5 Animals That Pretend To Be Dead
As if they were the best Broadway plays, some animals pretend to be dead to escape their predators. These behaviors don’t always work, but certain living things often resort to them when they have literally exhausted all possible escape options.
This action of sitting still and appearing to be dead is called thanatosis. This method is effective in many settings, as predators are attracted to fresh, live food, so when they see their prey “stiff,” they often leave them alone. If you have been interested in this premise, we encourage you to continue reading.
Animals that pretend to be dead
Some of these animals are so committed to their role that they go beyond just standing still to fake their death. Certain species have also managed to mimic the “smell” of decay, which gives them more credibility. Unpleasant organoleptic properties warn the predator of possible diseases and infections.
Thanks to this, animals that pretend to be dead manage to save themselves, as long as their performance is fantastic. In the following lines, we bring you 5 examples of thanatosis in the animal kingdom.
1. Take out everything you have inside ( Didelphis virginiana )
In addition to staying still, to avoid death by predation you need to put seasoning on the situation. Possums ( Didelphis virginiana ), apart from staying immobile, make their predator move away generating a fetid odor.
These small mammals urinate and defecate at the time they play dead, thereby allowing their predator to receive the unpleasant scent and increasing their chances of survival. Except for scavengers, a foul odor is never an attractive sign.
2. Small and dramatic (Leptopelis rufus )
Despite being so small, these frogs are completely committed to the show . Compared to possums, these amphibians tend to stick their tongues out and open their mouths during performance. But this is not all, since this anuran has a gland that emits an odor similar to that of a decomposing body.
3. The contortionist ( Holotrochus hispanicus )
Contortionists are famous for being able to bend their body excessively, as they even fit in a box. Under this same premise, these beetles fold themselves to prevent any of their limbs from sticking out of the body.
What do contortionist beetles do with this? At the evolutionary level, the explanation is simple: if its extremities are not observed, they can become confused with the ground and become yet another “stone”. With this, the invertebrate manages to complicate the search for its predator.
This small insect performs this feat thanks to the fact that it has modified its body to be able to fit each limb in a suitable place. In this way, it hides its legs, maintains the oval shape of its body and can go unnoticed.
4. Acting like a snake ( Natrix natrix )
Talent is everywhere, you just have to know how to look for it. This snake, apart from being an excellent swimmer, is also good at acting. Although it is not so common to see it like this, this snake has the ability to pretend to be dead, so it has learned some very curious tricks.
For her performance, she turns around, opens her mouth, and leaves her tongue hanging out. In addition, it secretes a foul odor thanks to defecating in the process. As if that were not enough, these snakes also use their eyes to their advantage, as they move their pupils towards the lower edges, which gives more credibility to the performance.
5. Not on my guard ( Nimbochromis livingstonii )
If you were expecting everything to happen on land, you will be surprised to know that there are also fantastic actors in the water. This cichlid fish is very special, because it has used defense for attack. Sometimes thanatosis can be used for aggressive purposes.
This fish is a predator that feigns its death, as it stops swimming and slowly sinks to the bottom. In this way, it manages to attract the attention of other scavenger fish that try to eat it, at which point it takes the opportunity to hunt them.
The defense mechanisms of the species adapt to the environment in which they live, as they always look for the best way to maintain themselves over time, whatever the cost. Faking death is quite an important behavior, since it allows one to escape certain death when the animal is cornered.
