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#REDIRECT [[Exploding animal#Toads]]
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Tv local 6 toads.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Exploding toad, [[Post-mortem examination|post-mortem]], shown on television channel [[WKMG]] in [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]].]] -->
An '''exploding toad''' occurs when a [[crow]], hunting for toad liver, attacks a toad which then puffs up as a natural defense. The [[phenomenon]] was first noticed in April 2005 in districts of [[Hamburg]], [[Germany]], and near a lake at [[Låsby]], [[Denmark]], dubbed "The Pond of Death." No other animals in the area were exploding.
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What differentiates the exploding toads in these incidents from most other [[exploding animal]]s is that they explode while alive. [[Exploding whale]]s, for example, are a result of the buildup of gases during the process of [[decomposition]].
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==Description==
According to worldwide media reports in late April 2005, numerous [[toad]]s in the [[Altona, Hamburg|Altona]] district of Hamburg were observed by nature protection officials to swell up with [[gas]]es and explode, propelling their innards for distances of up to one meter. These incidents prompted local residents to refer to the area's lake—home to the toads—as "Tümpel des Todes" (Pool of Death). The incidents were reported as occurring with greatest frequency between 2 and 3 a.m. Werner Smolnik, [[environmental movement]] worker, stated on [[April 26]], [[2005]], at least 1,000 toads had died in this manner over a series of a few days.
According to a [[witness]], "toads swell up to three-and-a-half times their normal size before blowing up".
==Explanations==
Berlin [[veterinarian]] Franz Mutschmann collected corpses and performed autopsies. From his work, it was determined that the phenomenon was linked to a recent influx of predatory [[crow]]s to the area. The cause was a mixture of crow attacks and the natural puff up defense of the toads. Crows attacked the toads to pick through the skin between the amphibian's chest and abdominal cavity, picking out the liver, which appears to be a delicacy for crows in the area. In a defensive move, the toads begin to blow themselves up, which in turn, due to the hole in the toad's body and the missing liver, led to a rupture of blood vessels and lungs, and to the spreading of intestines. The apparent epidemic nature of the phenomenon was also explained by Mutschmann: "Crows are intelligent animals. They learn very quickly how to eat the toads' livers."
Previous explanations included a [[virus|viral]] or [[fungus|fungal]] infection, possibly one also affecting foreign [[horse]]s involved in [[horse racing|racing]] at a nearby track. However, laboratory tests were unable to detect an infectious agent.<ref>{{cite news
| title =Hungry crows may be behind exploding toads
| work =msnbc.com
| publisher =Microsoft
| date =2005-04-28
| url =http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7654561/
| accessdate = 2007-11-22}}</ref> Danish biologists suggested [[pesticides]] as an explanation. Yet another explanation was that increased [[ultraviolet radiation]] caused by [[ozone depletion]] was to blame.
==See also==
* [[Decline in frog populations]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
==References==
<references/>
{{exploding organisms}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Exploding Toad}}
[[Category:Exploding animals|Toad]]
[[Category:Toads]]
[[he:קרפדה מתפוצצת]]
[[no:Eksploderende padder]]
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