The deliberate
release of Cane Toads to control beetles in Australian sugar cane crops has
been a complete disaster. For starters the toad, which does not climb, did not
have any impact on the problem beetles which were high up on the sugar cane out
of reach of the toads. Then, without any limitations in Australia their numbers
exploded and their range spread across the tropical north of Australia. Their
spread is nearly complete as they are now in WA and the eastern end of the
Kimberly.
Being
poisonous the toads have killed and driven to local extinction large numbers of
reptile species such as large snakes and monitors and other animals such as
quolls. In my view the Cane Toad has been a serious human error and an
ecological tragedy of enormous scale – it makes me angry whenever I think of
it, which is often when I am visiting the Top End or Tropical Queensland.
While
camped at Gunlom in Kakadu National Park we witnessed a Torresian Crow hunting
and eating Cane Toads. I have seen reports of native animals learning to avoid
the poison glands and eat Cane Toads.
One morning
we had a very close view of a Crow which flew in to a small water hole below
our camp site and shortly after flew off with a Cane Toad in its bill. The toad
body was about 50mm long (excluding legs) and clearly visible as the Crow flew
off. Later another, or quite possibly the same crow, returned to the same water
hole where it found and killed a toad. It then proceeded to eat the toad by flipping
it onto its back and eating out the body and legs from the underside.
Apologies for the quality of the photos.
Click on images to enlarge.
The crow has killed the toad and flipped it onto its back. There is blood about the throat area of the toad. |
The crow is removing flesh from the between the back legs of the toad. |
Close up of Cane Toad shortly after being killed and partially eaten – back legs are on the right of the photo. |
It is good
to know that at least some native animals are learning to eat Cane Toads. It is not surprising to me that an intelligent corvid species has done so. At
present we must hope our native animals can adapt to the Cane Toad however let’s
hope a permanent solution can be found to eradicate the Cane Toad.