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===Toads===
According to worldwide media reports inIn 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—toads—as {{Lang-de|Tümpel des Todes|lit=Pool of Death|label=asnone}}.{{Citation needed|date=August 2024}} The incidents were reported as occurring with greatest frequency between 2 and 3 a.m. Werner Smolnik, an [[environmental movement]] worker, stated on April 26, 2005,that at least 1,000 toads had died in this manner over athe seriesspan of a few days. According to Smolnik, the toads expanded to three and a half times their normal size before blowing up.<ref name="msnbc" /> The toads were noted to live a short time after exploding.<ref name=BBC>{{cite news|title =HungryMystery crowsof may be behindGerman 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>
|agency =Associated press|publisher =[[NBC News]]|date =2005-04-28| url =https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna7654561|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>
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]]., Heand theorizedhypothesized that the phenomenon was linked to a recent influx of predatory [[crow]]s to the area. HeAccording statedto thathis thetheory, causecrows was a mixture of crow attacks and the natural puff up defense ofattacked the toads. Crowsand attackedpicked theout toadstheir in order to picklivers through the skin between the amphibians'their chests and abdominal cavities, picking out the toads' livers, which appear to be a delicacy for crows in the area. InAs a defensive movemechanism, the toads begin to blowenlarged themselves up, which in turn,but due to the hole in the toad'stheir body and thetheir missing liver, led to a rupture oftheir blood vessels and lungs, ruptured and toexpelled the spreading oftheir 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>
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>
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/>
== See also ==
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