Abstract: A toy animal is provided with an electrically powered motor which drives a curled tongue through a generally orbital motion that realistically resembles a licking motion. A switch for actuating the motor may be pressure responsive and may be disposed at a location on the body and/or the head of the animal that may be petted or squeezed. The toy animal may further include a sound chip for generating an appropriate noise when the switch is actuated. Portions of the head near the tongue are formed from a soft deformable material to achieve facial movement simultaneously with the licking motion.