Sports are great. Animals are great. When the two mix, it’s incredible — sometimes.
Fans at Wrigley Field witnessed an unlikely instance of such a mix on Monday, when a goose patrolled the field in the bottom of the third inning during the Cubs’ game against Phillies. Play continued and Cubs first baseman Michael Busch recorded a hit. The baseball flew over the goose, prompting the animal to fly away back into the sky.
This wasn’t close to the first time an animal has interrupted play during a sporting event. There was the time a sportswriter’s dog ran onto the field, interrupting a Georgia football game. And San Antonio seemingly has had as many bat encounters as “Dracula.”
In honor of these amazing incidents, let’s look back at some other top animal-on-field moments.
During the Winter Olympics, a local Czechoslovakian wolfdog named Nazgul managed to get away from his owner’s sight and dash onto the homestretch of the cross-country ski course in Lago di Tesero — during the race. Luckily, there was no serious disruption to the race, a preliminary qualifying round, spare for a few seconds of confusion shaved off the times of active racers who witnessed Nazgul’s trot.
“I was like, ‘Am I hallucinating?'” said Tena Hadzic, a 21-year-old Croatian skier who was among the participants whose time on the homestretch portion of the race coincided with the dog. “I don’t know what I should do, because maybe he could attack me, bite me.”
Nazgul was quickly corralled and returned home, but not before he endeared himself to spectators and viewers back home.
A squirrel emerged in the fourth inning of a Yankees-Red Sox rivalry game from behind home plate, stopping right at Jhostynxon Garcia’s left foot. The rodent took off again and stopped at the third-base foul line before attempting to dig a hole in front of the mound and then scampering down the right-field line to search for a way out.
The squirrel scampered around the outfield, eventually making its way to the warning track before climbing into the Tigers’ bullpen during the first inning of the San Francisco Giants-Detroit Tigers match.
Golfers and patrons had a front-row experience with the entanglement of sports and animals during the second round of the 2025 PGA Championship when a snake disrupted the contest.
The snake slithered its way through the course — with the ball seemingly being its target before moving past it.
During a college baseball matchup at L. Dale Mitchell Park, a bunny disrupted the contest.
With two outs in the top of the fourth inning, a bunny appeared on the third-base side. The animal started running around behind home plate before heading toward the bullpen and exiting swiftly.
What: Squirrel
Where: Oxford, Mississippi
When: 2024
Ole Miss and Oklahoma were interrupted during an SEC meeting at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium by a squirrel that disrupted the game.
Toward the end of the first quarter, a squirrel took the field on the 17-yard line before running to the end zone for a touchdown and into the tunnel away from action.
SQUIRREL DELAY@OleMissFB x @ESPN pic.twitter.com/M4yJKCN0xI
— Southeastern Conference (@SEC) October 26, 2024
What: Insect
Where: New York City
When: 2024
Frances Tiafoe and Grigor Dimitrov had a front-row experience during their quarterfinal match at the 2024 US Open when an insect disrupted the contest.
Tiafoe pointed out the black insect during the dead ball as the ball boys sprinted onto the court and spent around 30 seconds trying to contain it by hand before the match resumed.
NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES! pic.twitter.com/MzQ0JMRYJj
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 4, 2024
What: Raccoon Where: Chester, Pennsylvania When: 2024
The Philadelphia Union and New York City FC had a friendly creature that caused a brief stoppage in play at Subaru Park in Philadelphia.
A raccoon strolled onto the field midway through the first half. It proceeded to evade workers that attempted to remove it. However, after 161 seconds, the raccoon was taken off the field.
play0:56
Bunny hops around field to cause delay in Texas-Oklahoma
Play is momentarily paused between Texas and Oklahoma as a bunny hops around the field.
What: Turtle
Where: Bradenton, Florida
When: 2024
The Bradenton Marauders, a minor league affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, were in the middle of their game when a turtle caused a brief stoppage in play. The surprisingly fast reptile roamed around the outfield for a bit before pitcher Magdiel Cotto managed to safely remove it from play.
“Is that a squirrel? Or a rodent? … It’s a turtle!”
A curious creature makes a mad dash across the outfield grass during @stluciemets/@The_Marauders action pic.twitter.com/rlH3UJCaje
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) May 11, 2024
What: Bees
Where: Chase Field, Arizona
When: 2024
Ahead of a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Arizona Diamondbacks received a few surprise visitors behind home plate — bees.
There was a colony forming on the protective netting behind home plate, which resulted in a delay of one hour and 55 minutes, according to the Diamondbacks.
The Diamondbacks had to call beekeeper Matt Hilton from Blue Sky Pest Control.
Hilton said he was at his son’s T-ball game when he got the call. Little did he know he’d instantly become a fan favorite after taking care of the bees.
“I thought I was just here to take care of a bee problem, and people were pretty hyped up,” Hilton told MLB Network.
Hilton also threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
What: Cat
Where: Angel Stadium, California
When: 2024
There’s something about the last day of April and animals on the diamond.
On the same night the Diamondbacks were dealing with bees, the Los Angeles Angels and Philadelphia Phillies got a surprise visit from a cat.
