James Bond’s Wild Kingdom
By David Pegram
James Bond and the animals.
No, this isn’t a reference to the song “Boom Boom” featured in Skyfall. Rather, it’s recognition that animals have played a significant role in Bond films from the very beginning.
I was reminded of this while watching Daniel Craig’s PSA on behalf of The Search for Lost Species. Craig filmed the spot with the help of a tortoise. But as we see in the clip, Craig got a little more than he bargained for.
James Bond has had many animal encounters across the 24 EON-produced films, though none quite like the one Craig had here. (It should be noted, however, that a dog did nearly urinate on Bond in Thunderball.)
With this in mind, let me present the ten most memorable Bond encounters with animals.
10 The pipeline rat (Diamonds Are Forever)
Blofeld attempts to dispose of Bond by leaving him in a buried pipeline. There, Bond encounters a rat and admits, “One of us smells like a tart’s handkerchief.”
9 The L’Americain mouse (Spectre)
Bond awakens in the middle of the night, finding a mouse on the floor in front of him. “Who sent you? Who are you working for?” Bond asks. The little rodent scurries off and through a hole in the wall, helping Bond find Mr. White’s secret room.
8 Tarantulas/Tiger/Snake/Leeches (Octopussy)
Live Feed
Bam Smack Pow
Yes, Bond encounters all four, in a matter of minutes, as he is chased through the Indian jungle by Kamal Khan. As Bond burns a leech from his chest, one has to wonder if trying to escape is worth the hassle.
7 The scorpion and the shot glass (Skyfall)
Who else would attempt to drink a shot with a scorpion on his hand? The trick isn’t to just down the shot, but to then flip the poisonous creature to the bar and cover it with the empty shot glass. Of course, the crowded bar goes wild.
6 The python (Moonraker)
Upon discovering Hugo Drax’s hidden lair in the Amazon, Bond is quickly dropped into a pond, where a large python attacks him. Bond escapes death with the use of a knife hidden in his shirt pocket.
5 The tarantula (Dr. No)
Tarantulas pose little harm to humans, despite their menacing appearance. So using one as a way to kill Bond makes “no” sense. But the scene’s tension is highlighted by John Barry’s score, especially when Bond’s kills the spider by pounding it with his shoe.
4 The Komodo dragons (Skyfall)
Another scene from Skyfall. In the Macau casino, Bond and one of Silva’s henchmen fight in the Komodo dragon pit. The henchman gets Bond’s gun, only for Bond to say, “Be careful with that.” Just then, one of the Komodo dragons latches on and drags the henchman away. As another dragon comes to take a bite out of Bond, he proceeds to use its back as a step stool, to hop out of the pit, to safety.
3 Pool shark (Thunderball)
Bond has had many shark encounters, but none as notorious as this one. In the scene, Bond gets caught in Emilio Largo’s pool, where several sharks are released to attack him. Though Bond appears to escape with ease, the scene did not go as planned. Sean Connery was to be filmed in the water with a live shark, but with a pane of glass separating them. However, the pane failed, and Connery had a real, face-to-face encounter with the shark.
2 The crocodiles (Live and Let Die)
In one of Bond’s more notable escapes, he hops across the backs of several hungry crocodiles in order to reach safety. Unlike the Komodo dragons in Skyfall, however, these animals were real, as was the jump across their backs, performed by stuntman Ross Kananga.
1 Blofeld’s cat (Diamonds Are Forever, Spectre)
All right: this is an easy choice. Blofeld’s cat is so iconic that it has been the subject of satire–thank you, Dr. Evil. But Bond acknowledges the cat just twice: in Diamonds are Forever and Spectre. In both cases, he responds to the white feline with a tongue-in-cheek remark, filled with sexual innuendo—we’ll leave that up to your imagination.
To learn more about The Search for Lost Species, please visit Global Wildlife Conservation.