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[[Image:Tv local 6 toads.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Exploding toad, post-incident, shown on television channel [[WKMG]] in [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]].]]
An '''exploding toad''' occurs when a [[crow]], hunting for toad liver, attacks a puffed up toad. 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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==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.
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==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
Another opinion was that the eye witness accounts were flawed, confused, or mistaken.
==Exploding amphibians in fiction==
In a story titled "[[The Frog and the Ox]]" of the [[Aesop's Fables]], a [[frog]], seeing an [[cattle|ox]] walking by, wanted to become as large and powerful as the ox. The poor frog filled itself full of air again and again. It exploded as a result.
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In the computer game [[Serious Sam]], froglike alien amphibians hop toward the player and explode on contact. Although individually weak and easily killed, these enemies often appear in large swarms.
==References==
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==See also==
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