Did you know that in winter frogs' blood will freeze? They bury themselves in mud or under leaves for the winter and enter a state of suspended animation, then thaw out in spring and are good to go again. That little miracle of nature is the theme for this year's seasonal song...
Let It Snow (Froggy Version)
(Note: to be sung with gusto!)
Oh the weather outside is frightful,
But our marsh is so delightful
We burrow down well below
Let it rain, let it sleet, let it snow
It doesn’t show signs of stopping
But we don’t need corn for popping
When winter-light’s very low
Let it rain, let it slush, let it snow
When the winter-cold finally comes
We don’t mind being out in the storm
Our blood can freeze and thaw again
So when spring-sun comes we’ll be warm
To this year, we’re now goodbye-ing
And my dear, we’re still relying
On donors who love us so…
Give us funds, give us bucks, give us dough!
Valhalla Foundation for Ecology Director Lorna Visser singing (with gusto) our seasonal song, at the Snk'mip Marsh Sanctuary. Behind her are two ponds created as part of our wetland restoration work.
More on frozen frogs (and butt-breathing turtles)
(Condensed from an article by CBC Science Reporter Darius Mahdavi)
Frogs: When winter rolls around, some frogs hide under leaf litter or just a few centimetres underground, where the temperature hovers a few degrees below zero. And then they freeze.
Their hearts stop pumping. Their organs stop working. They don't breathe and have no detectable brain activity. Their body is encased in ice. You'd think they were dead.
But then comes spring and they start to thaw — from the inside out.
Turtles: Turtles aren't freeze-tolerant like a wood frog and they can't regulate their body temperature like birds or mammals. Instead, they need to find a place to spend the winter where temperatures won't drop below freezing. So they hunker down at the bottom of frozen-over ponds and lakes, where the water stays just above zero.
Turtles are ectotherms — cold blooded — so they allow their body temperature to drop to almost zero degrees Celsius while they're sitting in their cozy little mud spot. They absorb oxygen from the water through several surfaces, including the cloaca — a specialized tissue located under their tails.
This process is known as cloacal respiration but there's a less scientific way to describe it: essentially, in winter time, they are breathing through their butts.
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