AUS Press: Cane toad a `gift’ we don’t want

[Herp News]

MANLY DAILY (Australia) 22 December 09 Cane toad a `gift’ we don’t want (John Morcombe)
Another cane toad has been found on the northern beaches the second in six weeks.
North Narrabeen resident Lee Gardner found the unwanted visitor in her Narroy Rd backyard early yesterday morning and managed to trap it and put it in a fish bowl.
It was collected by a National Parks and Wildlife Service ranger late yesterday and euthanised.
Just last month a cane toad was found near bins in Foamcrest Ave at Newport, prompting calls from the NPWS for greater community awareness and vigilance against the environmental threat that they pose.
The NPWS is asking all residents returning from the north coast or Queensland to check that no cane toads have hitch-hiked to Sydney under their cars or trailers.
The toad’s toxin is lethal to native animals and they compete for food with bandicoots, owls and local frogs.
While handling the toads poses little threat to humans, the milky toxin they secrete when they are stressed can be lethal if ingested.
The cane toad found by Mrs Gardner is the fourth in this area in the past decade.
The NPWS says cane toads are occasionally found in produce trucks carrying fruit and vegetables from Queensland or the north coast of NSW.
So far cane toads have spread as far south as Port Macquarie but their distribution is continuing and could reach Sydney, where the NPWS believes they could adapt to survive a Sydney winter.
Each female cane toad can lay as many as 35,000 eggs at a time and produce two clutches a year, leading to a population explosion. Despite the cane toads’ reputation as an environmental disaster, Mrs Gardner said the toad has “quite beautiful colours”.
But despite being an avowed animal lover, she couldn’t quite bring herself to pick it up with her bare hands.
“I rescued a baby possum near our pool about 11pm and went out to check it at 1am,” she said.
“That’s when I saw the toad, although I thought it was a frog at first but it was so big - it was the size of a man’s hand.
“As soon as I saw the colour and thickness of its skin I realised it was a cane toad.
“I love any creature and it’s sad it has to be put down but I understand why. It makes you wonder how many more are out there.”
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