All rights reserved by the author
27 September 2026

If you saw one of these frogs in the middle of an Alaskan winter, you might think it was dead.

Its body can freeze.

Its eyes can turn white.

Its heart stops beating.

It stops breathing.

And yet, it is alive.

The wood frog spends the winter buried beneath leaves on the forest floor. As temperatures fall, ice forms around its cells and organs. At the same time, its liver produces large amounts of glucose, which acts as a natural cryoprotectant and helps protect the cells from the damage that ordinary freezing would cause.

Some Alaskan wood frogs have been recorded surviving for months in this frozen state. Research has documented frogs remaining frozen for roughly six months while maintaining full survival.

Then spring arrives.

The frog thaws.

First the heart begins beating again. Then the brain becomes active. Eventually the legs move.

And the little frog gets on with its life.

There is something almost unbelievable about that.

For most creatures, winter means finding a way to stay warm.

For the wood frog, the solution is rather different.

It simply freezes—and waits for spring.

Rajat Chandra Sarmah, Guwahati, Assam, India, Instagram @rajatchandrasarmah, YouTube: conversewithasmile, email rajatchandrasarmah@gmail.com