A study finds female frogs fake death to avoid mating

Forget faking a headache or your period; when female frogs want to get out of sex, they play dead.

Male frogs have a short mating season, which leaves them in heavy competition with others for a female’s affection, sometimes at the cost of the female’s life.

via GIPHY

The females have had enough of the men getting aggressive and have found faking their death is a way of escape.

A recent study of 54 female frogs found that 33 percent stiffened their arms and legs and outstretched their bodies in a dead pose when a male clasped them.

Faking death, also known as tonic immobility, is believed to be a stress response more common among younger frogs.

So, in short… they pretend to croak.

via GIPHY

feature image via pexels