Female Frogs Play Dead to Avoid Mating With Males

As well documented by male humans (Homo sapiens) who choose to pick a mate to marry, females are anecdotally known to great extremes to avoid performing reproductive acts.

Scientists have now found that female frogs engage in the same behavior human wives have done for millenia.

Rana temporaria, a type of frog, was recently studied and put through observational trials. During the testing, female frogs were seen approached by their mates and oft would rub their heads, a motion all too familiar to men. After the feign of head pain did not work, the female frogs would then go ‘belly-up’, making amplexus (amphibian/froggy style) impossible.

What surprised researchers is that the faking did not stop with just the positioning.

The female frogs engaged in what is called ‘tonic immobility’, which is playing dead. The male frogs were seen expressing frustration and just hopping away when this occurred. Other observed patterns was when the ‘act’ was attempted near or on a lily pad, the females would perform reverse body slam and pins to drown the male frogs.

In other trials, the female frogs would let out bellowing mating calls, oft tricking the males into thinking they were suddenly in the presence of another male frog, instantly killing the mood.