Fight or Flight: The Red Eyed Tree Frog

A new study conducted by Scientist at the University of Scranton, found that the developing red-eyed tree frog in cases of stress is able hatch itself prematurely in order to escape harms way.
"The frogs normally lay a mass of 40 or so eggs on a twig or leaf over a freshwater pond. If all is well, the eggs hatch at 6 or 7 days old and the tadpoles fall into the pond. But if the eggs are attacked by a snake or a wasp during the last couple of days of development, the embryos can launch early. They wriggle out and drop to the water in less than a minute, sometimes in less than 10 seconds."

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/amphibians/red-eyed-tree-frog/

The Scientists conducted a fake "attack" by poking the embryo enough to simulate a possible predator. They then discovered that the tadpole in response to the stress released enzymes which consequently broke down the embryonic wall and hatched the egg allowing the tadpole to escape harms way.

The fight or flight response has always fascinated me in the sense that not one creature responds in the same way. This tree frog definitely has a unique and efficient way of responding to predators.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/27/science/hatching-frogs.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fsciencetake&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection