Strange World (2016) - Season 1 Episode 8 -

Investigative journalist Alex Hannaford heads to Hamburg to uncover the truth behind bizarre headlines of exploding toads! His mission; to find a scientific explanation for this horrific incident. On a spring morning in April 2005, people passing through the Altona Volkspark, one of the city’s largest open spaces, were alarmed to find hundreds of dismembered toads littering the banks of one of its ponds. The creatures appeared to have exploded, and with no obvious explanation for this sudden amphibian apocalypse, worried eyewitnesses contacted the authorities. Dubbed ‘the pond of death’ the latter wasted no time in quarantining the area. Not only were they concerned for the wildlife but, as the pond fed into the city’s public water system, they were fearful that whatever was causing the toads to explode could potentially spread to humans. Alex digs deeper into the mystery, meeting baffled eyewitnesses who give first-hand accounts of the carnage. It soon becomes clear that there were many competing theories as to the cause. Could the deaths be linked to the toad’s mating behaviour. Were they caused by pollution or a chemical leak? Could spontaneous combustion or an infection be at play? Or was the carnage simply the work of a voracious predator? Alex follows up each line of enquiry until his investigation eventually leads him to Berlin, where he enlists the help of leading amphibian expert Dr Frank Mutchman. His scientific theory as to how the toads met their grizzly end both astonishes and intrigues Alex in equal measure.