Cane Toad Species Causing Big Problems in Australian Eco-System

The largest toad ever recovered in the country of Australia was discovered on Tuesday. The toad weighed in at two pounds and was about 15 inches long. The group that discovered the toad labeled it as a "monster."

"It's huge, to put it mildly," said Graeme Sawyer who is the Frogwatch group leader. Sawyer went on to mention that he would be frightened to come across the toad's sister, as the females are normally bigger than the males.

Another very peculiar fact about this newly discovered toad is that he is poisonous. The particular toad that was discovered Tuesday is a species called a cane toad. Cane toads are known for being deadly to many animals and kill millions of animals every year.

The main purpose of the Frogwatch group is to find members of this species of toad and exterminate them. They search water sources for the toads and then kill them. The toads are killed with carbon dioxide gas and then used to make liquid fertilizer. "It turns out to be sensational fertilizer," added Sawyer. The fertilizer that is produced by the remains of the cane toad is not poisonous at all, as the live toads are.

This particular type of toad originally served as a control tool for beetles on sugar cane farms. They have since proven that they can kill many other animals in a variety of sizes. Australia has a very wide range of animals and species and having many of them killed by the cane toad is causing quite a bit problem.

Some may think that exterminating these toads is not fair and abusive, but the truth is that it needs to be done. The disruption that the cane toad is causing among the system of small animals in Australia is great. Without the Frogwatch project, the damage would increase. The toad discovered on Tuesday is huge by any standards, but it appears that the biggest could be yet to come.

Cited:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17813206/

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21458799-662,00.html