Look Out! An Absolutely Monstrous 2.7kg Cane Toad Found In Conway National Park
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Australia is home to a wide variety of wonderful animals.
It’s always a great time to brush up on your knowledge of animals, both common and rare, but there’s just something extra enthralling about witnessing a record-breaking creature.
So when a ranger stumbled upon a giant toad in the mountains of North Queensland, she feared the worst.
Kylee Gray recounted how shocked she was after spotting a gargantuan cane toad weighing some 2.7 kilos right beside a hiking trail in the mountains of North Queensland.
‘I thought it was a practical joke, but then I realised it was breathing,’ she remarked.
'A big warty, brown, ugly cane toad just sitting in the dirt. I just couldn't believe it to be honest — I've never seen anything so big.'
Department of Environment and Science rangers found the formidable creature while clearing a hiking trail at Conway National Park, Whitsunday region.
Kylee shared: 'There was a red-bellied black snake on the track in front of us… So, we stopped to let the snake pass and got out of the vehicle and right next to us was this huge cane toad.'
'It flinched when I walked up to it and I yelled out to my supervisor to show him.'
'(It looked) almost like a football with legs.'
She said that she couldn’t believe how heavy the toad was when she reached down to grab it. According to the Guinness World Records, the largest known toad weighed in at 2.65 kilograms (or 5.8 pounds) in 1991.
Unfortunately, Ms Gray explained that they didn’t get it on certified scales, meaning they are kicking themselves for not doing the due diligence to verify its weight.
‘We dubbed it Toadzilla,’ she joked.
The group also estimated that the toad measured slightly over 25 centimetres long.
Kylee claimed that it was by far the biggest toad she had ever seen.
She pointed out: 'A cane toad that size will eat anything it can fit into its mouth, and that includes insects, reptiles, and small mammals.'
'We believe it's a female due to the size and female cane toads do grow bigger than males.'
'She was found at an elevation of 393 metres, which isn't unusual, but she has created a lot of interest among our ranger staff due to her size.'
Unfortunately, Ms Gray said that the cane toad’s age was unknown, but wild cane toads are capable of living up to 15 years.
And given its size, the team estimated that it 'has been around a long time'.
The poisonous amphibian was euthanised out of concern for the ecosystem and the hikers and will be sent to the Queensland Museum in Brisbane for further study.
Cane toads are an invasive species that was originally introduced to Australia in 1935 to control cane beetles, another invasive species. While initially successful, the toads quickly became an environmental hazard.
Today, cane toads are a serious threat to the local native species living in the environments where they are found and can cause significant harm to several species of bird, reptile, and amphibian native to Australia. The toads’ aggression, size, and venom make them fierce predators in the wild, and their diet is wide-ranging; they have been known to consume native frog species, lizards, snakes, and small mammals.
Cane toads are also a hazard to pet and human health. Not only have there been incidents of people and animals being poisoned by their venom, the toads also carry bacteria and parasites that can be transferred to people and other animals. As a result, it is important to be aware of the risks associated with cane toads and take the necessary precautions to protect local native species.
So it’s for the best that this record-breaking toad was humanly euthanised before further harm could be caused.
Members, this story just goes to show that Australia is home to some truly baffling animals!
Have you ever seen anything out of the ordinary on a bush walk? Share your stories in the comments below!
It’s always a great time to brush up on your knowledge of animals, both common and rare, but there’s just something extra enthralling about witnessing a record-breaking creature.
So when a ranger stumbled upon a giant toad in the mountains of North Queensland, she feared the worst.
Kylee Gray recounted how shocked she was after spotting a gargantuan cane toad weighing some 2.7 kilos right beside a hiking trail in the mountains of North Queensland.
‘I thought it was a practical joke, but then I realised it was breathing,’ she remarked.
'A big warty, brown, ugly cane toad just sitting in the dirt. I just couldn't believe it to be honest — I've never seen anything so big.'
Rangers from the Department of Environment and Science were baffled upon discovering a 2.7-kilogram cane toad beside a hiking trail in North Queensland. Credit: Department of Environment and Science.
Department of Environment and Science rangers found the formidable creature while clearing a hiking trail at Conway National Park, Whitsunday region.
Kylee shared: 'There was a red-bellied black snake on the track in front of us… So, we stopped to let the snake pass and got out of the vehicle and right next to us was this huge cane toad.'
'It flinched when I walked up to it and I yelled out to my supervisor to show him.'
'(It looked) almost like a football with legs.'
She said that she couldn’t believe how heavy the toad was when she reached down to grab it. According to the Guinness World Records, the largest known toad weighed in at 2.65 kilograms (or 5.8 pounds) in 1991.
Unfortunately, Ms Gray explained that they didn’t get it on certified scales, meaning they are kicking themselves for not doing the due diligence to verify its weight.
‘We dubbed it Toadzilla,’ she joked.
The largest recorded toad was discovered in 1991 and weighed in at 2.65 kilograms, but with the rangers' estimate of Toadzilla's weight, she might beat that record. Credit: Department of Environment and Science.
The group also estimated that the toad measured slightly over 25 centimetres long.
Kylee claimed that it was by far the biggest toad she had ever seen.
She pointed out: 'A cane toad that size will eat anything it can fit into its mouth, and that includes insects, reptiles, and small mammals.'
'We believe it's a female due to the size and female cane toads do grow bigger than males.'
'She was found at an elevation of 393 metres, which isn't unusual, but she has created a lot of interest among our ranger staff due to her size.'
Unfortunately, Ms Gray said that the cane toad’s age was unknown, but wild cane toads are capable of living up to 15 years.
And given its size, the team estimated that it 'has been around a long time'.
The poisonous amphibian was euthanised out of concern for the ecosystem and the hikers and will be sent to the Queensland Museum in Brisbane for further study.
Cane toads are an invasive species that was originally introduced to Australia in 1935 to control cane beetles, another invasive species. While initially successful, the toads quickly became an environmental hazard.
Today, cane toads are a serious threat to the local native species living in the environments where they are found and can cause significant harm to several species of bird, reptile, and amphibian native to Australia. The toads’ aggression, size, and venom make them fierce predators in the wild, and their diet is wide-ranging; they have been known to consume native frog species, lizards, snakes, and small mammals.
Cane toads are also a hazard to pet and human health. Not only have there been incidents of people and animals being poisoned by their venom, the toads also carry bacteria and parasites that can be transferred to people and other animals. As a result, it is important to be aware of the risks associated with cane toads and take the necessary precautions to protect local native species.
So it’s for the best that this record-breaking toad was humanly euthanised before further harm could be caused.
Members, this story just goes to show that Australia is home to some truly baffling animals!
Have you ever seen anything out of the ordinary on a bush walk? Share your stories in the comments below!
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