Playing dead seems like a last-ditch effort by someone or something that has lost all hope. When you're out of ideas, just stay still and hope the world passes you by. It's not smart, and it doesn't take much skill, but you'd be surprised how effective it is. And it's not just good for avoiding a bear attack.
10. Moorland dragonflies play dead to avoid mating
The Marsh Hawk Dragonfly may be unfamiliar to you, but it is very common. You can find it throughout the Northern Hemisphere through Europe, Asia, and North America. Females of this species have also developed a unique self-preservation technique that is both clever and a little sad by human standards.
Insect mating is never a particularly romantic affair, so once the hawk-winged dragonflies have mated, everything goes back to business as usual. But in their world, there is no such thing as consent, and the male has no way of knowing whether the female has mated or not. The females, in an effort to prevent unwanted males, have perfected playing dead defense .
The female obviously does not need to mate twice, but a male who tries to do so may cause harm. damage her reproductive system. To ward this off, the female runs away from the male and then falls to the ground, lying on her back and remaining perfectly still. Since an upside-down insect is almost always a dead insect, the male will assume she is dead and leave.
9. Domestic pig pretends to be dead to help its owner
There is ample evidence that pigs are very smart, even more than dogs, and on par with human babies. Once a bond has been established between humans and a domestic pig, it is no surprise that the pig may have some clever tricks up its sleeve when the need arises. We can train dogs to sniff out drugs and alert people who are having a seizure. A pig that pretends to be dead to save a life, seems quite reasonable.
In 1998, Jo Ann Altsman had a heart attack, and the only home that would help her was a pot-bellied pig named Lulu. The pig actually got through a fence, having torn myself apart in the process, and made her way outside. There, she did the only thing a 150-pound pig could do. She played dead in the middle of the road.
Eventually, someone stopped to see why there was a dead pig lying in the road. Lulu took the person back home and Altsman was given medical attention. Apparently, if it had taken another 15 minutes, her doctor said she probably wouldn't have survived.
8. Male nursery web spiders play dead to fool females
Arachnophobia is a major fear for many people, and there is not much love lost between spiders and humans. This is not surprising when you consider how they treat each other. Take the nursery web spider, for example. The males of this species are deceitful, sneaky, and too clever for their own good.
When it comes time to mate, males have to get creative. In many spider species, the females kill the males, and they are usually much larger. Male nursery web spiders use tricks to get the job done, including giving the female a gift, wrapped in silk to distract her. The problem is that the gift may be a lie, and inside there will simply be a seed that she cannot eat, or even the husk of something the male has already eaten. And he also pretend to be dead to trick her long enough to turn away so he could sneak in and mate while he had the chance.
About two-thirds of the gifts given were real insects, which the female could eat while the male was mating with her. The last third were tricks, which usually resulted in shorter mating periods because the female realized she had been tricked. This led to the slacker male feigning death so he had a chance to try another round of mating.
7. Cichlid fish play dead to trick prey
We usually think of playing dead as an escape technique. We've all probably heard that playing dead is the way to deal with a grizzly bear. Just do nothing and hope he loses interest. But sometimes playing dead is done for the exact opposite reason, as is the case with cichlids.
The technique known as aggressive mimicry , is used by the fish to attract others to feed on its dead body. The fish literally lies motionless on the bottom, resting in the mud, and when smaller fish come to inspect the corpse, it comes to life and eats them.
6. Embryonic sharks play dead after sending out predatory electrical signals
Life as a shark can be tough. These predators are constantly hunting for food, and they are also in danger from humans and each other. Larger sharks are more than happy to prey on smaller ones, and small sharks are at great risk. It’s such a daily part of sharks’ lives that their ability to avoid predators is pure instinct, part of their minds even before they’re born. We know this because there’s evidence that shark embryos play dead to avoid danger. Even before they get into the water, they know to avoid predators.
Sharks are able to sense electric fields , created by other living things. They use this ability as adults to help them hunt. But when they are still unborn, they can sense the electrical fields of potential predators and respond by restricting their movements and essentially playing dead to avoid giving themselves away to anyone who might be interested in a snack. All this happens within the confines of the egg, still inside the mother shark. When the electrical signals are sensed, the embryonic shark restricts its gill movements and waits out predators.
