![Female frogs may croak to deter males from mating with them 1 Handout picture supplied by Makoto M. Itoh. A Pelophylax nigromaculatus frog photographed for his study study Female pond frog vocalisation deters sexual coercion by males. mac_itoh@yahoo.co.jp](https://i0.wp.com/images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/28120634/SEI_161909128.jpg?resize=696%2C465&ssl=1)
Female black-spotted frogs seem to deter males by croaking
Courtesy of Makoto M. Itoh
Male frogs often force females to mate with them, but in one species, a croak from the female seems to persuade males to leave her alone. The sound may be an “honest” signal that she isn’t fertile and mating would be a waste of the male’s sperm and energy.
“In general, male frogs are known to jump on even inorganic objects if they are female-like,” says Makoto M. Itoh at Nagoya University in Japan. “However, this species [stops attempting] such …