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CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to reintroduce several hundred more Wyoming toad tadpoles in Albany County. The Wyoming toad is the only toad in the Laramie Basin and the basin is the toad's only home. The toad was listed as endangered in 1984 and thought to have gone extinct in 1987, although toads were later found at Mortenson Lake southwest of Laramie. Thousands of toads have since been bred in captivity and released, with mixed results. The latest release is planned on private land near Centennial and the Mortenson Lake National Wildlife Refuge. It's part...

Toads married in Hindu ceremony to appease rain gods KHOCHAKANDAR, India (Reuters) -- Two giant toads were married in a traditional Hindu ceremony in eastern India at the weekend by villagers hoping to appease the rain gods and end a dry spell. Some 400 people cheered and blew conches as women put streaks of vermilion on the female toad's head while a band played music and priests solemnized the marriage to the chanting of Hindu hymns.The toads were picked up from separate ponds, dressed in bright red clothes and brought to the marriage venue in a decorated palanquin in Khochakandar...

Hamburg's toad population is exploding -- literally. Toad entrails and mangled body parts now litter the city's once bucolic lake. What's the cause? Austria's most famous racist -- Joerg Haider -- is again eyeing the chancellory. A German political party calls for the removal of US nukes. If all that's got you down, just grab an ice cream -- researchers say it'll make you happy. Hamburg is often known as an idyllic port city of book publishers and media giants. Lately, however, the city's peace and quiet has been interrupted by a sickening natural oddity. Over 1,000 of the city's...

Associated Press BERLIN, April 28 -- More than 1,000 toads have puffed up and exploded in a Hamburg pond in recent weeks, and German scientists have no explanation for it. The pond water has been tested, but its quality is no better or worse than elsewhere in the city. The toad remains have been checked for a virus or bacterium, but none has been found. One German scientist studying the 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....

Okay, so first there are these exploding toads. This may seem of little consequence, given that there are wars being fought, children crying, and people dying. So really, what's a bursting amphibian here and there?     Perhaps hundreds of toads exploding in Germany for reasons that currently elude veterinarians and animal welfare workers means nothing, but I say the bizarre story, which was reported by Australia's ABC News Online, is a sign that something is amiss, and that all is not right with the world. I might not reach such a conclusion if the exploding toads were the only oddity...

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...

BERLIN — More than 1,000 toads have puffed up and exploded in a Hamburg pond in recent weeks, and German scientists still have no explanation for what's causing the combustion, an official said Wednesday. Both the pond's water and body parts of the toads have been tested, but scientists have been unable to find a bacteria or virus that would cause the toads to swell up and pop, said Janne Kloepper, of the Hamburg-based Institute for Hygiene and the Environment. "It's absolutely strange," she said. "We have a really unique story here in Hamburg. This phenomenon really doesn't seem to...

Hundreds of toads have met an unexplained, explosive demise in Germany in recent days, it was reported on Saturday. 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. 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. "You see the animals crawling on the ground, swelling and then exploding," he...

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - A government lawmaker advised people in northern Australia to bludgeon to death a species of toxic toad imported from Central America more than seven decades ago. Cane toads, which release noxious secretions when threatened, were imported to the northeastern state of Queensland in 1935 to control beetles on sugar cane plantations. They have since hopped all the way to Australia's northeastern coast and south into parts of the state of New South Wales, killing much of the native wildlife that eat them - particularly the endangered marsupials called quolls. Liberal Party lawmaker David Tollner said Monday...

Amphibians face a bleak future Worldwide survey reveals a third of all species are in danger.The world's frogs, newts and toads are dying. They are being over-harvested for food, their homes are being destroyed, and most worryingly, entire species are disappearing for no apparent reason. That is the conclusion of more than 500 herpetologists around the world, reported in Science today. Although it has been known for some time that many amphibian species are in trouble, this is the first global assessment of the group's status. Similar surveys of mammals and birds have been completed, and they were not short...

Maryland school to be built around rare toad - MAPLE RUN, Md. (AP) - It has a green snout, bleats like a sheep and is rarely seen in St. Mary's County. Despite its elusiveness, county planners have agreed to build an elementary school in a way that will accommodate the mating habits of the eastern narrow-mouthed toad that state naturalists say lives in the surrounding marshes. Minimal blacktop will be used for the school and its construction will revolve around a strict time frame set by the toad's amorous needs. "We want to have a time period on it because...

<p>Stunning vistas of water-loving purple flowers may be steeping young American toads in poison.</p> <p>Amphibian populations are in trouble all over the world, and one element in their decline could be invasive plant species such as purple loosestrife, a Cornell University researcher, Bernd Blossey, told 300 participants at an Ohio invasive plant conference.</p>

<p>When it comes to laundering cold-blooded contraband, few states top Pennsylvania.</p> <p>Dogged by lax law enforcement, weak statutes and a wink-wink attitude from the industry that sells reptiles and amphibians, Pennsylvania has become what top wildlife cops nationwide call a "black hole" state -- the place to move animals illegal for sale everywhere else.</p>

Air pressure from passing cars 'causes toads to explode' Passing cars can make toads crossing roads explode without even touching them.A German researcher says they cause a sudden rise in air pressure which can be fatal for the amphibians.Professor Dietrich Hummel, of Braunschweig, measured the suction caused by cars in a wind tunnel.He says any speed over 20mph can can cause toads to explode and is calling for speed limits on toad-crossing blackspots.He told The Mirror: "The bigger the clearance, the better it is for the toad. A Formula 1 car would be a disaster."