Posted on 04/27/2005 12:43:22 PM PDT by Rennes Templar
BERLIN (April 27) - More than 1,000 toads have puffed up and exploded in a Hamburg pond in recent weeks, and scientists still have no explanation for what's causing the combustion, an official said Wednesday.
Toads like this one at a Hanover zoo have been swelling up and popping at one pond in Germany.
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 have appeared anywhere before.''
The toads at a pond in the upscale neighborhood of Altona have been blowing up since the beginning of the month, filling up like balloons until their stomachs suddenly burst.
''It looks like a scene from a science-fiction movie,'' Werner Schmolnik, the head of a local environment group, told the Hamburger Abendblatt daily. ''The bloated animals suffer for several minutes before they finally die.''
Biologists have come up with several theories, but Kloepper said that most have been ruled out.
The pond's water quality is no better or worse than other bodies of water in Hamburg, the toads did not appear to have a disease, and a laboratory in Berlin has ruled out the possibility that it is a fungus that made its way from South America, she said.
She said that tests will continue. In the meantime, city residents have been warned to stay away from the pond.
04-27-05 10:11EDT
Look for some kids with firecrackers and too much time.
That's what I was thinking--look for the kid with the Alka-Seltzer.
Someone set them up the bomb.
bang,bang shoot 'em up destiny!
The Exploding Toads.
Sounds like a good name for a garage band.
Hmmm... but they know some much about exploding FROGS...
If i lived there, i'd bring my lawn chair and a 6-pack to the pond!
Have they been exposed to Air America?
Hmmm. Any application here for liberals?
Does anyone know how to ping Dave Barry? He keeps track of stuff like this.
Warts you guys opinion of this phenomenon?
Toads evolved into suicide bombers, a target rich environment for grant money.
"Sounds like a good name for a garage band."
When I was a kid we had a band called "Steel Toad."
Maybe they've been watching this Senate Judicial nomination crap ...
Frogger, the game?...someone needs to tell the Aussies about this...they have a Cane Toad Problem.
CANE TOAD PING!
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