Animals
We live on a planet with millions of species of animals -and a rich, diverse collection of known wildlife, and yet new species are being identified seemingly every day — both living and extinct.
Whether it’s the deadliest snakes, longest-living creatures or the history of the dinosaurs, at Live Science, our expert writers are here to help you understand Earth's incredible fauna — past and present — with the latest animal news, features and articles.
Explore Animals
Editor's Picks
Latest about Animals

American burying beetle: The meat-eating insect that buries bodies for its babies to feast on
By Megan Shersby published
American burying beetle parents work together to find and bury a dead animal that its brood can consume after hatching.

Giganto, world's largest ape, went down poor evolutionary path toward extinction
By Carys Matthews published
Gigantopithecus blacki went extinct at least 215,000 years ago after climate change caused its forest home to vanish.

Humans now kill 80 million sharks per year, 25 million of which are threatened species
By Melissa Hobson published
Catch data from 2012 to 2019 reveal shark deaths from fishing increased from 76 million to 80 million per year. Researchers stress that more action is needed to save threatened species.

Annual cane toad kill-a-thon is about to start in Australia. Here's how to eliminate the pests humanely.
By Sascha Pare published
Instead of bludgeoning Australia's invasive cane toads to death, scientists advise popping them in the fridge for a day or two before transferring them to the freezer to finish them off.

Newfound T. rex relative was an even bigger apex predator, remarkable skull discovery suggests
By Harry Baker published
The newly identified tyrannosaur species is the closest known relative of T. rex and could have been even larger than the famous dinosaur king.

How a scientist accidentally discovered a shark that regenerated its mutilated fin: 'The revelation was astonishing'
By Chelsea Black published
An adult male silky shark was spotted with a huge chunk of its fin missing. A year later, it had almost completely regrown. Here's the amazing story behind the discovery.

Adorable but deadly little wildcat may be inbreeding at 'alarming' rates, study finds
By Jacklin Kwan published
Black footed cats are already a threatened species, and habitat fragmentation is now causing increased rates of interbreeding, placing them at higher risk of disease.

World's tiniest fanged frog with males that 'hug' their babies discovered
By Emma Bryce published
Researchers found a new species of fanged frog when they noticed clutches of eggs laid on leaves and mossy boulders unusually far above water.

Do cats really hate us?
By Carys Matthews published
Scientific research on how cats view us is mixed, but one thing is clear — they don't adore us the way dogs do.

Bizarre incident of fish jumping out of water in Philippines caused by upwelling, not earthquake
By Harry Baker published
Countless sardines beached themselves on an island in the Philippines around 48 hours before a major earthquake. But experts say a phenomenon known as "upwelling" was to blame instead.
Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.


