Female frogs fake their own death to avoid unwanted attention from males: Study
Female European common frogs were observed seemingly faking their own death to avoid mating with unwanted males, according to a new study. Female frogs aren't hopping to mate with every interested male frog, scientists have found. Instead, they are faking their deaths to escape unwanted attention. Female European common frogs were observed engaging in "tonic immobility," essentially feigning their own death to avoid mating, according to a study published Wednesday in Royal Society Open Science . MORE: Amphibians are in widespread decline, and climate change is to blame, study says The phenomenon seems to have evolved in order for females to survive an intense and potentially dangerous mating season, Carolin Dittrich, an evolutionary and behavioral ecologist who conducted the research as part of the Natural History Museum Berlin, told ABC News. European common frogs engage in an "explosive" breeding season, a short season in which males fiercely compete for ac...