Massive cane toad found at Conway National Park in North Queensland
A 25cm long, 2.7kg cane toad capable of eating small mammals has been found in a Queensland national park, with rangers saying it may set a new world record.
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A 2.7kg cane toad that may set a world record has been found in a Queensland national park.
Department of Environment and Science rangers were clearing a trail in Conway National Park near Prosperpine when they paused to let a venomous red-belly black snake pass ahead.
It was only then that they found the ginormous toad that has now been dubbed ‘Toadzilla’.
Whitsunday region ranger Kylee Gray said she initially thought it was a prank.
“I thought it was fake, I was about to have a giggle … I just couldn't believe it to be honest, I’ve never seen anything so big. It flinched when I walked up to it and I yelled out to my supervisor to show him.”
“The Queensland Museum is interested in taking her, as she might be the largest on record.”
Ms Gray compared the massive amphibian to a football with legs and said she was shocked when it weighed in at 2.7kg which would beat Guinness World Record for largest known toad weight recorded at 2.65kg in 1991.
“We didn't get it on certified scales … so we’re sort of kicking ourselves,” she said.
At 25cm long, rangers said it was the biggest specimen they had encountered indicating it was a female which are known to grow larger than males.
The amphimbian lost weight due to the stress of captivity, a subsequent video showing it weighing in at 2.35kg.
“A cane toad that size will eat anything it can fit into its mouth, and that includes insects, reptiles, and small mammals,” Ms Gray said.
“She was found at an elevation of 393m, which isn’t unusual, but she has created a lot of interest among our ranger staff due to her size.”
The find comes ahead of the second annual Great Cane Toad Bust led by Queensland community environmental NGO Watergum.
The week long event encourages communities in toad invaded areas to humanely remove as many of the pests as possible from January 23 to 29 with last years efforts eliminating over 50,000 of the harmful toads.
Only 102 cane toads were introduced to Queensland in 1935 to manage cane beetles, however as one female can lay up to 30,000 eggs per season their numbers are now estimated at more than two billion.
The toads are recognised by the Commonwealth Government as a key threatening process to the nation under the national Environment Biodiversity and Conservation Act 1999 and can be fatally poisonous to wildlife.
They have caused local extinctions of some of their predators and colonise a wide range of habitats, though not widely spread through rainforests, but will penetrate these areas along roads and walking tracks as per this find.
Originally published as Massive cane toad found at Conway National Park in North Queensland
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