Posted on 03/26/2007 8:58:34 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
SYDNEY (Reuters) - A huge cane toad the size of a small dog has been captured in the Australian tropical city of Darwin, startling environmentalists who are fighting to stop the poisonous reptiles from spread across the country.
"It's a monster toad," said Paul Cowdy from FrogWatch which captured the cane toad on Monday night.
"We've never seen a cane toad this big," he said on Tuesday. "It's a male and normally females are bigger."
The cane toad, regarded as a major pest in Australia, was one of 39 caught by a group from FrogWatch near Lee Point in Darwin. It measures 20.5 cm (8 inches) in length and weighs 840 grams (1.8 pounds) -- twice the normal weight.
Cane toads are one of Australia's worst environmental mistakes. The spread of the toads, whose skin is poisonous, has led to dramatic declines in populations of native snakes, goanna lizards and quolls, which are cat-sized marsupials.
"We capture them, put them in plastic bags, freeze them and turn them into liquid fertiliser," Cowdy said of the cane toads.
Cane toads were introduced from Hawaii in 1935 in a failed bid to control native cane beetles. There are now more than 200 million.
Hillary has really let herself go.
FRogWatch
Australia
http://www.frogwatch.org.au/canetoads/default.cfm
Make Hilary kiss it...
This will fix him.
http://www.sundayherald.com/international/shinternational/display.var.1267689.0.poetic_justice_for_the_alien_invader_as_killer_cane_toads_are_turned_into_fertiliser.php
It measures 20.5 cm (8 inches) in length and weighs 840 grams (1.8 pounds)
A VERY small dog, perhaps....
But truly big for a toad, no argument there.
So what's the downside?
Do y'all find it kinda ironic that a genetically mutant frog has been discovered in a town called ..... DARWIN????
Since Australia has more of the most venomous snakes in the world than any other continent, I agree this seems to be a boon rather than a bane.
I thought Chirac was staying in France until the end of his term?
ROFL....
I'm also expecting that France has the largest toad in the world.
YES THAT IS A TOAD.
I wish it would croak.
We catch them, put them in a plastic bag and pop them in the freezer. They don't croak much after that!
Not to mention deadly bugs, large numbers of sharks of various kinds, etc. They do have some nice wines, tho.
Ping!
If this is the toad in question, it is more than 8" long and 1.8 pounds. I think the reporter is more likely to be mathematically challenged. The toad pictured here looks more like 18 pounds!
I just had some fresh quoll yesterday. It tastes great with a bottle of Chianti and fava beans.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.