Meet the only North American amphibian who lives north of the Arctic Circle.
Not this little guy — he lives in my garden — but his cousins in Alaska and northern Canada. Each winter the wood frog does something seemingly impossible: It freezes and thaws several times.
Incredible? Yup. Wood frogs hibernate near the ground surface, often under leaf litter. As the air temperature drops, so does their body temperature.
If you find one of these frogs during a cold spell you might think it was dead. No heart beat. No blood flow. No brain activity. Drop him on something hard and he’ll go clunk.
Yet as the air warms up, so does he. This can happen repeatedly during the winter and no harm done.
Pretty impressive for a guy that eats snails, worms and insects. Clever little bandit.
P.S. Like to know how they do it?
Wood frog Rana sylvatica
The Lens and I 
Interesting post and great photos! I like the pale stripe running down the centre of this Wood Frog. It is trully amazing how nature adapts to survive the harshest of environments.
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I just heard wood frogs in Brooklyn. Thanks for this wonderful post!
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Lucky you! It’s been so dry here that our usual frog “pond” has all but dried up. Maybe if I listen really hard (and the wind is blowing in the right direction) I could hear yours … ? 🙂
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Those are really unique looking frogs great job on the pictures.
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Thanks, Sonya. Several frogs and boreal toads live in our garden, in the tall grass and around the raspberries, rhubarb and peonies where I let things grow wild. It’s always a treat to catch sight of one.
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