Meet Toadzilla, the giant toad taking over Australia (and possibly the world)
Ranger Kylee Gray was met with a surprising spectacle as she hopped out of her car. While on patrol at Conway National Park in Queensland, Australia, she sighted a snake crossing the track.
But the next thing she discovered was an enormous and odd monster, not a snake. She encountered a massive cane toad, which she immediately thought would be the biggest of its kind in the world.
Gray promptly named it "Toadzilla,” it being the largest and most poisonous amphibian she had ever encountered.
In a statement released by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, Gray stated, “I reached down and grabbed the cane toad and couldn’t believe how big and heavy it was.”
The cane toad weighed almost 6 pounds, establishing that it was a female given that they weigh more than their male counterparts. Gray considered naming the cane toad “Connie,” but decided that it truly resembled “Godzilla.”
You know? Godzilla, the fictitious monster that causes destruction in Japan? Gray added, “We dubbed it Toadzilla and quickly put it into a container so we could remove it from the wild.”
Officials in Australia are presently investigating whether Toadzilla, Gray’s huge find, is the biggest of its kind. When the rangers returned to base on January 12th, they weighed Toadzilla at 5.95 pounds, which might beat the existing world record for the largest toad. According to Guinness World Records, the current record was set in March 1991, when a pet cane toad named Prinsen in Sweden weighed 5.13 pounds and reached 1 foot, 9 inches when fully stretched.
Gray said, “She has created a lot of interest among our ranger staff due to her size.”
While the age of Toadzilla is unknown, cane toads can survive for up to 15 years in the wild, leading park authorities to believe that “this one has been around for a long time.”
The cane toad is native to South America and mainland Central America, however, the toad was deployed in Queensland in 1935 as a strategy to control the cane beetle population. Time has passed, and the plan has been deemed a failure. Cane toads have proven to be one of the most problematic invasive species around the globe. Cane toads, which weigh over three pounds on average, have been “remarkably successful in reproducing and spreading themselves,” writes National Geographic.
According to University of Western Australia studies, the species currently numbers in the millions in the country, occupying a range of thousands of square miles in the northeastern region.
The cane toad eats mostly insects, although it is not picky, also consuming reptiles, birds, and even small animals.
“They are opportunists,” stated the Queensland Department of Environment and Science in a Toadzilla news release.
The warty amphibian’s parotid glands behind its shoulders can release a milky venom that is lethal to animals. Cane toads are an extreme hazard to dogs that bite the amphibian and consume the poison.
“Eating a cane toad will result in the toxin absorbing much quicker than just licking, so if your dog has bitten or consumed a cane toad, it is essential that you take them to a vet immediately,” warns the Greencross Vets in Australia.
Despite the excitement and intrigue surrounding the giant Toadzilla, the Queensland Department of Environment and Science reported on Twitter that it had been “euthanized due to the environmental damage they cause.” Toadzilla’s has been transported to the Queensland Museum to ascertain if it is the biggest cane toad ever recorded.
“We’re pleased to have removed her from the national park,” Gray added.
