Exploding animal: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:18, 31 March 2024

Revision as of 17:45, 3 August 2024

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According to worldwide media reports 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. These incidents prompted local residents to refer to the area's lake—home to the toads—{{Lang-de|Tümpel des Todes|lit=Pool of Death|label=as}}. 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.<ref name=msnbc>{{cite news|title =Hungry crows may be behind exploding toads

|agency =Associated press|publisher =nbcnews.com[[NBC News]]|date =2005-04-28| url =httphttps://www.nbcnews.com/id/7654561/#.XJaNBIrPz-gwbna7654561|access-date = 2019-03-23}}</ref> According to 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 theorized 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/> Mutschmann's theory was dismissed as unlikely by an ornithologist, the official report filed the incident as lacking a satisfactory explanation.<ref name=NDR>{{cite news|title =Das Rätsel der explodierten Kröten|work =ndr.de|publisher =NDR|date =2015-04-29|url=https://www.ndr.de/geschichte/kroetenteich102_page-2.html|access-date=2023-03-31}}</ref>