Frozen Frogs

Frogs that survive freezing excite our imagination with visions of immortality. Underlining this excitement is the unexpected: our experience tells us that freezing kills. We've all read news stories of people who have lost fingers or toes to extreme cold, or even their lives. Thus, a whole animal that can survive freezing comes as a shock.

When the mercury falls, the common wood frog displays a rare trait called freeze tolerance. The animal becomes, to the eye and touch, a frog shaped ice cube.