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General discussion

Invasion of the..............Toads?

by Kiddpeat Apr 24, 2005 10:55PM PDT

BERLIN (AFP) - Hundreds of toads have met a bizarre and sinister end in Germany in recent days, it was reported: they exploded.

According to reports from animal welfare workers and veterinarians as many as a thousand of the amphibians have perished after their bodies swelled to bursting point and their entrails were propelled for up to a metre (three feet).

It is like "a science fiction film", according to Werner Smolnik of a nature protection society in the northern city of Hamburg, where the phenomenon of the exploding toad has been observed.

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4 Posts

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eewww can you imagine

by Glenda Apr 25, 2005 1:48PM PDT

the cleanup?? And the smell Yuch!

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Exploding toad update

by MarciaB May 1, 2005 1:33AM PDT

Just in case some of you were losing sleep over this little mystery I came across this follow up article:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7654561/

One German scientist studying the splattered amphibian remains has a theory: Hungry crows are pecking out their livers.

?The crows are clever,? said Frank Mutschmann, a Berlin veterinarian who collected and tested specimens at the Hamburg pond. ?They learn quickly from watching other crows how to get the livers.?

Based on the wounds, Mutschmann said, it appears that a bird pecks into the toad with its beak between the amphibian?s chest and abdominal cavity, and the toad puffs itself up as a natural defense mechanism.

But, because the liver is missing and there?s a hole in the toad?s body, the blood vessels and lungs burst and the other organs ooze out, he said.

As gruesome as it sounds, it isn?t actually that unusual, he said.

Believe it or not

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