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Toxic Toads Taking Over Australia
An anonymous reader writes "Yahoo News is reporting that toxic toads imported from Hawaii to help control the beetle population that was ravaging Australia's sugar cane crops have instead become pests themselves. From the article: 'The toads can grow as large as dinner plates and weigh up to 4.5 pounds. Their heads and backsides are studded with rows of warts that secrete a milky white toxin called bufotoxin. Because Australia has no native toads, many native predators such as snakes, lizards and mammals are very sensitive to the toxin. So when the toads spread, they immediately kill off many of the region's top predators.'"
Cane Toads is a great documentary about these little beasties. Not only does it give a good overview of the cane toad saga in Australia, but it also includes interviews with some really bizarre people (the guy imitating the mating calls of the cane toad is particularly amusing).
I Am My Own Worst Enemy
Actually, several native species are beginning to target the Cane Toad.
Ric Nattrass, in his Wildlife Talkback radio segment (search on abc.net.au for more), often recieves reports about various birds and other animals beginning to eat toads.
Personally, we have native White-Tailed Rats that catch toads in our pond, and eat their insides, leaving a neatly-cleaned skin and skeletal parts behind.
So, although all is not lost, it takes some time, and many species are wiped out before they work out either how to eat them or to leave them alone. When they reach Kakadoo, it is going to be a disaster, but no one has any way to prevent it.
Prediction for end of Universe #42: Fencepost error in Quantum_bogosort.cpp
Sounds good, but these things are *tough*
I've seen one hit with a golf club, fly a fair distance and smack into a tree only to crawl off. They have been run over by cars and survived.
A whacking day won't kill them. A *chopping* day might.