jamotto Posted April 28, 2005 Report Share Posted April 28, 2005 Link quote:Toads in an area of northern Germany are being killed off by a mysterious disease - they are exploding. Thousands of the amphibians have died in recent days in a pond in Hamburg's Altona district, with their bodies swelling to bursting point. The toads' entrails are propelled for up to a metre (3.2ft), in scenes that have been likened to science fiction. Scientists are baffled. Possible explanations include a unknown virus or a fungus in the pond. "You see the animals crawling on the ground, swelling and then exploding," German conservationist Werner Smolnik told AFP news agency. The bodies of the toads expanded to three and a half times their normal size, he said. "I have never seen such a thing," AFP quotes veterinarian Otto Horst as saying. 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. It reported that a large number of toads that live in a pond near Laasby in central Jutland have started to suffer the same fate as the German amphibians. The toads crawl onto the land, swell up and explode in the middle of the night, the radio said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 28, 2005 Report Share Posted April 28, 2005 Jihadist toads.... Sorry, LOL, I read about this a few days ago, and scientists are absolutely freaking out. They don't know what's causing it, and so they don't know how to stop it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamotto Posted April 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2005 Well, they should be worried, Frogs and Toads are very sensitive to changes in the environment. When ever something happens to them, other animals tend to follow suit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 28, 2005 Report Share Posted April 28, 2005 quote:Originally posted by jamotto: Well, they should be worried, Frogs and Toads are very sensitive to changes in the environment. When ever something happens to them, other animals tend to follow suit. wow, my wife said the same thing? WTF is going on here, are you my wife, hiding on this forum and watching me? OK, paranoia mode off... You are absolutely correct, if I am not going to argue with my wife when she says it, I'm sure as heck not going to argue with you about it....LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Remo Williams Posted April 28, 2005 Report Share Posted April 28, 2005 I heard about this on the radio this morning. the way it was reported was hilarious, but then you go hey wait a minute this isn't good.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paranide Posted April 28, 2005 Report Share Posted April 28, 2005 Uhm, isn't it a bit strange that though i'm living in the most north province of germany,the news didn't say anything about this?But maybe this is a conspirancy, who knows Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
street228 Posted April 29, 2005 Report Share Posted April 29, 2005 When I was about 14,(1973-4) I lived in a suburb edition of Muncie Indiana, right smack dab in the middle of a Ball State University nature reserve. There were litterally thousands of toads, frogs, tadoles being raised, for all the biological dissections, and and zoological experiments. One spring, they found vertually Thousands of dead toads. Ruptured from within. Come to find out, some college students were throwing broken-up "ALKA SELTZER" tablets across the pond, which littered the lilly pads. FYI: Alka Seltzer will cause the toad to explode upon digestion, (chemical reaction to H20) upon release of pressure, within the toad, the gases completely vanish...NO CLUE as to why they died. HOAXES, are a mystery....because they are hoaxes. Any REAL enviromental change, would leave physiological evidence of it's interaction within the enviroment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matchoo Posted April 29, 2005 Report Share Posted April 29, 2005 quote:Originally posted by street: Any REAL enviromental change, would leave physiological evidence of it's interaction within the enviroment. But broken up alkaseltzer wouldn't leave any physiological evidence? 'Geez' says a scientist, 'I can't figure out what's doing this....and what are all those little white things spread around the pond? Oh well, they COULN'T possibly be causing it so I won't bother checking them.' It probably is a hoax, and you probably are right, but if it keeps happening hopefully they will have people watching the pond to make sure somebody isn't playing a prank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
street228 Posted April 29, 2005 Report Share Posted April 29, 2005 quote:'Geez' says a scientist, 'I can't figure out what's doing this....and what are all those little white things spread around the pond? Oh well, they COULN'T possibly be causing it so I won't bother checking them.' Another method of adminstration is obvious, but again....after the dew condensation, the following morning, the alka seltzer would dissapate with reaction to the moisture...leaving a slight white discoloration amongst the algae abundant areas, and the on the lilly pads....took em couple of weeks to find out EXACTLY what was going on...then they CAUGHT the two kids responsible IN THE ACT. Seems there was some government research funding some statistical data,(obviously destroyed), in regard to some of the ponds. College was quite upset, and hired security without telling anyone. quote: It probably is a hoax, and you probably are right, but if it keeps happening hopefully they will have people watching the pond to make sure somebody isn't playing a prank. I believe I remember, they said everyone was advised to stay away from the pond affected....I think we will find, the incidents will stop...or someone will be caught. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 30, 2005 Report Share Posted April 30, 2005 quote:Originally posted by street: When I was about 14,(1973-4) I lived in a suburb edition of Muncie Indiana, right smack dab in the middle of a Ball State University nature reserve. There were litterally thousands of toads, frogs, tadoles being raised, for all the biological dissections, and and zoological experiments. One spring, they found vertually Thousands of dead toads. Ruptured from within. Come to find out, some college students were throwing broken-up "ALKA SELTZER" tablets across the pond, which littered the lilly pads. FYI: Alka Seltzer will cause the toad to explode upon digestion, (chemical reaction to H20) upon release of pressure, within the toad, the gases completely vanish...NO CLUE as to why they died. HOAXES, are a mystery....because they are hoaxes. Any REAL enviromental change, would leave physiological evidence of it's interaction within the enviroment. Interesting, very interesting. I have also heard of another theory. Crows, yes, Crows, they attack the toads, in self defense the toads PUFF up, and the Crows peck them, and remove the organs that they wish to eat. Because the toads are Puffed up, they seem to explode. BUT the crows are getting REALLY, REALLY fat, so their cholesterol goes up, and their lifespans become shorter, the toads get their revenge.... The last part was a lame attempt at humor, but some scientists do indeed believe that it may be crows gorging themselves on the huge population of toads this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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