Page 93 - World of Animals - Deadly Predators

Cane toads

© Thinkstock

7. Why have 12. How do cane toads

cane toads been defend themselves?
Cane toads do not fight back
introduced to so if attacked – they wait for their
poison to kill their attacker, which
many places? often takes just 15 minutes.

Cane toads were introduced to new
regions to be used as a biological
pest control. Their name derives
from the fact that they predate on
beetles that were pests of sugar
cane. As it turned out, they weren’t
successful at doing this but were
pretty adept at wiping out other
native species. Hindsight really is
a wonderful thing!

8. What habitats do

cane toads occupy?
Like many successful invasive
species, cane toads have adapted © Alamy
to thrive in a vast array of habitats.
They will live happily in sand dunes,
coastal heathlands, rainforests and
11. Can you eat cane toads?
mangroves. They are most abundant
In Peru, the toad is a local delicacy –
in grassland, woodland and more
once the skin and parotoid glands have
recently in urban areas, where they been removed, of course!
will greedily scavenge on anything
they can find.

9. How have we used their poison? 13. Are cane toads nocturnal?
Indigenous people have used Cane toads are most active at night

bufotoxin for centuries as an arrow and almost exclusively hunt after
poison. New research suggests that dark. During the day they gather in

it may be effective in treating certain large groups known as knots.

cancers, particularly prostate cancer.

14. How are conservationists tackling the
cane toad problem in Australia?
Scientists have been experimenting with training
some local predators, like monitor lizards, to not
eat the toxic toads. They do this by feeding them © Thinkstock
a very small amount of the poison.
© Thinkstock

15. How long do cane toads live?
10. How big is the cane toad? Cane toads typically survive between
The cane toad is the world’s largest toad, with adults typically reaching
15 centimetres (5.9 inches) in length. The largest recorded toad measured ten and 15 years in the wild. In captivity,
35 centimetres (13.8 inches) and weighed 2.6 kilograms (5.7Ibs).
toads have reached 35 years old.

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