Fauna is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora. Fauna is found in many of the GTA games.
Fauna in GTA III Era
In the GTA III Era, the fauna remain generally the same and don't play a very major role in the game. In GTA III and GTA Vice City, Seagulls can be spotted flying overhead, but the seagulls in GTA III are just static props, much like the DeadDodo airplane. In GTA Vice City, seagulls can be shot down with a sniper rifle, but they offer no achievement and are not required for 100% completion.
GTA San Andreas features other birds alongside seagulls; eagles/hawks fly low over the desert and dove-like white birds can be seen flying around rural areas. Also, with the addition of diving underwater in GTA San Andreas, marine life can be spotted, such as schools of fish, jellyfish, dolphins, and sea turtles. These, too, are unsolid, and just static props. The fish are programmed to jump away from the player if he gets too close to them.
Tony the talking parrot in GTA San Andreas.
One particular named animal in the game is Ken Rosenberg's talking parrot named Tony, which can only be seen in the opening cutscenes for the missions Intensive Care, The Meat Business and Freefall. The bird's role in the game is minor, appearing only a few times as a comic relief when Ken resides in Las Venturas. The parrot utters, among others, Mafia slang terms and foul language, as well as a quote from Tony Montana: "I haven't fucked anybody over in my life who didn't have it coming to them", from the 1983 film Scarface.
The only other animal who is named in the game is Herbie, an astral goat who belongs to The Truth during the events of GTA San Andreas. However, the goat is never seen in any mission or cutscene whatsoever. The Truth claims that he travels around on Herbie and that he has not driven in fifteen years, despite owning a Camper.
In GTA San Andreas, sharks are rumored to be seen very rarely in shallow waters around San Fierro and Los Santos. But no logical evidence has ever been shown to support these claims, and most videos and pictures are just taken from modifications. Also, people may be mistaking dolphins for sharks.
Flies can be seen buzzing around trash piles throughout the state.
In GTA Liberty City Stories and GTA Vice City Stories, seagulls return once again and remain just as they were in GTA III; unsolid props.
Fauna in GTA IV Era
In GTA IV the only fauna are Flying Rats (pigeons). The flying rats will not move from their location, but will coo and peck at the ground. There are 200 flying rats in Liberty City and can be shot, resulting in a puff of feathers. Shooting all 200 Flying Rats unlocks an achievement, an Annihilator, and is required for 100% completion.
A Seagull in TBOGT.
Seagulls once again return in The Lost and Damned and Ballad of Gay Tony. These seagulls function like Flying Rats; they do not move from their location, and have to be killed to achieve 100% completion. There are 50 seagulls around the city, and can be "collected" by shooting them. In TLAD, collecting all seagulls will unlock an Innovation, both at your safehouse and delivered by Clay. Killing all Seagulls in TBoGT is an APC at Yusuf Amir's construction site. All fifty in TLAD were found by the gaming community within five days of release, before any official information was released.
Fauna in GTA V era
In the trailer for GTA V a dog interacting with a character was seen. This would be the first time interactable fauna would be featured in a GTA game. In additon to the dog, seagulls are seen flying overhead, leading to the conclusion that seagulls will return. However it is not known if the seagulls or the dog will be killable or not.
List of Fauna in GTA games
GTA Vice City
- Sharks
- Dolphins
- Jellyfish
- Seagulls
GTA San Andreas
- Dolphins
- Jellyfish
- Starfish
- Fish
- Sea Turtles
- Seagulls
- Parrot
- Eagles/Hawks (not known which one)
- Flies
GTA Vice City Stories
- Seagulls
GTA Liberty City Stories
- Seagulls
GTA IV
- Flying Rats (Pigeons)
GTA TLAD
- Seagulls
GTA TBOGT
- Seagulls
GTA V
- Dogs
- Seagulls