Exploding animal: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:55, 18 August 2024

Revision as of 17:59, 2 October 2024

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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 throughfrom 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.

==Causes of explosions==

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===Cows===

In January 1932, the ''[[Townsville Daily Bulletin]]'', an Australian newspaper, reported an incident where a [[dairy cow]] was partially blown up and killeddied on a farm at Kennedy Creek (near [[Cardwell, Queensland|Cardwell]], [[North Queensland]]). The cow had reputedly picked up a [[blasting cap]] in her mouth while grazing in a paddock. This was only triggered later, when the cow began to chew her [[cud]], at a time when she was in the process of being [[Milking|milked]]. The cow had its head blown off by the resulting explosion, and the farmer milking the cow was knocked unconscious.<ref>[http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article61348469 "Was it suicide?: A moo-cow's end"] – ''[[Townsville Daily Bulletin]]'' (Qld.: 1907–1954), 15 January 1932. Accessed 5 June 2015.</ref>

=== Rats ===

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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]], and hypothesized that the phenomenon was linked to a recent influx of predatory [[crow]]s to the area. According to his theory, crows attacked the toads and picked out their livers through the skin between their chests and abdominal cavities. As a defensive mechanism, the toads enlarged themselves, but due to the hole in their body and their missing liver, their blood vessels and lungs ruptured and expelled their intestines.<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>

== See also ==

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* [[Autothysis]]

* [[Blast fishing]]

* [[Cruelty to animals]]

* [[Decline in amphibian populations]]

* [[Exploding whale]]

* [[Military animal#As living bombs|Military animals as living bombs]]

* [[Raining animals]]