5. Praying Mantis will play dead to avoid cannibalism
The praying mantis is a notorious example of mating hazard in the animal kingdom. It is a well-known example of the mismatch between male and female insects due to the females' habit of eating males after, and sometimes even during, mating. Males, as you can imagine, do not like this and will try to avoid it if and when they can.
At least one species of mantis has about 60% males eventually get eaten. The rest of the 40%? They need to think fast. For some, the key is to trick the female into thinking her job is done, which means playing dead.
This can be seen in several different species of praying mantis, which also try to escape predators. They will jump from trees, flatten themselves on the ground and introduce themselves corpses .
4. Opossums don't want to play dead.
Is there any animal more famous for playing dead than the opossum? People literally call it “playing possum.” Ironically, of all the animals that play dead, opossums are actually the least effective at it. That’s not to say they won’t trick you into thinking they’re dead, they’re just not “playing,” strictly speaking. The response is not voluntary, so it’s less play and more suffering.
The reason why it is said that the opossum plays dead is because you think it is a defense mechanism that comes into play when the opossum fears attack by predator . Animal does not have control over it and can't get it to start or stop on its own. It's like a sneeze or a muscle spasm that can catch you off guard and you just tolerate it because your body is doing what it needs to do.
The possum also secretes a fluid from a gland that gives off the smell of rotting flesh to help complete the illusion. This can last for up to four hours.
By the way, although it's called "playing possum," if you're talking about the North American marsupial, it's technically an opossum. The opossum is actually a similar but different animal native to Australia.
3. Young fire ants feign death until they get older.
When it comes to ants, the world is a real mess. Some species are tiny and relatively harmless, while others are larger and potentially very dangerous. Ant -bullet got its name because when it stings you, it hurts like a gunshot. It's pretty scary. Slightly less scary, but still much maligned because of its sting, is the fire ant. If you've never been stung by a fire ant, you can probably guess from the name what you might be in for. Their sting filled with compounds , which can cause minor skin irritation or even severe pain.
Although the fire ant, like most animals, has well-developed defensive skills, young ants are not as skilled as older members of the species. Young fire ants cannot defend themselves against rival fire ants, so they simply pretend to be dead , to avoid confrontation altogether.
"Attack" ants may only show up and inspect the young ants, they do not need to be fully aggressive. Young ants straightaway are folding , and as soon as the rivals leave, they turn around and go about their business. However, once they are old enough, fire ants will take a more aggressive defense and will fight these invaders rather than try to outwit them.
2. A deer shot by a hunter was attacked after the man thought it was dead
Hunting, whether for food or even trophy hunting, usually follows the same pattern. Whether we agree with it or not, it involves a person stalking and killing an animal either for sport or to feed themselves, their family, and their community. But that's getting ahead of itself and assuming the hunt went according to plan, which isn't always the case.
Thomas Alexander was deer hunting in Arkansas. He saw a deer and fired, bringing the deer down. Alexander left his hide and walked up to the deer to inspect his kill. That's how most deer hunts go. But this wasn't like most deer hunts, and the deer Alexander went to inspect wasn't dead. It was just it looked like this .
Incredibly, the deer was not dead. As Alexander approached, the deer sprang to its feet and attacked him. The deer must have had a formidable rack of antlers, because Alexander had severe puncture wounds all over his body. He was able to call to his wife, who then called emergency services, but unfortunately the man died shortly after. The deer was never found.
1. Korean business allows people to pretend to be dead
It may seem obvious that humans play dead too, but if you think about it, can you think of many instances where it happens for a specific reason other than why an animal might do it? We are told to play dead to avoid grizzlies, and in horror movies, it is sometimes a good way to avoid a killer.
In Daejeon, South Korea, there is another reason to pretend to be dead, and it appears to be suicide prevention. At a seminar called “ Academy of Coffins "Participants charge $25 for four hours of death preparation. They write letters to their loved ones, decide what to write on their tombstones, and then spend some time lounging in the coffin to experience one last dirty dream.
The feigned death lasts for 10 minutes of silence and stillness. At least according to one account of it, the coffin is actually boarded up staff to actually enter the simulation house. Some feared that the experience, which many find therapeutic, could encourage people to commit suicide by introducing them to the idea of a peaceful afterlife. The founder argues otherwise, suggesting that it shows how lonely people would be in the country with the most high suicide rate in OECD countries.
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