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Tiny toads fitted with backpacks

Lavie Enrose

Graduate Poster
L
Joined
Apr 5, 2003
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A University of Alberta researcher is strapping tiny backpacks to toads in an effort to discover why one species is in serious decline.

Connie Browne, a PhD student in the Department of Biological Sciences, is spending this summer haunting the ponds and sloughs in northern Alberta, Canada, using tiny radio transmitter backpacks to track Canadian and Western toads.
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FULL STORY
 
Seems at first glance to be a reasonable research project so I'm not sure why this caught your eye and made it worthy of a new thread? :confused:
 
SezMe said:
Seems at first glance to be a reasonable research project so I'm not sure why this caught your eye and made it worthy of a new thread? :confused:
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What are you talking about?
 
I'm sorry. If you don't find anything amusing about toads wearing little backpacks you don't deserve to live.
 
Dylab said:
I'm sorry. If you don't find anything amusing about toads wearing little backpacks you don't deserve to live.
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I actually found the idea a bit gauche, unless we are talking about Ralph Lauren backpacks.

ichtoad.gif
 
Maybe Lavie Enrose just finished reading the "Paranormal" forum, and forgot this was the "Science" forum.

Personally I think they should put the backpacks on the successfull toads. The toads that try to impress the girls with the "Aliens abducted me and fitted me with an implant" line are less likely to mate if you ask me.

;)
O.
 
Spying a suitable female floating in the swamp shallows, the hero of our tale approaches. He summons up all his courage, and trying not to sound too toadyish, blurts out “Hi there gorgeous!”

Disdainfully, the object of his desire replies: “You croaking at me? Why on earth should I….hey! What in a reptile’s name is THAT on your back?”

Our hero puffs himself up proudly, his confidence swelling like a bloated throat sac. “Oh that? Glad you noticed. It’s the latest in Alberta designer accessories – my amphibian backpack. Don’t you think it’s sexy….? Burp! – What you waiting for….Wanna mate?”

“Yeuch! Looks like you’ve been ◊◊◊◊ on by a seagull, more like. Either that or you’ve kissed another toad and got a massive wart.”

The hurt is palpable in our hero’s throaty voice. “But I think warts are so sexy… at least yours are. And no, its not seagull crap – I’m a research subject in a special Canadian science project!”

“Huh!” The target of his affection snorts in derision. “Research into what? How a toad can be so dumb as to let someone stick a monstrous dildo on his back?”

Realisation dawns in our hero’s mind for the first time – he must look like some Frankentoad freak! Damn those University scientists – kidding him on about how suave and sexy he looked as they strapped him down to their laboratory work top. How gullible could a toad be? – All those promises of rampant females clambering over each other in their haste to get a slice of the action with a designer SuperToad now seemed as empty as a fish bladder. He saw all his dreams of being the swamp’s main Casanova dissolving into frothy mucus before his beady eyes. His hopes would be forever dashed of lording it over that arrogant bullfrog from under the mossy log who was always boasting about his high spawn count. Here had been his one and only chance to be someone, something – a dashing, desirable beau for all the sex-starved females in the pond, his one chance to show those other toads he was fit for something other than being an intermediary in a pike’s food chain – and now he realised it would never be.

Our hero quietly turns away, so as not to show the tears that slowly trickle down his cheeks, looking for the nearest stone to crawl under.

“Wait! Just hang on a minute! I’ve got an idea…” He hears a voice ring out. “You know, from this angle, it looks quite impressive. And god knows most of you stupid toads in this back swamp are hardly what I would describe as well endowed. Not at all like those huge ones I met on that last migration in Calgary." A dreamy look comes into her toady eyes, which blink at the memory. "Now, I know the female is always underneath, but in your case I am quite tempted to make an exception and be a little adventurous…. Burp! Wanna mate?!”

Our hero can hardly believe it –The scientists were right after all! Of course he knew that she didn’t desire him for his earthy personality, his fruity croak or even his leathery looks (though he did think his inflated throat sac looked quite magnificent sometimes -well at least from the left side in the half-light so you couldn’t see his double chin). She only wanted him because he had a large appendage she could use for sex – typical! But then again, why should he complain…?

“Let’s be having you then, gorgeous!” he yells, twisting so she could leap up on top of him.

Just then, .....disaster!

As the nearby fisherman told reporters later, both toads just seemed to burst. “One minute I was sat there, looking at these two slimy toads writhing about, when “Boom!”, entrails were flying all over the place. I even got hit in the eye by this funny little plastic cylinder all covered in slime.”
Next day the news headlines declared: “Exploding toad epidemic reaches Canada!” A picture showing the top half-torso of a very smug-looking toad accompanied the article.
 
oops just noticed.

I ment Sez me, not Lavie Enrose erlier.

sorry for any confusion.
o
 
Lavie opened a thread in the "Science ..." forum with no comment whatsoever. I read the link and was unsure what of the science was noteworthy and just asked. If his point was the humor of toads wearing backpacks, I can see that and get a chuckle out of it. But, if so, it should have been in the humor forum or he could have added a sentence about how his funny bone got a tickle. My subsequent dialog with him included no further information.

Deetee's post is a hoot. Well done.
 
SezMe said:
Lavie opened a thread in the "Science ..." forum with no comment whatsoever. I read the link and was unsure what of the science was noteworthy and just asked. If his point was the humor of toads wearing backpacks, I can see that and get a chuckle out of it. But, if so, it should have been in the humor forum or he could have added a sentence about how his funny bone got a tickle. My subsequent dialog with him included no further information.
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Agreed- every day there are potentially hundreds of news items that could merit a link to any of the forums. Some form of comment or context would be useful by the original poster, if only to help direct the direction of the thread.
 
Yesterday when I was noodling about I noticed 3-4 new threads by Lavie exactly like this one, namely, an opening link with no commentary and no return to the thread by the OPer.

Lavie, when you start a thread, how 'bout a little commentary from you about what you find interesting, or pose a question or something to let us know what YOU think.
 
SezMe said:
Lavie, when you start a thread, how 'bout a little commentary from you about what you find interesting, or pose a question or something to let us know what YOU think.
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Thank you for your comment. I understand your point of view, and how you might feel frustrated by my posting style; however, I am not in violation of the Forum Rules, and I see no reason to modify the style of my posting. This is not to dismiss your comments, for your concerns are valid, but I enjoy posting articles of interest as a way of sharing information and creating "conversation" on this board. I do not come here to argue or debate, therefore I see no reason to post what, "I think" in most cases. I find it far more interesting to read than to reply, and I enjoy the posts of many members here, many of which respond to the threads I start without any opening commentary from me.
 
Lavie Enrose is not the only one who does this. Very often the threads started by headscratcher4 are just a weblink, sometimes with a short pithy phrase. Also jay gw has a habit of posting a link with some text from the link.

Sometimes I just stop checking on the threads they start... though I am glad I checked this one for Deetee's toad drama.
 
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