Animals on the Playing Field

A collection of photos of some of the kangaroos, cats, capybaras, dogs, mantises, deer, squirrels, alligators, and many other animals who have taken it upon themselves to intrude upon us humans while we were in the middle of our many important sporting events.

1. A black cat enters the field of play during the National Rugby League Round 18 match between the Penrith Panthers and the Cronulla Sharks at Pepper Stadium in Sydney, Australia, on July 10, 2016. #
    Cameron Spencer / Getty

2. A stray dog runs in front of the men's elite pack at the start of the 81st Sao Silvestre New Year's Eve road race in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on December 31, 2005. #
    Mauricio Lima / AFP / Getty

3. Rory Sabbatini of South Africa scares a kangaroo off the 12th fairway prior to playing his stroke during the first round of the Australian PGA Championship at the Hyatt Regency Resort in Coolum Beach, Australia, on December 6, 2007. #
    Cameron Spencer / Getty

4. A squirrel on the pitch is rescued by a groundsman before the game in the Carabao Cup Fourth Round fixture between Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, on October 24, 2017. #
    Matthew Ashton - AMA / Getty

5. A Lynx that walked onto the course jumps onto the safety fencing near the finish area during first training for the Men's Downhill at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, on February 10, 2010. #
    Gero Breloer / AP

6. A goalkeeper reaches down to a fledgling on the pitch prior to the 2017 Confederations Cup semi-final football match between Portugal and Chile at the Kazan Arena in Kazan, Russia, on June 28, 2017. #
    Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP / Getty

7. Charlotte County animal-control officer John Butler snares a raccoon that snuck into Charlotte Sports Park. It wandered in prior to the gates opening for a spring training baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and Cincinnati Reds in Port Charlotte, Florida, on March 18, 2009. #
    Charles Krupa / AP

8. A praying mantis sits on the tennis court during a men's singles quarter final match between Rafael Nadal of Spain and Tommy Robredo of Spain on Day 10 of the 2013 U.S. Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City on September 4, 2013. #
    Al Bello / Getty

9. Venus Williams pulls back from a bee buzzing around her during her match with Kimiko Date-Krumm in the opening round of the 2014 U.S. Open tennis tournament on August 25, 2014, in New York. #
    Elise Amendola / AP

10. A baby deer runs on the 15th hole during the second round of the Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio, on May 31, 2013. #
    Andy Lyons / Getty

11. French cyclist Steve Hounard encounters a pair of cows during Stage 17 of the 2011 Vuelta a España. #
    Tim de Waele / Corbis via Getty

12. A frog jumps in the flooded pitch of Monumental Stadium during a heavy rainstorm before the suspension of the Argentine First Division football match between River Plate and Quilmes in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on February 7, 2016. #
    AFP / Getty

13. A crustacean is moved by a golfer's putter during the Pro-Am prior to the start of the Portugal Masters at Oceanico Victoria Golf Club on October 8, 2014, in Albufeira, Portugal. #
    Stuart Franklin / Getty

14. A cat makes an appearance during a bullfight at the La Santamaria bullring in Bogota, Colombia, on January 28, 2018. #
    Raul Arboleda / AFP / Getty

15. An encounter on the golf course, during the first round of the Zurich Classic at TPC Louisiana on April 25, 2013, in Avondale, Louisiana. #
    Chris Graythen / Getty

16. Bees swarm bunting along the left field line before a baseball game between the Kansas City Royals and the Cleveland Indians at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, on May 7, 2017. #
    Orlin Wagner / AP

17. Seagulls cast shadows on the roof of the media center during the third round of the British Open golf championship on the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, on July 19, 2015. #
    Phil Noble / Reuters

18. An unidentified creature* lurks behind spectators watching Gordon Manson of Austria in action during the final round of the Acorn Jersey Open played at La Moye Golf Club on June 11, 2016, in St Helier, Jersey. *(Actually the creature is an animatronic dinosaur on loan from nearby Tamba Park, who was sponsoring the 18th hole at the time.) #
    Phil Inglis / Getty

19. FC Thun's goalkeeper, Guillaume Faivre, shows the way out to a marten that was running on the pitch during the Swiss Super League soccer match against FC Zurich in Thun, Switzerland, on March 10, 2013. #
    Pascal Lauener / Reuters

20. Seagulls perch on a giant baseball glove at AT&T Park during a baseball game between the Washington Nationals and the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco on July 31, 2006. #
    Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP

21. A kangaroo keeps watch during day one of the 2009 Johnnie Walker Classic held at the Vines Resort and Country Club in Perth, Australia, on February 19, 2009. #
    Ian Walton / Getty

22. Green Bay Packers's Datone Jones tries to catch a squirrel on the sidelines during the second half of an NFL football game against the Indianapolis Colts on November 6, 2016, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. #
    Mike Roemer / AP

23. An Indian boy plays football on a pitch next to a cow on the outskirts of Jalandhar on December 16, 2017. #
    Shammi Mehra / AFP / Getty

24. Colombia's midfielder, James Rodriguez, celebrates with a locust perched on his arm after scoring during the quarter-final football match between Brazil and Colombia at the Castelao Stadium in Fortaleza during the 2014 FIFA World Cup on July 4, 2014. #
    Fabrice Coffrini / AFP / Getty

25. Christian Ghedina of Italy meets a deer near the finishing line during the FIS Alpine World Cup Men's Downhill on December 18, 2004, in Val Gardena, Italy. #
    Agence Zoom / Getty

26. Denmark's Nanna Madsen competes as a capybara walks in the background during the women's individual stroke play at the Olympic Golf course during the Rio 2016 Olympic Games on August 19, 2016. #
    Greg Baker / AFP / Getty

27. A magpie collects painted grass from a pitch at Fulham's training ground in south London on April 28, 2010. #
    Eddie Keogh / Reuters

28. A squirrel runs toward home plate, past the leg of St. Louis Cardinals's Skip Schumaker, while Schumaker bats during the fifth inning of game four of the National League division series against the Philadelphia Phillies on October 5, 2011, in St. Louis, Missouri. #
    Tom Gannam / AP

29. Doug McGuigan of South Africa poses behind an impala on the 14th hole during the second round of the Africa Open at East London Golf Club on March 6, 2015, in East London, South Africa. #
    Warren Little / Getty

30. A group of langur monkeys lounge in the spectator stands as they watch a practice session of the England cricket team in Ahmadabad, India, on October 27, 2006. #
    Gurinder Osan / AP