Page 43 - World of Animals - Issue #41

Top 10 Extreme Animal Survivors

Wood frog

Unassuming amphibians who freeze themselves to survive winter
Frogs aren’t obvious winter animals, of surviving for weeks on end with 65 per The trick is made possible thanks to
but one North American variety has cent of its body frozen solid. cryoprotectants: chemicals in the frog’s
overcome its aversion to cold weather During this time, the frog’s body grinds body that prevent cell tissues from
by adopting a rather extreme survival to a halt, with basic functions such as shrinking and drying out when exposed BELOW Wood
strategy: freezing itself alive. breathing and circulation entering a state to extreme temperatures. Scientists frogs are one
The wood frog, which can be found in of limbo. When the weather warms up, studying wood frogs believe that similar of only a select
cold northern states such as Alaska, is a the wood frog thaws out and continues chemicals could be used to freeze human few animals
that can freeze
famously freeze-tolerant creature capable life as normal, suffering no ill effects. organs for transplantation. themselves

10 minutes

Spread
of
glucose
WOOD FROG
Lithobates sylvaticus
Class Amphibia
3 hours
Ice
Territory North America
Diet Insects, arachnids, snails,
slugs and worms
Lifespan 2-3 years
Adult weight 8g (0.3oz)
Conservation status

24 hours LEAST CONCERN

Tardigrade

Meet the most resilient animal on Earth
They may not look particularly exciting, but tardigrades (also
known as water bears or moss piglets) have the distinct
honour of being Earth’s most extreme survivors. These © Guy Edwardes Photography Ltd/REX/Shutterstock; Felipe Foncueva Rodriguez/Solent News/REX/Shutterstock; FLPA; NaturePL; Thinkstock; Alamy; Ardea
microscopic creatures are 0.5 millimetres (0.02 inches) long
when fully grown, and can be found in a diverse range of
habitats, from the tops of mountains to the deepest depths
of the ocean.
With the ability to survive boiling hot and freezing cold
temperatures, withstand pressures 6,000-times stronger
than the planet’s atmosphere, and survive devastating doses
of radiation, the tardigrade is one seriously tough cookie. The
tiny critters can even survive in the lifeless vacuum of space
– something no other animal has been able to do.
“The tiny critters even survive

in the vacuum of space”

43

036-043_WOA041_Extreme Survivors.indd 43 01/12/2016 10:35