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Aside from the repetitive appearance of the black cat, I can't remember seeing any living animals, either inside the Matrix simulation or in Zion.

How come? Is there an in-universe explanation?

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  • 36
    Don't forget the crows that fly in front of Smith in Reloaded. In Zion it's no doubt because of massive die-offs from the war, in the Matrix we probably just never encountered any because they weren't relevant to the story.
    – Nerrolken
    Commented Oct 29, 2014 at 23:02
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    Can't get them to wear skintight leather suits and shades easily.
    – Oldcat
    Commented Oct 29, 2014 at 23:24
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    Most of the scenes take place in densely populated urban areas, which aren't exactly known for their large numbers of bear, elk, or bison. We do see small pets and birds, both of which are common in urban environments. I wouldn't expect to see anything much larger than a dog in most cities.
    – PopularIsn'tRight
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 3:43
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    Unless an animal is important to the story, movie makers are going to try very hard to leave it out. "Animal actors" are often expensive and frustrating, more so as more specific actions are required of them. Remember, we also don't see anything but city in the Matrix; that doesn't mean there is no "countryside", just that it wasn't relevant to this story.
    – keshlam
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 5:33
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    Don't forget the cow that made an appearance on Cypher's plate in his meeting with A. Smith
    – EricLeaf
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 13:41

1 Answer 1

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Although we do see animals inside the Matrix on numerous occasions (see below), the word of god answer is that all of these animals are simulated:

TheTrinityACMXCL: What about the animals in the Matrix? Are they real animals or just computer-generated images?

Wachowski Bros: Sadly, they are all computer generated images.

This was backed up by Phil Osterhoose (Assistant to the Wachowskis) in The Art of the Matrix

A lot of people have asked if the animals in the Matrix are also hooked up in pods. Unfortunately, they are not. They're all computer-generated images.

Matrix Films

In addition to the "Woah, deja-vu!" cat seen in the first Matrix film we also see a large number of crows in The Matrix Reloaded.

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As well as a dozen or so live fish.

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and a flock of birds in The Matrix Resurrections

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Animatrix

Kid's Story features some more crows and an (unnamed) cat.

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There's a dog in World Record.

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There are also doves seen in the Animatrix story Beyond as well as another dog, some butterflies, a considerable number of rats and two cats; Yuki and another unnamed.

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A Detective Story contains another cat (named Dinah).

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The Animatrix story Matriculated contains what appears to be a cybernetically enhanced monkey named Baby. This is especially noteworthy because the story takes place outside the Matrix, providing evidence of the survival of higher mammals.

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Matrix Comics

In the Matrix comic Broadcast Depth, one of the characters encounters an octopus eating a crab as well as a large school of fish.

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The central character of the Matrix comic Butterfly is arguably the titular butterfly.

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Deja Vu mentions an (unseen by us) infestation of ladybugs and we also see an American robin.

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Let It All Fall Down features a woodland scene sporting an eagle.

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Run, Saga, Run features a white rat.

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Sweating the Small Stuff includes a cat and a spider.

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The Miller's Tale is again notable because we see wildlife surviving outside of the Matrix. This includes small mammals, ducks, frogs, insects, arachnids and slugs.

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and from A Sword of a Different Color, we see someone eating what appears to be uncooked rat.

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The original concept art by Geoff Darrow contains a hungry mouse.

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And of course, who could forget that Cypher is eating what appears to be a large chunk of dead cow?

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    I think he's eating oatmel. How would he know the difference?
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Commented Oct 29, 2014 at 23:54
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    +1 for bringing The Animatrix into the discussion. It frequently gets missed out when answering relevant questions yet contains a large chunk of back story.
    – Ian Lewis
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 11:34
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    @ianlewis - And according to the Wachowski's is a fully canon extension of the films.
    – Valorum
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 11:35
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    @Richard And mightily entertaining too!
    – Ian Lewis
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 13:57
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    @DVK Oatmeal is PEOPLE!
    – BrianH
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 15:15

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