Wood frogs survive freezing in winter with the power of pee: study

Wood frogs would make the ideal backseat passengers on a long car journey as they can hold their pee for up to eight months.

Not that they have much choice when they live in Alaska's frozen tundra. According to the Los Angeles Times, each September two-thirds of their body water turns to ice. If you picked them up, they would not move. If you bent one of their legs, it would break.

They can withstand temperatures as low as -17°C for as long as seven months, and then, when spring arrives, thaw out and hop away.

According to new research published by the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the frogs can survive this process because they recoup the nitrogen from their urea. This serves to protect their cells from the damage that comes from freezing.