The fauna is diverse and diverse, but sometimes there are phenomena that are truly shocking. In the history of recorded cases of spontaneous combustion, and even spontaneous explosions of animals. The reasons for this unusual phenomenon, as scientists have found, are various. The protective mechanism works, the environment or disease is detrimental. During the war years, man used representatives of the fauna to undermine equipment and destroy enemy manpower. Let's take a short excursion and recall the most famous animal explosions in history.
1
Toad explosions
For the first time, a case of spontaneous explosions of amphibians was recorded in Denmark. An unusual phenomenon repeated in 1968 in Germany. Scientists then could not find any clear explanation for this phenomenon. The Kamikaze Frogs for no apparent reason begin to swell, and then tear them apart.
In 2005, on the shores of a small lake near Hamburg, the case of self-blowing frogs became widespread. For several days, hundreds of amphibians exploded, scattering torn parts of the body along the shore. The phenomenon was monitored by representatives of the animal welfare organization, but could not help the poor creatures. The lake where all this happened was called the "Lake of Death."
Such cases were also recorded in Denmark, the USA, and other European countries. Opinions of zoologists are divided. Some believe that the reason is environmental degradation, the second, that this is a way of protecting against birds, while others, in general, believe that frogs were attacked by extraterrestrial civilizations.
2
Exploding ants
The ants of the species Colobopsis saundersi do not have defense mechanisms habitual for such insects. Nature did not endow them with powerful jaws so that they could bite the attacker, and he backed away from the pain. But in their arsenal there are weapons much more dangerous.
Under the jaws they have two sacs filled with poison. When the colonies are in danger, the ants turn back to the attacker for intimidation. When this does not work, they clutch the enemy’s body and begin to contract their abdominal muscles until they explode. In an explosion, poison is sprayed and the attacker dies.
The ant perishes as a result of such an explosion, but the colony is saved. Such self-sacrifice is also characteristic of other types of termites inhabiting the forests of Southeast Asia. Such brave soldier ants, ready to explode to save the rest of the anthill from devouring.
3
Sperm Whale Explosion in Oregon
In history there have been spontaneous and artificial explosions of these huge inhabitants of the ocean depths. For various reasons, about 20,000 whales are washed ashore annually in different parts of the world. For local authorities, this becomes a big problem, as decaying carcasses worsen the sanitary and epidemiological situation of the beaches.
In 1970, the world press widely and colorfully illuminated a whale bombing on one of the beaches of the US state of Oregon. A fourteen-meter sperm whale weighing 8 tons was washed ashore. To bury him on the spot was unrealistic, the water would have washed the sand and the carcass was again on the surface. We decided to blow up. They brought up explosives, put them in a whale. The military veterinarian Walter Umenhofer, who arrived at the scene, warned that the explosives had been calculated incorrectly.
After the explosion, the large remains of a whale scattered hundreds of meters around. The entire beach and coastal area was in pieces of meat, entrails and sperm whale fat.
Walter Umenhofer’s car also suffered. After this unpleasant incident, Oregon authorities burn or bury ejected whales.
More details about the explosions can be found here: What happens after a whale dies? Explodes?
4
Exploded whale in the Faroe Islands
Two whales washed ashore near the Faroe Islands, as they could not swim through a narrow canal. Having washed ashore, two huge sperm whales died.
Residents of a Danish community turned to a marine biologist to cut one of the whale carcasses. They wanted the skeleton of the animal to be placed in the museum. The zoologist of the National Museum of the Islands of Bjarni Mikkels agreed to do the cutting. He didn’t do this before, and therefore he began very carefully. He began to cut the thirteen-meter carcass and at that moment the gases accumulated in the cavity of the dead animal exploded. Tons of viscera flew out without miraculously hitting the zoologist.
It happened in November 2013. After what happened in an interview, Mikkels said he was in severe shock. Fortunately, no one was hurt, and the whale explosion video gained hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube.
5
Taiwan whale blast
In November 2004, a huge sperm whale jumped ashore near the city of Tainan, in Taiwan. Remembering the sad experience of American colleagues, the Taiwan authorities decided to deliver the dead carcass of a sperm whale to a research center for research.
The carcass was hardly loaded onto a truck, and he went to his destination. Thousands of people gathered on the streets of the city to look at the transportation. On one of the main streets, a whale carcass exploded, scattering pieces of meat and entrails through the streets. People standing on the road were splattered with blood and fat. Homes and cars were affected.
The explosion occurred in the spine of a whale, which was probably damaged by the ship. After the injury, the inflammatory process began, which led to the accumulation of explosive gases. The remains of the whale were collected for almost a year, and then folded and put up in one of the country's zoological museums.
6
Python and Alligator Fight
In the Florida Everglades Nature Park, an alligator fought with a Burmese python, both of which were torn apart. Scenes of the tragic battle were discovered by park rangers in 2005 during a planned tour.
By the location of the torn bodies, zoologists tried to reconstruct the picture of a deadly battle. It was suggested that a four-meter Burmese python attacked an alligator and tried to swallow it whole. The reptile, whose length was 1.8 meters, actively resisted. Trying to get out of the python, the alligator died, but his actions ripped the huge python in half.
After this incident, zoologists sounded the alarm. Pythons were brought to Florida, and began to actively conquer space, destroying the indigenous predators of the peninsula. Scientists warn that pythons that breed under favorable conditions are dangerous for humans.
7
Case in the Rasdorf Barn
It is known that methane gas accumulates in the body of a cow. So in the meadows real explosive creatures peacefully graze. We already know that animals can explode themselves, and in Germany, cows caused the explosion of an entire building.
There were 90 cows in the barn, which filled the room with gases. Airing was not up to standard, which was the reason for the tragedy. From a spark of static electricity, methane ignited and a violent explosion occurred, causing a severe fire. Fortunately, only one animal suffered severe burns.
Scientists are working to reduce methane emissions from cows, because the greenhouse effect created by these emissions adversely affects the environment. In Australia, work is underway to create a vaccine to fight microorganisms in the intestines of cows that cause gas formation. TheBiggest considers this a very reasonable idea, which must be scaled to all developed countries.
8
Wilgelm the conqueror
In the photo: Monument to William the Conqueror.
We conclude our article with a story about the tragic case of the funeral of William the Conqueror. Having conquered England, having ravaged many lands and plundered churches, William was wounded in battle in France.
In 1086, the troops of the king of England broke into Normandy, and when Philip I refused to recognize his authority, William burned the city of Mantes. By that time, the formidable conqueror was pretty fat, was clumsy. Riding a horse through a ruined city, his horse stepped on hot coals and threw the rider. Falling, the king injured his stomach on the saddle. The wound is rotten, the body is swollen. This was one of the causes of death in 1087.
One of the faithful knights brought him to Caen to be buried in the church of St. Stephen. As soon as we arrived, a fire broke out in the city, and the funeral was postponed. The body continued to decompose. During the ceremony, it turned out that the body does not fit in the grave. They began to push, as a result of which the king's abdominal cavity burst, filling the church with a fetid spirit. People left the funeral ceremony in a hurry, and during the French Revolution, William’s grave was looted, and only his tibia remained under the gravestone.
In conclusion
Concluding, we note once again that animals can explode for natural reasons or as a result of direct human exposure. Animals can be trained, and therefore they can be taught, so to speak, to fight. Back in the early Middle Ages, during the Song Dynasty in China, oxen were used to deliver bomb charges to enemy positions. In the period of antiquity they set fire to pigs, using them against war elephants. During the Second World War, both warring parties actively used dogs and horses to undermine enemy military equipment. What animal explosions are known to you? Thebiggest is waiting for your comments.