The Great Escape

In Los Angeles in 1990, escape artist Dean Gunnarson was about to be smashed into a pancake. His arms, legs, and neck were secured to the inside of a car being conveyed toward a car crusher. For a harrowing two minutes and seven seconds, he wrestled with his chains. To the astonishment of a worldwide television audience, he leaped from the car just before it was chomped into twisted metal.

Escape artists and illusionists are experts at leaving us stunned. But you don’t have to attend their shows to marvel at some incredible escape skills. In this post-paradise world, many creatures now hunt, chase, and devour others just to make a living. To avoid becoming lunch, animals possess their own tricks and secrets—along with a bit of showmanship.

Incredible disappearances, startling surprises, death-defying dismemberments, and breathtaking breakouts—animals are bursting with brilliant ideas for breaking out of binds or making themselves scarce. Although escape devices remind us that our world is broken, they are a credit to the mastermind Creator who has lovingly provided for his creation. He deserves not just a round of applause but also our trust and obedience.

The Show Must Go On

Art by DAVID LEONARD

Animals can’t play music or dim the lights, but some sure know how to sell their act. Playing dead, also known as thanatosis, is a strategy used by many animals such as beetles and, famously, the opossum, to decrease their desirability to predators.

The hognose snake leaves it all on the stage. When threatened, it starts by writhing around melodramatically. Then it goes belly-up and lies limp, pathetically lolling its tongue out. If you try to flip it over, it’ll insist it’s really dead by going belly-up again.

Hold your applause; it’s just getting started. To give its audience the full experience, the snake may emit a foul odor, defecate, regurgitate its food, and release blood from its mouth. After a few minutes (or longer if you’re still looking), the show ends and the snake slithers away. Surely this is an impressive performance, but don’t credit the snake’s creativity. God programmed it with the behavior and physiology to pull this off, as evidenced by newly hatched baby hognoses who can put on the show.

The Element of Surprise

Not all animals are as harmless or helpless as they seem. Like the skunk or stink bug, many animals pull out a hidden bag of tricks. When these defenses are deployed, predators find the tables turned very quickly.

The red triangle slug has a few such tricks up its sleeve. You’ll find it sliding along eucalyptus forest floors minding its own business until a frog ventures to snatch it. The slug then releases a glue that is strong enough to affix a frog to a tree for at least several days. This allows enough time for the frog to think over its bad behavior—and for the slug to give it the slip.

Different from the slippery stuff the slug slides on, the sticky, stretchy mucus actually gets stronger when wet. Scientists are trying to unlock its secrets to make better medical adhesives that work in wet and changing situations, such as sealing holes in human hearts.

There’s a lot we don’t know about how the glue works—for example, we don’t know how the slug avoids getting stuck in its own goo—but we do know that this slug oozes evidence of divine design.

The Ol’ Sawn-in-Half Trick

Art by DAVID LEONARD

Sometimes all-out escape is not an option. From reptiles to arachnids, many animals are willing to trade an appendage for their lives.

The fish-scale gecko performs this process (called caudal autotomy) as its main act. When a predator seizes the lizard’s tail, the tail pops off near its base where weak areas run like dotted lines for easy detachment. Blood vessels constrict at the breakage site to minimize bleeding. After it’s off, the tail has one more trick to perform. In a display of masterful misdirection, the detached tail occupies the predator’s attention by thrashing about, allowing its former owner to make a great escape.

But wait—there’s more! Sometimes the lizard won’t even bother to save its own skin. Instead, it sheds its skin and runs off in the buff. Then—presto chango!—the gecko soon makes both its tail and skin reappear by growing them back.

Now You See It, Now You Don’t

Another predator-perplexing stunt is the infamous vanishing act. Like the squid with its ink or cuttlefish with its camouflage, this strategy involves far more than simply running away.

A champion at this trick is the springtail. This six-legged invertebrate gets its name from its fercula, a flinging device positioned directly below its center of gravity. Like a mousetrap, the furcula is held in tension by clasps underneath the bug’s abdomen. When the furcula is released, the springtail launches itself away at about 4.6 feet (1.4 m) per second. For a one millimeter-long bug, that’s the human equivalent of roughly one mile (1.6 km) per second. The springtail can even spring off the surface of water. You know what they say: the springtail is quicker than the eye.

Catch Me If You Can

Some animals are masters of illusion. Predator and prey alike, including snakes and fish, sometimes use stripes to confuse. The idea is that, if you can’t hide, do something flashy and distract your audience with spectacle.

Zebras are defined by their stripes. Because high-contrast markings make stationary animals stand out, scientists have long wondered why zebras have them. Some evidence suggests that patterns like the zebra’s stripes make it difficult for predators to know what they’re looking at while chasing prey. Motion dazzle, a strategy that is almost the inverse of camouflage (which prevents detection of stationary objects), prevents the tracking of moving objects. That is, while zigzags are easy to spot, zigzagging zigzags are a showstopper.

Knock, Knock, Who’s There?

Art by DAVID LEONARD

The most exciting stunts can be dangerous. Sometimes it seems all hope for escape is lost. Certain animals reserve tricks to cheat death and come out leaving us relieved but scratching our heads.

A common meal for the black-spotted pond frog is the aquatic beetle Regimbartia attenuata. Recently Japanese researchers discovered that the same beetles are seen out and about after being unmistakably swallowed. Although observers might think the beetle has teleported, the truth is almost as incredible. This insect makes its way through the frog’s digestive system and out the back door—alive.

Why don’t all bugs do this? Well, this trick requires the right kind of body and behavior. The frog’s digestive system is very low in oxygen and highly acidic, so the beetle has to make it quick. Using its legs, the beetle pushes its way through the digestive system. It also has the sense to “knock” on the backdoor, stimulating it to open. Being aquatic, its shape, swimming prowess, and ability to carry air bubbles under its wing prepare this beetle for its artful dodge.