Toad explosions in Hamburg

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A common toad

The toads explosions in Hamburg died in April and May 2005 in a pond in Hamburg-Altona about a thousand in a few days toads ( Bufo bufo ), which until from initially unclear reasons exploding puff up with air. The toad death hit the headlines around the world and kept several scientists busy for weeks.

Symptoms

The AFP news agency described the event as the toads swelling to up to three times their normal body size, followed by an explosion in which the toads' guts were scattered within a radius of up to one meter in diameter. The explosions mostly happened at night or at dusk; the toads usually left the water beforehand.

Investigations and education

Defense reaction of a common toad inflating with air

The pond was cordoned off by the police for fear of infectious diseases and a possible risk of zoonoses . Investigations of the pool water for bacteria or viruses as well as for various toxins did not produce any usable findings. Finally, the Hamburg official veterinarian Otto Horst and the Berlin veterinarian Frank Mutschmann found an explanation that connects the toad death with the eating behavior of the crows , which are also present in the pond : As a result, the toads were so distracted from their environment by the mating season that the birds do theirs at dusk Pick up the skin, pull out the liver and eat it. The usual at the toad defensive reaction in which your lungs inflate with air have, it is because of in amphibians nonexistent diaphragm to a pressure increase in the total and the lack of liver, which normally serves as a mechanical resistance for the lung body cavity out to obtain in turn, the damaged skin burst open and the internal organs were thrown out of the body like an explosion.

A comparable case, which is explained in analogy to the Hamburg case, was reported in 2015 by the Heller Binnenbach near Gehrde (Lower Saxony).

literature

  • Francesca Gould, David Haviland: Self-harming parrots and exploding toads: a marvelous compendium of bizarre, gross and stupid animal antics . Piatkus, London 2010, ISBN 978-0-7499-5270-9 (English).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mystery of German exploding toads. In: BBC News . April 27, 2005, accessed May 30, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Death puddle in Hamburg: Bursting toads. In: Berliner Zeitung . April 22, 2005, accessed May 30, 2016 .
  3. ↑ Markus Becker: Hamburger Tümpel: Riddle about exploding toads solved. In: Spiegel Online . April 28, 2005, accessed May 30, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Picked bombs. In: www.jagderleben.de ( Deutscher Landwirtschaftsverlag ). April 26, 2015, accessed May 30, 2016 .

Coordinates: 53 ° 34 ′ 56 ″  N , 9 ° 53 ′ 21 ″  E