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orcas kissing — Still frame from video footage recorded in the Kvænangen fjords, Norway, in 2024, showing the tongue-nibbling interaction between two free-ranging killer whales. Footage captures a pair of orcas nibbling each other's tongues in the Kvænangen fjords in northern Norway. Scientists think this rarely seen behavior could play a role in social bonding.

a still from a movie of a T. rex roaring at a woman in a forest — 'It's how I would imagine I would react if I saw a real-life giant dinosaur': What Jurassic World Rebirth's scientific advisor thinks of the movie The summer blockbuster Jurassic World Rebirth is hitting theaters, so Live Science asked paleontologist Steve Brusatte what it's like being the movie's scientific advisor.

a close-up of a black lizard with yellow spots — Night lizards survived dinosaur-killing asteroid strike despite living right next to impact site Researchers found that night lizards survived the dinosaur-killing asteroid strike at the end of the Cretaceous, despite living near the impact site in Mexico.

Latest about Animals

Why do cats and dogs eat grass?

By Margaret Osborne published 9 August 25

There are many theories for why cats and dogs eat grass, and some could be "old wives' tales."

Domestic Cats

Best bird song identification apps in 2025 — Identify bird calls and improve your avian knowledge

By Kat Bayly published 7 August 25

Impress your friends and learn how to identify birds by their calls with one of the best bird song identification apps — suitable for all age ranges.

Birds

Mystery of why sea stars keep turning into goo finally solved — and it's not what scientists thought

By Patrick Pester published 6 August 25

A new study has found that the devastating sea star wasting disease is caused by a strain of bacteria from Vibrio pectenicida, which turns the marine creatures into goo.

Animals

'Most remarkable' fossil of Jurassic sea monster from Germany is previously unknown species

By Perri Thaler published 6 August 25

Paleontologists in Germany have described a never-before-seen species of Jurassic marine reptile from 183 million years ago.

Extinct species

Males of 4 never-before-seen tarantula species have record-long genitalia

By Sascha Pare published 6 August 25

'Size really does matter' The males of four newfound tarantula species have extremely long genitalia so that they can keep their distance from aggressive females during mating, researchers say.

'Size really does matter'

A screenshot from a video of a crab attacking a robot crab during a claw-waving mating display in Portugal.

Watch robot crab 'Wavy Dave' get attacked in claw-waving contest with real crabs

By Patrick Pester published 5 August 25

Researchers have built a robot crab that can compete in claw-waving displays with real fiddler crabs, but "Wavy Dave" doesn't always come out unscathed.

Crustaceans

'Big-butt starfish,' 'little sweet potato' and dozens of never-before-seen species recorded during deep-sea expedition off Argentina

By María de los Ángeles Orfila published 5 August 25

Researchers have captured footage of a "big-butt seastar" off the coast of Argentina that looks like Patrick Star from "SpongeBob SquarePants."

Animals

Orcas pretend to drown one of their own to practice their hunting skills. We see several orcas splashing in the ocean.

Watch a pod of orcas pretending to drown one of their own in macabre training session

By Sascha Pare published 4 August 25

Footage from the BBC's new nature series "Parenthood" shows orcas practicing an important blue whale-hunting technique on each other.

Orcas

Creepy new giant insect may be the heaviest ever recorded in Australia

By Patrick Pester published 4 August 25

Researchers have discovered a giant stick insect living at high altitude in tropical North Queensland. Acrophylla alta is around 16 inches long and a strong contender for Australia's heaviest recorded insect.

Insects