Canetoad Timeline

EVIL CANETOADS ATTACK!!

Canetoads were released in Queensland in 1935.

Following the apparent success of the cane toad in eating the beetles that were threatening the sugarcane plantations of Puerto Rico, and the fruitful introductions into Hawaii and the Philippines, there was a strong push for the canetoad to be released in Australia to negate the pests that were ravaging the Queensland cane fields.

As a result, 102 canetoads were collected from Hawaii, equally comprising males and females, and brought to Australia.

After successful testing, by 1937 62,000 toadlets had been released into the wild. The canetoads became firmly established in Queensland, increasing exponentially in number and extending their range into the Northern Territory and New South Wales.
Recently, the toads have made their way into Western Australia and one has even been found on the far western coast in Broome.

Canetoads have rapidly multiplied in population and now number over 200 million and have been known to spread diseases affecting local biodiversity.

However, the canetoads were generally unsuccessful in reducing the targeted beetles, in part because the cane fields provided insufficient shelter for the predators during the day.

YUMMY!!! Lunch time

Canetoads have also been known to be a significant source of food for humans in their native environment; cane toads are cooked by skinning them and removing the internal organs (including the poisonous glands), then roasting them. It has been said they are like chicken except with a drier taste.

canetoad kung-fu

In Australian states where the canetoads are common, some 'sports' have developed, such as canetoad golf, and canetoad cricket, where canetoads are used as balls.