A man was left horrified when he saw a headless "zombie" toad coming back to life and jump in front of him.
The 32-year-old, from Ottawa in Canada, came across mutilated toad at work and was convinced that it was dead.
He filmed the skin-crawling moment the bloodied amphibian breathing without its head on the grass.
As he turns the camera towards the toad, it becomes clear that the muscles around the neck are still twitching.
When he gives a nudge to it, the toad starts hopping away from him.
The man described it as a "zombie" toad after returning the same place a few hours later to find the creature still breathing.
He said: "I saw it sitting in the grass right away because the red really stood out.
"At first I thought it was dead for sure, but as we approached my boss nudged it with his foot and it jumped.
"We both jumped back and I let out a pretty good 'what the f***?'
"I got a little closer and saw the ‘breathing’, and almost felt sick."
He said the toad did not seem to be in pain, adding: "My best guess is that it was clipped by a lawnmower."
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"There are neighbours with large, well-manicured properties just across the road, and nearby creeks and wetlands, so it’s possible it came from there.
"I’ve unfortunately seen a few get chopped up by a lawnmower before, but never any that survived it."
In the end, he put the toad out of its misery.
According to a biological science professor, it is possible for a toad to live without a chunk of its brain.
Prof Emily Taylor, of California Polytechnic State University, told Live Science: "The brain stem governs many of the central and necessary parts of the rest of our bodies, like heart rate, digestion and other functions.
"So, theoretically, the body can survive with only that part of the brain, even though the parts of the brain associated with consciousness, memory and decision-making are gone."
But, the odds of a toad surviving long-term without its head are thought to be small, since it probably cannot eat or effectively escape predators.
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