. Also the list is very bug and parasite heavy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_deadliest_animals_to_humans

oo1 ,

If only motor vehicles were animals.

weariedfae ,

This is just like Maximum Overdrive!

SnotFlickerman ,
@SnotFlickerman@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

Look around you, we're winning, and we're not even trying. We are literally in the midst of a mass extinction event driven by human behavior.

Maybe roaches will outlast us, but we're headlong into make this planet pretty unlivable for almost all species, let alone ourselves.

mPony ,

Yes, we are defeating non-human life without trying. if we were trying I imagine we could make quite a dent.

but if the animal kingdom was trying, I think that would be pretty terrifying.

Nougat ,

If we were trying, we would do things like going from 30 million bison to 325 (three hundred twenty-five) bison in a matter of 55 years.

mPony ,

fair point.

bionicjoey ,

Looks menacingly at nature

"Imagine how much worse it would be if we were trying."

Kolanaki ,
@Kolanaki@yiffit.net avatar

I feel like the animal kingdom tries literally all the time. Women being eaten by snakes, whales attacking boats, dogs killing babies, etc.

Even if they made a coordinated effort, they'd merely take us by surprise for a moment and then we'd kick the shit outta them once we realize what's happening. First of all: we have weapons.

treadful ,
@treadful@lemmy.zip avatar

I've had significantly more animals run away from me than towards me.

pixeltree ,
@pixeltree@lemmy.blahaj.zone avatar

I think ants alone could pretty much wipe out humanity tbh. If they targeted the food supply chain and power grid, I'm not sure how much we could really do about it.

chonglibloodsport ,

They might do a bunch of damage at first but then we’d spray vast quantities of pesticides on everything.

sasquash ,

If they team up and act coordinated, animals should win pretty easy. You would be attacked immediately by thousands of insects and a lot of birds when you step outside. They could poison water and food sources and attack the electrical grid. Large mammals would be our smallest problem. Imagine coordinated moscito attacks and small bugs crawling into your home through every small gap by thousands. Thx for the nightmare. Reminds me of the Birds from Hitchcock.

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