Exploding animal: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:14, 19 April 2021

Revision as of 03:40, 13 September 2021

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{{short-description|Events in which a creature bursts apart}}

{{For|specific information about animals used as bombs|Animal-borne bomb attacks}}

The [[explosion]] of [[animal]]s is an uncommon event arising through natural causes or human activity. Among the best known examples are the [[post-mortem]] [[Exploding whale|explosion of whales]], either as a result of natural [[decomposition]] or deliberate attempts at [[Carrion|carcass]] disposal.<ref name="hackstadtevidence">Steven Hackstadt, [http://www.theexplodingwhale.com/#evidence The Evidence], TheExplodingWhale.com Accessed November 7, 2005; [http://perp.com/whale/ The Infamous Exploding Whale] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029125043/http://www.perp.com/whale/ |date=2007-10-29 }} perp.com, Accessed June 6, 2005</ref> Other instances of exploding animals are defensive in nature or the result of human intervention.

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===Ants===

Some insects explode [[Altruism (biology)|altruistically]], at the expense of the individual in defense of its [[ant colony|colony]]; the process is called [[autothysis]]. Several species of [[ant]]s, such as ''[[Camponotus saundersi]]'' in southeast [[Asia]], can explode at will to protect their nests from intruders.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors=Jones TH, Clark DA, Edwards AA, Davidson DW, Spande TF, Snelling RR |journal=J. Chem. Ecol. |volume=30 |issue=8 |pages=1479–92 |title=The chemistry of exploding ants, Camponotus spp. (cylindricus complex) |date=August 2004 |pmid=15537154 |doi= 10.1023/B:JOEC.0000042063.01424.28|s2cid=23756265 |url=http://www.kluweronline.com/art.pdf?issn=0098-0331&volume=30&page=1479}}</ref><ref>[http://www.umanitoba.ca/cm/vol6/no18/explodingants.html ''Exploding Ants: Amazing Facts About How Animals Adapt''], Joanne Settel, Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon& Schuster, New York, NY, 1999 {{ISBN|0-689-81739-8}}</ref> ''C. saundersi'', a species of carpenter ant, can self-destruct by [[autothysis]]. Two oversized, poison-filled mandibular glands run the entire length of the ant's body. When combat takes a turn for the worse, the ant violently contracts its abdominal muscles to rupture its body and spray poison in all directions. Likewise, many species of [[termite]]s, such as ''[[Globitermes sulphureus]]'', have members, deemed the soldier class, who can split their bodies open emitting a noxious and sticky chemical for the same reason.<ref name="GR3922">{{cite book | last = Piper | first = Ross | title = Extraordinary Animals | publisher = Greenwood Publishing Group | date = 2007-08-30 | ___location = Santa Barbara, CA | pages = [https://archive.org/details/extraordinaryani0000pipe/page/25 25–27] | url = https://archive.org/details/extraordinaryani0000pipe/page/25 | doi = 10.1336/0313339228 | id = GR3922 | isbn = 978-0-313-33922-6 }}</ref>

===Cows===

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=== Rats ===

The [[explosive rat]], also known as a rat bomb, was a weapon developed by the British [[Special Operations Executive]] (SOE) in World War II for use against Germany. Rat carcasses were filled with plastic explosives, and were to be distributed near German boiler rooms, where it was expected they would be disposed of by burning, with the subsequent explosion having a chance of causing a boiler explosion. The explosive rats never saw use, as the first shipment was intercepted by the Germans; however, the resulting search for more booby trapped rats consumed enough German resources for the SOE to conclude that the operation was a success.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.military-history.org/weapons-technology/back-to-the-drawing-board-exploding-rats.htm|title=Back to the Drawing Board — EXPLODING RATS!|website=Military History Monthly|language=en-US|access-date=2016-03-04}}</ref>

===Toads===

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|agency =Associated press|publisher =nbcnews.com|date =2005-04-28| url =http://www.nbcnews.com/id/7654561/#.XJaNBIrPz-g|access-date = 2019-03-23}}</ref> According to German conservationist Werner Smolnik, the toads expanded to three and a half times their normal size before blowing up, and were noted to live a short time after exploding.<ref name=BBC>{{cite news|title =Mystery of German exploding toads|work =bbc.co.uk|publisher =BBC|date =2005-04-27|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4486247.stm|access-date=2018-12-05}}</ref>

Berlin [[Veterinary physician|veterinarian]] Franz Mutschmann collected toad corpses and performed [[necropsy|necropsies]]. He theorisedtheorized that the phenomenon was linked to a recent influx of predatory [[crow]]s to the area. He stated that the cause was a mixture of crow attacks and the natural puff up defense of the toads. Crows attacked the toads in order to pick through the skin between the amphibians' chests and abdominal cavities, picking out the toads' livers, which appear 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."<ref name=msnbc/>

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/>