The Cane Toad And The Goanna

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Originally Posted by Brian Hjelm

Bufo Marinus, native to Central America. Introduced circa 1935 by the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations as a hoped for biological control of the the Greyback beetle and its grub. The depredations of this insect were such as that it could be likely that no sugar industry could exist in its habitat. Desperate measure for a desperate time.

Controlled experiments showed that the toad had a voracious appetite for the insect so it was released hoping that it could be successful like the Cactoblastis insect used to defeat the prickly pear disaster. Unfortunately the toad didn't restrict its diet to the Greyback beetle and grub.

Chemical control was not achieved until after WWII when the chlorinated hydrocarbon family of insecticides became available. BHC, Lindane, Gammexane, DDT, etc. Most now banned for any but highly restricted circumstances.

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It wasn't just the Greyback (native) it was also the introduced Frenchi cane beetle.

However the beetles live up high in the cane and the toads can't climb/jump - any idiot should have been able to add those two facts together...

According to our neighbour (leading amphibian and reptile expert), the damage done by cane toads to frog populations is overstated/BS.

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Originally Posted by JohnF

or had a big sheet of glass in between you as in a cage.

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:p It will be nuts to get within 2m of this fellow and using the flash as well.
It was very upset about it.

I have a good shot of a huge redbelly on the wild and I was within 4mts of it. Very impressive and beautiful reptile.

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Originally Posted by isuzurover

It wasn't just the Greyback (native) it was also the introduced Frenchi cane beetle.

However the beetles live up high in the cane and the toads can't climb/jump - any idiot should have been able to add those two facts together...

According to our neighbour (leading amphibian and reptile expert), the damage done by cane toads to frog populations is overstated/BS.

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The grubs eat out the roots of the cane stools. Cane falls over or dies. The beetles used to hang in great curtains from trees. Frenchi was a relatively minor problem compared to the greyback.

Reg. Mungomery, Chief Entomologist of the BSES defended the decision to release the toad until his dying day. They had not at that time any other option. It was fingers crossed and hope it works. Biological control was new then and the enormous success of the cactoblastis was only a few years before and all involved hoped for similar with the toad. Basically put, there would not have been a viable sugar industry north of Mackay.

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Originally Posted by Chucaro

I took this shot of a Tiapan which I think it is a good ID image

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/

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Last time i saw one of those,it was on the side of the road north of cairns striking at the tyres of cars as they were going past at around 100k's.And no i didn't go anywhere near it.

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Originally Posted by Chucaro

:p It will be nuts to get within 2m of this fellow and using the flash as well.
It was very upset about it.

I have a good shot of a huge redbelly on the wild and I was within 4mts of it. Very impressive and beautiful reptile.

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I catch snakes and I would not get closer than a body's leangth [the snakes body leangth] to the head of a Taipan.

But I will happily pick up a big Red Belly Black snake.