Imagine that you are being attacked by a fierce predator.

Imagine you’re being attacked by a ferocious predator. With no chance of escape, you do what any courageous, self-respecting possum would do: curl into an immobile state called catatonia, stick out your tongue, drool, and ooze some foul-smelling liquid from your anal glands. Disgusted, your assailant loosens its grip, decides you’re not the dinner it was looking for, and departs. After 10 minutes, you resurrect and merrily saunter on. From lemurs to lizards, ants to amphibians, sharks to chickens, hundreds of animals "play dead" as a survival tactic.