Suppose a billionaire wants a guard animal or animals to surround his house to protect him and his family. Money is no object and where he lives any animal can be owned. Although he doesn’t care if potential intruders die, he insists that the animals be treated reasonably well and healthy. What animal would be the best protector of his estate (humans excluded)?
Hungry Polar Bear.
A dog. They breed several varieties of dogs specifically to guard things.
That’s really the only good answer if you’re going to be realistic. Assuming you want some sort of reliable result and actual control over your guard animal ( handy for all sorts of reasons ), you’re not going to do better than any of a number of breeds of working dogs.
Scary exotic animals like polar bears and wolverines are all fine and dandy…except when they’re not, which will be most of the time.
A wide deep moat, full of piranhas and crocodiles.
I’ve heard that geese are supposed to be very effective guard animals and are sometimes used as such.
If money (and therefore infrastructure) is no object, surely our tycoon could opt for a combination of more than one kind of animal?
malaria-infested mosquitoes.
If the animals are treated well then they aren’t starving. Most wild animals attack people for defense or if starving. This isn’t to say all animals follow this rule.
Animals that will attack are usually territorial and most wild animals have a larger territory.
This leaves domesticated animals to guard…or dogs.
Brazillian mastiffs are a good pack to have.
Although throwing a cat into the face of someone…well…I’d watch that video!
My mom had geese. They get my vote.
So… velociraptors are out of the question?
I had a friend who had an actual; wolf as a pet. (Rescue)
Whenever I (or anybody) would come over he would have to lock the wolf in the back yard. As far as this critter was concerned, there was no “getting used to” new people. If you weren’t him or his wife, that damn mutt was going to rip your throat out.
How much interaction does the billionaire want with his guard animals? How much space does he have for them? How does he plan to contain them?
My list, in escalating lethality…
I second the suggestion for geese as they are territorial and will sound the alarm at any intruder.
Dogs are good… get a pack with some small, yappy ones to alert and some big guardian types for stopping power.
Ultimate man-stoppers. A troop of Baboons. Nasty, territorial, giant teeth, agile, strong. Containment and upkeep might be an issue, but I doubt anyone is getting past them.
Crows. A giant flock of trained crows. They’re extremely intelligent and require absolutely no day-to-day care; they are completely self-sufficient. How do you defend against a hundred birds trying to peck out your eyes? Nobody would ever see that coming.
Otherwise, or in addition to, this:
After learning about this dog I’d go with the Caucasian Mountain Shepherd.
This link is to a simple Wikipedia article about the breed
This link is to a Cracked.com article. Five animals, and the dog is #1 when you scroll down to it. (But the others are interesting too)
Humans.
I’ve hears excellent reports on the efficacy of the Honey Badger. The British have been accused of using them in combat in Iraq, as a form of biological warfare.
If geese are not available at your local store, I suggest Guinea Fowl. A flock of them.
Noisy bastards, and do not suffer intruders at all.
They were excluded in the OP.
Trained silverback gorillas.
Ostriches. Edible, and they can gut a human in seconds with those claws. Fast too.
I have geese, and yes they can be nasty to nonfamily, as can roosters. I had an attack rooster here for 5 years named Cogburn. His spurs were nasty and I have shin scars to prove it. He really only like my roommate who hand raised him from a chick.