How Do Frogs Survive Winter?

I was looking through my photo galleries when I came across this photo of the frog I took last summer, in August 2007 (Scanlon Creek Conservation Area). A funny thought came across my mind when I was preparing this photo for the post. It reminded me of the Everybody Loves Raymond sitcom episode "She's The One," when Robert thinks that he finally found the one, but unfortunately the one is an excessive frog lover.

So what happens to frogs during the winter? Well, we know that frogs do not migrate. I can't even imagine how. There is no fur to grow and no wings to fly South. They do not freeze or thaw.

Are you ready? The frogs prepare for winter by hiding under tree trunks or in the soil. But this is not enough when temperatures drop below zero degrees Celsius. Frogs that need to survive winter have the ability to alter their blood composition into a sugar-based substance called glucose. Also called an antifreeze-like substance. This sugar-based substance that enters the frog's bloodstream is created in the frog's liver from the accumulated carbohydrates. So this is how frogs survive the winter.

Nature is wonderful.

~ Anna