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===Toads===
In April 2005, [[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.<ref name="msnbc">{{cite news |date=2005-04-28 |title=Hungry crows may be behind exploding toads |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7654561 |access-date=2019-03-23 |publisher=[[NBC News]] |agency=Associated press}}</ref> These incidents prompted local residents to refer to the area's lake—home to the toads—as {{
Initial theories had included a [[virus|viral]] or [[fungus|fungal]] infection, possibly one also affecting foreign [[horse]]s involved in [[horse racing]] at a nearby track. However, laboratory tests were unable to detect an infectious agent.<ref name="msnbc" /> Berlin [[Veterinary physician|veterinarian]] Franz Mutschmann collected toad corpses and performed [[necropsy|necropsies]], and hypothesized that the phenomenon was linked to a recent influx of predatory [[crow]]s to the area. According to his theory, crows attacked the toads and picked out their livers through the skin between their chests and abdominal cavities. As a defensive mechanism, the toads enlarged themselves, but due to the hole in their body and their missing liver, their blood vessels and lungs ruptured and expelled their intestines.<ref name=msnbc/>
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