Cryptomundo » Dog-Sized Toadzilla Captured

Dog-Sized Toadzilla Captured

Posted by: Loren Coleman on March 27th, 2007

Giant Cane Toad

The Associated Press is reporting in breaking news dispatches this morning that the environmental group Frogwatch has found a toad the size of a small dog. They captured the 15-inch-long cane toad (Bufo marinus) during a raid on a pond outside the northern city of Darwin, Australia, late Monday, March 26, 2007.

Frogwatch says the toad is the size of a football (they don’t identify what kind, but the Australian organization’s spokesperson is probably talking about what we Americans call a “soccer ball.”) The toad weighs 2 pounds, and is among the largest specimens ever captured in Australia, according to Frogwatch coordinator Graeme Sawyer.

It’s huge, to put it mildly. The biggest toads are usually females but this one was a rampant male … I would hate to meet his big sister.Graeme Sawyer

The toxic cane toads were imported from South America during the 1930s in a failed attempt to control beetles on Australia’s northern sugar cane plantations. (A similar cane toad problem has developed in the recent past in Florida.) The poisonous toads have proven fatal to Australia’s delicate ecosystems, killing millions of native animals from snakes to the small crocodiles that eat them. Frogwatch’s “Toad Buster” project is dedicated to wiping them out.

We kill them with carbon dioxide gas, stockpile them in a big freezer and then put them through a liquid fertilizer process [which results in a product that is nontoxic.] It turns out to be sensational fertilizer. Graeme Sawyer

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 27th, 2007 at 6:17 am and is filed under Breaking News, CryptoZoo News, Cryptozoology, Out of Place, Pop Culture. You can follow responses via our RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is not allowed.

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16 Responses to “Dog-Sized Toadzilla Captured”

Ranatemporaria responds: March 27th, 2007 at 6:53 am
I cant believe this is a male! Their usually half the size, I also cant believe they didn’t squash it on site as is the custom since they became so prevalent and destructive!
Theres a video on bbc:-
http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_6490000/newsid_6498500/6498597.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm
Fred Facker responds: March 27th, 2007 at 9:17 am
Wow. That is big.

It looks like it’s about the chomp on that guy’s thumb.
CryptoGoji responds: March 27th, 2007 at 9:52 am
Big toad. Hope PETA doesnt read that last line about the fertilizer making process.
Raptorial responds: March 27th, 2007 at 9:57 am
That’s really big for a can toad. I’ve seen pictures of goliath frogs around that size, but never a cane toad.
Bob Michaels responds: March 27th, 2007 at 10:54 am
If they can remove the poison glands perhaps they can become a delicacy much like blowfish.
dws responds: March 27th, 2007 at 11:16 am
eeeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwww!
JustinC responds: March 27th, 2007 at 11:17 am
It says they are killing them with carbon dioxide.. Dosen’t that just make things pass out, then die sort of humanely? Dosen’t seem too harsh on the toads.. PETA may not attack..
bill green responds: March 27th, 2007 at 11:23 am
hey loren & everyone wow now thats a realy big frog in the sence of term. i hope this frog researched in the right manner without killing it but to protect it from harm. thanks bill
mystery_man responds: March 27th, 2007 at 11:28 am
That certainly is a big, big toad.
Rillo777 responds: March 27th, 2007 at 12:19 pm
Importing poisonous toads–who thought of that brilliant idea?
mystery_man responds: March 27th, 2007 at 12:40 pm
Well, Rillo777, there have been a lot of species that were imported for various purposes that seemed like a good idea at the time. A lot of times, the effects that the species will have on the ecosystem are not seen or even guessed at until it is too late, even if you have done your homework on the species in question. So many factors can be involved that there often is no telling how a non native species will behave or what effect it will have in a new ecosystem. Although the species was brought over with the best intentions, it sometimes ends up becomeing a major problem. You also might be suprised how little thought is given to this possibility in some cases before some of these species are introduced.
MBFH responds: March 27th, 2007 at 4:59 pm
I read about this big bugger today and hoped he’d make an appearance here. Linked to this is an interesting story about how native snakes have adapted/evolved to cope with these aliens!
youcantryreachingme responds: March 27th, 2007 at 11:25 pm
The size may be incorrectly reported. I’ve seen it here reported as 15 inches, in a European newspaper as 18 inches, but in the first story I found, run by Sydney Morning Herald yesterday, it reported 20 centimeters (about 8 inches).

This would be from snout to vent, not counting extended legs (which is perhaps where the larger figures are coming from).

According to Wikipedia though, the largest cane toad caught in Australia was a whopping 38 centimetres (15 inches) and 2.65kg (5.84lb).

Chris.
mystery_man responds: March 28th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
MBFH- Really interesting article in that link you posted! Thanks for putting that up.
kamoeba responds: March 28th, 2007 at 8:36 pm
I loved the headline stating that it was the size of a small dog. I think it makes the average person picture a toad about 3 feet (or about 1 meter) long. Sure, the toad’s large size is surprising, but equally surprising to me would be an 8-inch long dog. Thanks again, mass media, for blowing things out of proportion.
cradossk responds: March 31st, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Rillo777 - the cane toad was introduced to Australia (north Queensland to be specific) in 1935 in an attempt at biological control. (the accidentally introduced Cane beetle was happily chomping away at our sugar cane crops - so, with the Toad being the natural arch enemy of the beetle, it would have seemed like a good idea).

Too bad the toads quickly figured out that native reptiles, frogs and insects were much easier to catch than those pesky cane beetles, and too bad the native predators (eg. snakes, birds, goannas, etc) didn’t figure out that this seemingly large, tasty morsel was also poisonous.

The cane toad has now spread across the north of Australia, and can be found in almost all coastal areas of the northern territory and northern Queensland.

I’ve actually seen recently (as in, 5 years ago) dead cane toads on their backs, with their guts eaten out, but their poison sacks intact. The predators are learning how to eat them…. *enter spooky music*

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