diff --git a/packages/core/src/render3/view/listeners.ts b/packages/core/src/render3/view/listeners.ts
index 3fcb4b39bc0..de94331c113 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/render3/view/listeners.ts
+++ b/packages/core/src/render3/view/listeners.ts
@@ -163,23 +163,33 @@ export function listenToDomEvent(
     stashEventListenerImpl(lView, target, eventName, wrappedListener);
 
     const cleanupFn = renderer.listen(target as RElement, eventName, wrappedListener);
-    const idxOrTargetGetter = eventTargetResolver
-      ? (_lView: LView) => eventTargetResolver(unwrapRNode(_lView[tNode.index]))
-      : tNode.index;
 
-    storeListenerCleanup(
-      idxOrTargetGetter,
-      tView,
-      lView,
-      eventName,
-      wrappedListener,
-      cleanupFn,
-      false,
-    );
+    // We skip cleaning up animation event types to ensure leaving animation events can be used.
+    // These events should be automatically garbage collected anyway after the element is
+    // removed from the DOM.
+    if (!isAnimationEventType(eventName)) {
+      const idxOrTargetGetter = eventTargetResolver
+        ? (_lView: LView) => eventTargetResolver(unwrapRNode(_lView[tNode.index]))
+        : tNode.index;
+
+      storeListenerCleanup(
+        idxOrTargetGetter,
+        tView,
+        lView,
+        eventName,
+        wrappedListener,
+        cleanupFn,
+        false,
+      );
+    }
   }
   return hasCoalesced;
 }
 
+function isAnimationEventType(eventName: string): boolean {
+  return eventName.startsWith('animation') || eventName.startsWith('transition');
+}
+
 /**
  * A utility function that checks if a given element has already an event handler registered for an
  * event with a specified name. The TView.cleanup data structure is used to find out which events
diff --git a/packages/core/test/acceptance/animation_spec.ts b/packages/core/test/acceptance/animation_spec.ts
index 5441bcefe2a..979097a479b 100644
--- a/packages/core/test/acceptance/animation_spec.ts
+++ b/packages/core/test/acceptance/animation_spec.ts
@@ -47,14 +47,20 @@ describe('Animation', () => {
     `;
 
     it('should delay element removal when an animation is specified', fakeAsync(() => {
+      const logSpy = jasmine.createSpy('logSpy');
       @Component({
         selector: 'test-cmp',
         styles: styles,
-        template: '<div>@if (show()) {<p animate.leave="fade">I should fade</p>}</div>',
+        template:
+          '<div>@if (show()) {<p animate.leave="fade" (animationend)="logMe($event)">I should fade</p>}</div>',
         encapsulation: ViewEncapsulation.None,
       })
       class TestComponent {
         show = signal(true);
+
+        logMe(event: AnimationEvent) {
+          logSpy();
+        }
       }
 
       TestBed.configureTestingModule({animationsEnabled: true});
@@ -76,6 +82,7 @@ describe('Animation', () => {
         new AnimationEvent('animationend', {animationName: 'fade-out'}),
       );
       expect(fixture.nativeElement.outerHTML).not.toContain('class="fade"');
+      expect(logSpy).toHaveBeenCalled();
     }));
 
     it('should remove right away when animations are disabled', fakeAsync(() => {
diff --git a/packages/core/test/bundling/forms_reactive/bundle.golden_symbols.json b/packages/core/test/bundling/forms_reactive/bundle.golden_symbols.json
index 2796d0f122c..cc9ac4a68db 100644
--- a/packages/core/test/bundling/forms_reactive/bundle.golden_symbols.json
+++ b/packages/core/test/bundling/forms_reactive/bundle.golden_symbols.json
@@ -696,6 +696,7 @@
       "invokeHostBindingsInCreationMode",
       "isAbstractControlOptions",
       "isAngularZoneProperty",
+      "isAnimationEventType",
       "isAnimationProp",
       "isApplicationBootstrapConfig",
       "isArrayLike",
diff --git a/packages/core/test/bundling/forms_template_driven/bundle.golden_symbols.json b/packages/core/test/bundling/forms_template_driven/bundle.golden_symbols.json
index aaa5ac72275..1aa247c42cf 100644
--- a/packages/core/test/bundling/forms_template_driven/bundle.golden_symbols.json
+++ b/packages/core/test/bundling/forms_template_driven/bundle.golden_symbols.json
@@ -697,6 +697,7 @@
       "invokeDirectivesHostBindings",
       "invokeHostBindingsInCreationMode",
       "isAngularZoneProperty",
+      "isAnimationEventType",
       "isAnimationProp",
       "isApplicationBootstrapConfig",
       "isArrayLike",
diff --git a/packages/core/test/bundling/router/bundle.golden_symbols.json b/packages/core/test/bundling/router/bundle.golden_symbols.json
index a245562b1b1..5506fc8170a 100644
--- a/packages/core/test/bundling/router/bundle.golden_symbols.json
+++ b/packages/core/test/bundling/router/bundle.golden_symbols.json
@@ -791,6 +791,7 @@
       "invokeHostBindingsInCreationMode",
       "isActiveMatchOptions",
       "isAngularZoneProperty",
+      "isAnimationEventType",
       "isAnimationProp",
       "isApplicationBootstrapConfig",
       "isArrayLike",