A recent study by researchers from the University of Bristol has found that many animals fake death to try to escape their predators. with some individuals in prey species remaining motionless, if in danger, for extended lengths of time. The study was published today in the science journal Biology Letters. Charles Darwin recorded a beetle that remained stationary for 23 minutes - however, the University of Bristol has documented individual antlion larvae pretending to be dead for an astonishing 61 minutes.

Of equal importance, the amount of time that an individual remains motionless is not only long but unpredictable. This means that a predator will be unable to predict when a potential prey item will move again, attract attention, and become a meal. Predators are hungry and cannot wait indefinitely. Similarly, prey may be losing opportunities to get on with their lives if they remain motionless for too long. Thus, death-feigning might best be thought of as part of a deadly game of hiding and seek in which prey might gain most by feigning death if alternative victims are readily available.