An invasive “giant” cane toad, a warty brown animal the length of a human arm and weighing 2.7 kilograms, was found in the wilds of a coastal park in Australia and subsequently killed by park rangers.
Wildlife workers in Queensland’s Conway National Park saw the toad after being forced to stop their vehicle by a snake crossing the road.
Last week, ranger Kylee Gray stumbled upon a cane toad and was shocked by how large and heavy it was.
She explained that large cane toads consume a wide variety of insects, reptiles, and even small mammals.
They removed and euthanized the animal.
The introduction of cane toads to Queensland in 1935 to combat the cane bug had catastrophic effects on native fauna.
The Queensland Department of Environment and Science released a statement speculating that the toad’s weight of 2.7 kilograms (almost the weight of a newborn human infant) may be a world record.
The department has described it as a “monster,” and has suggested that it may be shown at the Queensland Museum.
Rangers concluded it was female based on its size.
Age is unknown; however, Gray noted that wild frogs and toads can live up to 15 years.
Cane toads are so toxic that some of their predators have gone extinct in certain areas, and females can lay up to 30,000 eggs in a single season.
Source:
https://phys.org/news/2023-01-australian-rangers-monster-kg-cane.html
