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Female frogs are faking their own deaths to escape aggressive males

Researchers observing the breeding European common frog (Rana temporaria) found that females sometimes enter a rigid, motionless state known as tonic immobility when overwhelmed by mating attempts.

Legs outstretched, body still – it looks like they’ve dropped dead.

Why go to such extremes?

In these species, breeding happens in a short, intense window with far more males than females. That imbalance leads to competition – and in some cases, dangerous dogpiles of males clinging to a single female. It can be so extreme that females risk drowning during mating.

To survive, females have developed a set of behaviors to avoid unwanted mating: twisting, distress calls, and in rarer cases, tonic immobility. It’s not a conscious decision – more like a last-resort reflex to escape.

Scientists say this is the first time death-feigning has been documented in frogs as a sexual avoidance strategy. And given the intense selection pressures in other frog species, similar behaviors may be more common than we thought.

Learn more:
Rascoe, Ayesha. “Research Finds Female Frogs Play Dead to Avoid Mating with Males.” NPR, 5 Nov. 2023,