And the RALLY CAT is born @Markgubicza @WayneRandazzo@Angels l #RepTheHalo pic.twitter.com/RAYM7C0Rqe
— Bally Sports West (@BallySportWest) May 1, 2024
In the bottom of the seventh, the cat sprinted and landed in the Phillies’ dugout. Thankfully, as the broadcaster pointed out, it wasn’t a black cat.
What: Squirrel
Where: Yankees Stadium, New York
When: 2023
Early in the 2023 season, a squirrel astounded the Yankee Stadium faithful when it ran across the outfield wall.
Squirrel sighting in the Bronx
(via @MLB)pic.twitter.com/LIkSIRtVa7
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 24, 2023
Fortunately, it appears neither fan nor squirrel were harmed in the little creature’s big adventure.
What: Bats
Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio
When: 2009 — and again in 2019
Here’s the thing about bats: If you don’t know much about them and what they’re capable of, they’re terrifying. And at AT&T Center, where the San Antonio Spurs play, they’ve shown up more than once.
First, we have to go to October 2009, when one bat invaded the Spurs’ game against the Sacramento Kings. Luckily, the swift and speedy Manu Ginobili was still on the Spurs, and he was able to somehow swat the creature down and capture it. What’s even more interesting is that this happened on Halloween night.
The bats weren’t done, though.
The Spurs were taking on the Brooklyn Nets in January when the game was delayed for a few minutes by not just one, but four bats, as the staff worked to clear the animals. Clearly fans knew who was needed, as chants of “Manu, Manu, Manu” broke out in the crowd.
Spurs fans chanted “Manu” while bats flew around the court pic.twitter.com/YTDCqwx4Vo
— ESPN (@espn) February 1, 2019
Sorry to break it to you, but the bats weren’t done in San Antonio. A month later, during a Spurs game against the New Orleans Pelicans, another bat made its way to the floor at AT&T Center.
This time it was the Spurs’ mascot, The Coyote, who was able to capture the critter with a fishing net near the scorer’s table during the first quarter. The delay lasted about 90 seconds.
The bats came back again for a third time this year in March when the Spurs were taking on the Milwaukee Bucks. Again, The Coyote came to the rescue.
What: Squirrel
Where: Busch Stadium, St. Louis
When: 2011
Imagine it’s your first time bursting into the spotlight, and you win the World Series.
That’s how it went down (kind of) for the gray squirrel that ran across home plate at Busch Stadium during Game 3 of the National League Division Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals in October 2011.
There was no delay of game, though it was evident that every player was considerably confused.
*Note: We scoured every corner of the interwebs, and there is no original video of the Rally Squirrel. It seems that 2011 was clearly a much simpler time.
The Phillies won Game 3 though, giving them a 2-1 lead in the NLDS. But the Cardinals won Games 4 and 5, clinching the series and heading to the World Series. St. Louis went on to win the 2011 World Series against the Texas Rangers in seven games with Rally Squirrel playing a role.
What: Cat
Where: M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore and MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
When: 2017, 2019
Cats are pretty nimble creatures, so it’s no surprise how often they make their way into any sports venue.
In 2017, a kitten snuck down into M&T Bank Stadium to take in a game between the Miami Dolphins and the Baltimore Ravens.
THERE’S A CAT ON THE FIELD!#MIAvsBAL pic.twitter.com/UrpmuAfWOa
— NFL (@NFL) October 27, 2017
Tony Romo’s play-by-play is highly entertaining. But the cute cat was eventually captured by stadium staff and taken away.
The story had a happy ending, though. According to the team, a stadium employee officially adopted the stray cat and named her “Rae” — short for Ravens.
In 2019, a black cat ran onto the field during a New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys “Monday Night Football” game at MetLife Stadium.
If we didn’t have @saquon, we should sign that cat! The cat was elusive! @Giants
pic.twitter.com/Z9TDBVA8Ds
— Michael Strahan (@michaelstrahan) November 5, 2019
What: Dog
Where: Dunhill Links Championship, Scotland
When: 2012
Look, dogs and balls go hand in hand. Not only that, but Scotland is one of the most dog-friendly nations. So, it’s no surprise that Dunhill Links has seen its fair share of pooches during golf play.
In 2012, however, one dog took its ball obsession a bit too far and stole Paul Casey’s golf ball right off of the third hole green.
“It’s the weirdest thing I’ve ever had happen on a golf course,” Casey said. “I noticed the dog on the 12th tee and he sort of followed us down the fairway before taking a real liking to my golf ball.”
The good news was that Casey was allowed to play his original ball and scored a birdie on the hole.
Ever heard the story of Digby the Dog and @Paul_Casey at @KingsbarnsGL?Eyewitness, caddie Keiren Smith relives one of #dunhilllinks strangest tales pic.twitter.com/vnRvw8aHxc
— Alfred Dunhill Links Championship (@dunhilllinks) September 8, 2018
What: Bees
Where: Great American Ball Park, Cincinnati
When: 2019
The worst part about bees is you really have no idea which way they are going to fly. And of course, the fact that they can sting you.
There was an 18-minute delay when a swarm of bees landed at the top of the backstop screen before the first pitch of a game in May between the San Francisco Giants and the Cincinnati Reds.
Ready now… play ball! pic.twitter.com/Z4ioWU8Ojp
— Cincinnati Reds (@Reds) May 6, 2019
Honestly, we’re just glad no one got stung.
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