Toads bursting to death and noone knows why

[Helevitia]

Weird story. I wonder what it will turn out to be?

http://beta.news.yahoo.com/s/afp/germanytoadsoffbeat;_ylt=Ar9LiBKlgKSMiB_tLJUTjdus0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA2bm5xNHVjBHNlYwNtcA--

[Dr Mordrid]

Maybe someone spilled a load of beer in the pond

Dr. Mordrid

[KvHagedorn]

Reminds me of that senator in X-Men...

How about secret weapons tests? Microwave death ray test subjects?

[Dr Mordrid]

Maybe a microwave tower is cooking 'em?

Dr. Mordrid

[TnT]

More like that scene in The Hulk when they test the nanites in the toad and shoot radiation at it.

[ALBPM]

Oh Gawd!!! It's Toadal destruction.....

[Jon P. Inghram]

Oh Gawd!!! It's Toadal destruction.....

Perhaps the insects they prey on have developed a new defense strategy: nitroglycerin glands?

[schmosef]

from lgf:

Have these so-called scientists considered the possibility that the toads are humiliated and oppressed by centuries of colonialism and the German occupation, and are striking back with the only weapon they have ... their own entrails?

Do they get 72 virginal tadpoles in toad heaven?

[cjolley]

Ah Ha! & Yech!!

http://www.salon.com/mwt/wire/2005/0...ads/print.html

Birds may be behind exploding German toads


- - - - - - - - - - - -
By Matt Surman


April 28, 2005 | Berlin -- Why are toads puffing up and spontaneously exploding in northern Europe? It began in a posh German neighborhood and has spread across the border into Denmark. It's left onlookers baffled, but one German scientist studying the splattered amphibian remains now has a theory: Hungry crows may be 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."

So far, more than 1,000 toad corpses have been found at a pond in Hamburg and in Denmark. But the pond water in Hamburg has been tested, and its quality is no better or worse than elsewhere in the city. The remains have been checked for a virus or bacteria, but none has been found.

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.

"It's not unique -- it's in a city area, and that makes it spectacular," Mutschmann said. "Of course, it's something very dramatic."

There have also been reports of exploded toads in a pond near Laasby in central Jutland in Denmark.

Local environmental workers in Hamburg have described it as a scene out of a horror or science fiction movie, with the bloated frogs agonizing and twitching for several minutes, inflating like a balloon before suddenly bursting.

"It's horrible," biologist Heidi Mayerhoefer was quoted as telling the Hamburger Morgenpost daily.

"The toads burst, the entrails slide out. But the animal isn't immediately dead -- they keep struggling for several minutes."

Hamburg's Institute for Hygiene and the Environment regularly tests water quality in the city, and found no evidence that the toads were diseased. The institute even ruled out that the toads were suffering because of a fungus brought in from South America.

Other theories have been that horses on a nearby track infected them with a virus, or even that the toads are taking the selfless way out -- sacrificing themselves by suicide to save others from overpopulation.

Could hungry crows be a reasonable answer?

"We haven't seen that. It might be, it might not be," said institute spokeswoman Janne Kloepper. "It's speculation," until it's observed, she said.

Local officials in Hamburg were advising residents to stay away from the pond dubbed by German tabloids, "the death pool."

[ALBPM]

Exploding Toad Mystery Solved, Charges Pending.
`Apr 28, 9:13 PM (ET)

By MATT SURMAN

BERLIN (AP)After weeks of intense study by the scientific community, the mystery of the exploding toads has been solved , or so it seems. Berlin resident Hanz Huffenfiefer was arrested Thursday by Berlin officials after a tip and video were received at police headquarters of which resulted in charges being filed against Huffenfiefer, age 93. On the video, police were horrified to discover that the toads were being fed what turned out to be popular "Seltzer" tablets, by an elderly gentleman aided by a walker, later identified as Mr. Huffenfiefer.
Berlin Police Chief Karl Schtruddleman exclaimed "This isn't the first time we've seen Mr. Huffenfiefer associated with such horrible acts of cruelty". Further inquiry into Mr. Huffenfiefer's background proved equally shocking as he was arrested in 2003 by Amsterdam Police for feeding squirrels cannibas, and prior in 1999, arrested by Barcelona Police for tethering string and bells to cats tails.
(PHOTO) As seen in the photo, Mr. Huffenfiefer is shown wearing a "SCREW PETA" shirt and was heard saying "I'm heading to Florida next to get the gators drunk" At this time, no other comments were being released by officials as charges are currently pending.

[Helevitia]

LMAO! Seltzer tablets. But what about the birds eating the liver scenario?

[ALBPM]

What liver without onions????

[KvHagedorn]

Let's set this guy loose on Ackbar.

[Kurt]

What liver without onions????

Never had "foie gras"?