Why are toads exploding

The toads' entrails are propelled for up to a metre 3. Scientists are baffled. Possible explanations include a unknown virus or a fungus in the pond. The bodies of the toads expanded to three and a half times their normal size, he said. The site - which has been dubbed "the pond of death" - has been closed to the public. The exploding toads have also crossed the border north into Denmark, according to Danish Radio.

In any event, each of these theories on the exploding frog front were rejected, and authorities were forced to warn residents away from the pools until an answer was found. An eminent amphibian expert from Berlin, Dr. Frank Mutschmann, carefully examined live and dead specimens and noticed several interesting facts:. This last was especially significant, since it proved that neither rats nor raccoons were attacking the toads. Knowing how clever crows are, Dr. It puffs itself up as a natural defence mechanism.

The lungs stretch out of all proportion and rip; the rest of the organs simply expel themselves. The tabloid press went into overdrive, dubbing the carnage site in Hamburg's Altona district the "Pond of Death" and warning children and dogs to stay away.

Theories ran wild that toads were committing suicide or were croaking because of a virus spread by South American race horses. But now one of Germany's top experts on amphibians says he's cracked the case. Frank Mutschmann, who examined both dead and living Hamburg specimens at his Berlin research centre, found all had identical circular incisions on their backs, small enough to be the work of a bird's beak.

Then he found something strange: their livers were missing. It puffs itself up as a natural defence mechanism. Other theories have been that horses on a nearby track might have infected the amphibians with a virus, or even that the toads are committing suicide to save others from overpopulation.

IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.