cane toad and keelback

[joannef]

Published: 18/07/2008
Source:Australian Conservation Department
http://www.reptilesdownunder.com/news/

A cane toad has taken revenge on the only snake that can eat them and survive. The Keelback snake is a known predator of the introduced pest, but as this amazing photo shows the tables have been turned...

Original Source: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,24039130-1702,00.html

 

[grimace256]

kill those ----ing cane toads

 

[cracksinthepitch]

Not good at all, surely we could juice up some Keelbacks and release them to reek havoc on the toads. yes they probably will turn on something else just as every other CSIRO released insect etc has.Dutch elm beetle-European wasp case for one.

 

[ReptilianGuy]

also they've proven that a keelback will refuse a cane toad unless it is desperate for food. or there is no other frogs in the area.... so they aren't a primary prey item for the keelback

 

[misssullivan]

That is not kewl. :evil: Who brought them over in the first place!!! :x:x

 

[ReptilianGuy]

That is not kewl. :evil: Who brought them over in the first place!!! :x:x

they came from hawaii, they were brought over for the control of the cane beetle that was over hear. the only problem was... that the hawaian cane beetle couldn't climb up anything.... but ours could, so the toad became a problem after that as thier food source could get away from them.....
it's the same story for most things that are introduced to control certian things.
they find a challenge they have no control over and find easier prey and spread from where they would remain all thier life if in thier native habitat, or they have no natural predators is the other big thing as it leads to over population of the species and spread of a problem..

talapia is a classic example. can live in water that our fish can't, are highly territorial, and so on and so on. it's simple.... if it wasn't here to begin with, unless it's migratory to here it should be here simple as...... taking something from it's natural environment can either kill it or it will thrive and kill off the native wildlife or add pressure on an already delacate eco system here.

 

[whcasual79]

they were brought here 70 odd years ago... to get rid of cane grub... now their taking over... was watching a docu other day and they reckon there's a 100 million of em out there... horrible gits

heard from someone other day if you pour coke over em it destroys em... business should be booming for coca cola after this ha

 

[smacdonald]

also they've proven that a keelback will refuse a cane toad unless it is desperate for food. or there is no other frogs in the area.

Who proved that?


Stewart

 

[ReptilianGuy]

Who proved that?


Stewart

i'm not to sure who exactly proved it, i think it may have been JCU or CSRIO. it is only a new discovery, and we were told that in our ven handling course up north. but yeah it's only a recent discovery or theory. i'm pretty sure they found out to (don't quote) but consumption of to many cane toads will kill them or cause serious illness, apparently they can eat them but only on a minimal basis... after all it's just what i heard about a month and a half ago.... so don't quote me on it...
although i can understand that theory.
we were just told that the keelback may not be our frontline defence against toads as they will work more if there is a frog nearby than settle for a toadling right in front of them.

 

[smacdonald]

i'm not to sure who exactly proved it, i think it may have been JCU or CSRIO.

Fair enough. Rick Shine's lab has done a heap of work on toads and keelbacks, but I've never read anything from them that said that keelbacks will refuse toads unless desperate. I've found a keelback eating a toad in my yard, despite there being plenty of frogs around. If they eat nothing but toads they certainly don't do very well.


Stewart

 

[ReptilianGuy]

Fair enough. Rick Shine's lab has done a heap of work on toads and keelbacks, but I've never read anything from them that said that keelbacks will refuse toads unless desperate. I've found a keelback eating a toad in my yard, despite there being plenty of frogs around. If they eat nothing but toads they certainly don't do very well.


Stewart

yeah thats it... ah there is so many theories out there. it's just the fact of proving them. lol. i've seen picks of green tree frogs eating keelbacks but never a toad....
i like the idea they had of genetically modifying toads to breed only male offspring so that they would eventually breed themselves out... never heard much more on that, they must've realised nature always has a way.... like the rabbits with ddt. evolution would do something so that toads they would be able to change sex in a 1 sex dominated ecosystem and then we'd be back on the drawing board....

i personally still need practice with my golf swing!!!!!! hehe

 

[Noongato]

I would pay top dollar for someone to make me some cane toad car seat covers, they do make great quality leather products.

 

[DanTheMan]

Fair enough. Rick Shine's lab has done a heap of work on toads and keelbacks, but I've never read anything from them that said that keelbacks will refuse toads unless desperate. I've found a keelback eating a toad in my yard, despite there being plenty of frogs around. If they eat nothing but toads they certainly don't do very well.


Stewart

Shine said in one of his older books I was reading the other day that Keelbacks can only eat the eggs and tadpoles, but die when eating adult toads, and are quite often found dead with toads in their mouths.
This was a rather old book though, cant remember what year it was published, so has this been proven wrong since?

 

[abbott75]

I would pay top dollar for someone to make me some cane toad car seat covers, they do make great quality leather products.

Ahh, but can you see people who make a living off cane toads wanting to drive them extinct?

 

[i_LoVe_AnImAlS]

stupid things those cane toads kill them all we're better off without them!!!!

 

[smacdonald]

Shine said in one of his older books I was reading the other day that Keelbacks can only eat the eggs and tadpoles, but die when eating adult toads, and are quite often found dead with toads in their mouths.
This was a rather old book though, cant remember what year it was published, so has this been proven wrong since?

If they eat too much toxin (i.e., a toad that is too large) they still die, but they can certainly eat metamorphosed toads (i.e., not just eggs and tadpoles).

Have a read of Myth #3 here:

http://www.canetoadsinoz.com/debunkingcanetoadimpactmyths.html

You can also search Rick's website for articles on keelbacks and cane toads:

http://www.bio.usyd.edu.au/Shinelab/publications/publ.html#5

2004 and onwards should have lots of cane toad articles.


Stewart

 

[wiz-fiz]

we should make it a sport, whoever has the dead canetoads, after ,say, 1 day, wins a prise, and then there will be people that just hunt for fun.

Will

 

[i_LoVe_AnImAlS]

sounds like a good idea but we don't have cane toads around here other wise i would join in

 

[abbott75]

we should make it a sport, whoever has the dead canetoads, after ,say, 1 day, wins a prise, and then there will be people that just hunt for fun.

Will

And what about all the endangered native frogs that die when uneducated rednecks go a-huntin' some toad?

 

[wiz-fiz]

yeah, there up north more, I don't have them down here either, thank god. If we did it there would be alot more angry farmers.


Will