New articles~ Snakes and cane toads!

[Amy]

If you look on the first page, in one of my posts there is a list of predators of the cane toad in all its stages of life. I agree with you Wattso, we should see if there is anyway we could introduce a larger number of a native species into toad infested areas before those areas become larger. But even introducing a native species into another environment or introducing a large quatity of of said native species will still have a detrimental impact on the environment. Whether this would be better or worse than an introduced species I dont know.

 

[africancichlidau]

When I was breeding Litoria Infrafrenata I supplied thousands of Taddies to CSIRO for their research into a virus which stopped the toad taddies from metamorphing. Don't think they've had much luck isolating the virus to the toad yet though

 

[Fuscus]

We are a lot more careful with officially introducing animals than we were a few decades ago. Scientists have already discovered a number of deseases that would decimate the cane toad population, unfortunatly they are just as effective against native frogs.
Current research is to attempt to prevent the tadpoles from changing into toads, possibly by using a virus specific to to cane toads. Gene technology is also being applied to a number of introduced species.

Anyhow, a good way to reduce the cane toad population is to have a bounty, say 10 cents per toad with ma$$ive fines for running cane toad farms.

 

[Slateman]

What are the cane toad farms?

 

[Lunar_Psycho]

Looks like theyve already started trying to try to develop something to disrupt development.

http://www.publish.csiro.au/ecos/index.cfm?sid=10&issue_id=2914
(first document)

Jay

 

[Robert]

Actually Fuscus that is a good idea.I'm from Brisbane and when iwas younger my mates and i would go on killing spree's.(on toads that is)they were everywhere.Although you would go through stages when there weren't many to be found.
Don't imagine we could do damage to the population but it sometimes seemed like it.
By offering 10cents or so per toad i know i would of cleaned up but this is good insentive.
With the rain up here it's like they have multiplied 10 times.
Kids could make good use of this in return getting a few bucks ans also helping to eradicate a introduced pest.
Still needs to be alot more study done i think on their reproducing tendancies and ways to make them steril.

 

[Shamus]

Hi Lunar, an interesting site about the cane toads. Hopefully Government funding has continued although knowing the pollies it would have been reduced substantially. It seems it was a 2 year project which expired almost a year ago so unless someone screamed and it was made very public I would suggest that the National Feral Control Programs funding is either gone or restricted. I could be wrong and I hope I am, perhaps funding has increased until they get a result.
That last sentence was a joke peoples.

 

[ajler]

snakes and canetoads

Dont hold your breath the govt allocated a million dollars over 4 years (250,000 ) a year and I,m not sure what year it started.The inviroment is,nt a big prioritory with these bludgers, they give themselves bigger super uncreases the freeloading parasites. :evil:

 

[Lunar_Psycho]

Is anyone ever trys to make something aimed at the toads again, they should make it for government officials too. Get rid of two problems at once :twisted:

 

[Amy]

here here! Get rid of the pollies! Anarchy!

As for the 10c per toad bounty, it's a good idea, but the toad's toxins can be absorbed through our skin and be harmful. Mind you, it is a good incentive to kill off toadies! But someone would have to supply the money (good luck getting it out of the pollies) and someone would have to regulate the influx of dead toads, sort through each bag to make sure no natives were hammered over the head and then dole out the cash. It could work, but you'd have to make sure people knew how to properly handle the toads so as to not get sick in the process of making a buck

 

[Fuscus]

A cane toad farm would be a place where cane toads would be raised for the bounty.
Handling cane toads is not that difficult, they don't release the poison unless squeezed but they will urinate when handled roughly (side story - used to pick tomatos and a rotten tomato fight would break out every couple of hours. Cane toads were also used. imagine a toad landing on your bare back in a pool of cane toad urine). But the people would have to kill them on the spot, transporting live toads is (rightly) an offence.
I can remember when I first lived in QLD we had a major infestation and I used to clear out the property every night using a golf club (It was quick and cheap), on bad nights I'ld kill 50+.
Lastly crows have learnt to kill and eat cane toads. We had a wild crow that used to follow me in the plant nursery, when I'ld find a toad it would be thrown out into the open. THe crow would walk up to the toad, wack it hard between the eyes with its beak, pick the stunned/dead toad up by a back leg and fly off. 10/15 minutes later the crow would be back following me again. I never saw the crow actually eat a toad but I have seen gutted dead toads. Crows are supposed to break the belly skin and eat out the intestines. Unfortunatly toads tend to be nocturnal and only rarly encounter crows.

 

[phantom]

i hate the little barstards,they are every where here i drive up my drive of a night and run over at least 10 on the way up and 10 on the way down ,all you hear is pop

 

[Slateman]

Now i understand what cane toad farm is. I can't beleive that people would do such a think if the reward would be estbilished. Not here in Australia.

 

[Amy]

Well, I think introducing a bounty on the heads of cane toads would be a good idea. Maybe they could impose some kind of restriction on the amount of times you can present toads and the amount of toads presented? Maybe this could slow the cane toad farmers? They might find that the cost of setting up and running a farm would far outweigh the reward?