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PLANET EARTH
Why Do Animals Fight — And What Do They Fight About?
In the wild, confrontations are common between both members of the same species and those of different species. Just don’t get between a mama bear and her cubs.
By Sarah JayJan 31, 2022 7:20 PM

Mountain goats fighting
(Credit: saeid yaghoubi/Shutterstock)
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With 8.7 million animal species living in the world, it’s no wonder they don’t always get along. In fact, animal fights are a regular part of living and surviving in the wild. The ability is an important indicator of an animal’s capacity to survive in the face of danger.

But this combat isn’t just between predator and prey. Scientists classify conflicts in two ways: Those encounters between members of different species are called interspecific conflicts, and those that occur within the same species — sometimes even within specific clans or families — are intraspecific.