* Mating: Males and females come together to mate, which usually involves a courtship ritual.
* Fertilization: The male's sperm fertilizes the female's egg, either internally or externally.
* Development: The fertilized egg develops into an embryo, which grows inside the female's body (in mammals) or in an egg (in birds, reptiles, and amphibians).
* Birth or hatching: The offspring is born or hatches from the egg.
Exceptions to sexual reproduction:
* Parthenogenesis: Some animals, like certain lizards and insects, can reproduce without mating (asexually). This means a female can produce offspring from her own unfertilized eggs.
* Hermaphroditism: Some animals, like snails and earthworms, are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female reproductive organs. However, they still typically require another individual for fertilization.
Therefore, while some exceptions exist, sexual reproduction is the dominant mode of reproduction for most terrestrial animals.