Another fantastic frog fact for you!
The Wood Frog (Rana Sylvatica) can survive being completely FROZEN for weeks at a time!
The Wood Frog lives in the cold Arctic environment of Alaska so this is a very clever adaptation to have.
During the freezing winter, the tiny amphibians can survive for weeks with an incredible two-thirds of their body water completely frozen. Frozen frog popsicles!
When their body temperature drops, they stop breathing and their hearts do not beat. In order to keep ice from freezing in their cells, they pull water away from their extremities and produce a type of antifreeze solution (known as cryoprotectants) that keeps them safe.
In most animals, prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures causes cellular shrinkage — a process in which the formation of ice in the tissues pulls water from the body’s cells, essentially sucking them dry and eventually killing the cell. But in Wood Frogs, the cryoprotectants in their bodies, which includes glucose (blood sugar) and urea, lowers the freezing temperature of the animal’s tissues and reduces the amount of stress on the cells and tissues, allowing them to survive a deep freeze.
Watch this video for fan-froggy-tastic footage of the Wood Frog defrosting. Amazing!
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