Exploding toad: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:29, 26 December 2006

Revision as of 20:48, 17 January 2007

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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 Crowscrows 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>http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/04/27/exploading.toads.ap/index.html</ref> Danish biologists suggested [[pesticides]] as an explanation. Yet another explanation was that increased [[ultraviolet radiation]] caused by [[ozone depletion]] was to blame.