Weird news: Thousands Of Toads Invade CA Neighborhood

Tens of thousands of tiny toads have been hopping across streets, lawns and patios in a neighborhood of Marysville, Calif., this spring, and scientists say it's partly because of the California drought.

It started about three weeks ago in the neighborhood, which is in close proximity to a small drainage basin that collects rain runoff during the winter and spring. Neighbors told reporters with TV station KCRA that it's the first time they can remember the basin being bone dry.

Dale Whitmore, a California Department of Fish and Game biologist, said the drought killed all of the fish in the lake. Without any fish to eat the toads' eggs, the population exploded.

The western toads are now about the size of a quarter and range in color from gray to brown to green. By the end of the summer, they will be about the size of a human fist.

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Mystery of German exploding toads

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.

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.

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Cane toads cannibalise their young

Cane toads wiggle their toes to lure their young, then eat them up in an act of cannibalism, Australian researchers say.

They say the young toads move towards the adults, possibly mistaking the wiggling toes for a tasty morsel, like an insect.

Instead the youngsters themselves end up as the tasty morsel.

But harnessing this cannibalistic behaviour may have some benefits, at least in Australia, where cane toads are an invasive pest.

Scientists say it could be the key to getting cane toads to eat themselves out of existence.