Lions often hoard kills they can’t finish and will actively guard these carcasses from scavengers like hyenas, even when they no longer need the food. Conversely, hyenas exhibit similar behavior, sometimes stealing kills from lions in large packs.

Squirrels gather and store far more nuts and seeds than they could ever consume in a season. This is known as scatter hoarding, and it often leads to stashes of food being wasted or forgotten.

Seagulls are notorious for stealing food from other birds and humans. They will even fight amongst themselves for a single morsel of food, displaying competitive and greedy behavior.

Hermit crabs constantly seek out larger and better shells, even if their current one is sufficient. They sometimes bully smaller crabs or engage in “shell wars” to take over a better home.

Some honeybee colonies engage in “robbing” behavior by attacking weaker hives to steal their honey stores. These robber bees will sometimes kill or overwhelm the defending hive’s bees.

Magpies are attracted to shiny objects and will often collect and hoard them, even though these objects have no practical value. This behavior might be driven by instinctive curiosity or a form of status signaling.

Some sea otters steal food from one another, often by snatching prey from a fellow otter’s paws. This behavior allows them to avoid the effort of hunting for themselves.

Greed is a basic behavior exhibited by humans as well as many, if not most, animals. Attributing it to culture is incorrect.