By Sakshi Sah
Published Jul 14, 2025

Hindustan Times
Trending

Photo Credit: Pexels

Can animals really survive being frozen?

It sounds strange, but some animals really can freeze and then come back to life. Let’s see how they do it.

In nature, water freezes at around 0°C. Ice can tear cells apart by expanding or forming sharp crystals. That’s what makes freezing deadly.

Many insects stop ice from forming by drying out their bodies. It’s one way to avoid cell damage in the cold.

According to BBC, the wood frog from North America can survive temperatures as low as –14°C. It stays frozen for weeks.

Wood frogs use natural antifreeze in their blood.

Only one mammal can go below freezing- the Arctic ground squirrel. Its body temperature drops to –2.9°C.

It uses ‘supercooling’- water in its body stays liquid without freezing, because crystals can't start forming.

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