Misplaced Wildlife/Playing With

Basic Trope: An animal is seen outside of its natural habitat.

Played Straight: The story is set in the jungles of Southeast Asia, but the monkeys in the jungle are New World monkeys with prehensile tails, not Old World monkeys with non-prehensile tails.
Exaggerated: A polar bear is seen on a beach in Hawai'i.
Inverted: The monkeys are the only native creature, and everything else is misplaced.
Justified: The story involves funny animals.
- The polar bear escaped from a zoo and wandered onto the beach.
- The Misplaced Wildlife was introduced to the area by humans
- The animal in question was migrating and got diverted by a storm, or has an illness/injury that affects its ability to navigate properly.
Subverted: The monkeys in the Southeast Asian jungle appear to be Old World monkeys.
Double Subverted: But one of them grabs a branch with its tail.
Deconstructed: Animals and plants that are not native to an area can do a lot of damage to native flora and fauna.
Reconstructed: The animals and plants that don't belong there find that they fit perfectly into their new niche. They compete (but don't outcompete) with native species, and don't cause problems.
- Alternatively, see "defied"
Parodied: A polar bear winds up in Hawai'i, and decides to take a vacation.
Lampshaded: "Strange. These monkeys don't belong here."
Averted: No wildlife appears that would not normally be found in this setting.
- The series does not deal with wildlife or take place outdoors.
Enforced: Did Not Do the Research
Invoked: Someone introduces New World monkeys to Southeast Asia, where they outcompete their Old World cousins.
Defied: Zoo animals, pets, etc. are carefully contained so they don't escape into the wild, and strict laws are enforced regarding the transport of wildlife into and out of the country.
Discussed: "Y'know, I'm not sure if they have penguins in the Arctic..."
Conversed:
Played For Laughs: See Parodied
Played For Drama: See Deconstructed

Back to Misplaced Wildlife