Cane Toad facts
While investigating facts about Cane Toad Florida and Cane Toad Poison, I found out little known, but curios details like:
Due to the limited number of different names on Norfolk Island, the island's telephone directory lists people with common names by their nickname. There are entries for Cane Toad, Lettuce Leaf, Goof, Diddles, Rubber Duck, Carrots and Tarzan.
how cane toads affect the environment?
Dogs in Australia will lick cane toads to experience something similar to an LSD trip
What eats cane toads?
In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across answering what is a cane toad. Here are 34 of the best facts about Cane Toad Australia and Cane Toad Sound I managed to collect.
what do cane toads eat?
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Reptiles found in Kakadu National Park include eastern brown snakes, death adders, goannas, cane toads, and frill-necked lizards.
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Cane toad is nocturnal (active during the night) and terrestrial (adapted to the life on the ground) animal.
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Natural enemies of adult rainbow bee-eaters are dingoes and monitor lizards. Cane toads eat hatchlings.
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Saw-shelled turtle is a carnivore (meat-eater). Its diet is based on fish, crustaceans, mollusks, frogs, tadpoles and aquatic insects. People appreciate saw-shelled turtle because of its ability to eat and reduce number of cane toads (non-native species of toads which eliminates native plants and animals). Saw-shelled turtle uses large claws to shred large prey (such as toads) before swallowing.
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Natural enemies of long-tailed planigales are domestic cats, cane toads and snakes.
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Cane toads can survive 10 to 15 years in the wild and up to 35 years in the captivity.
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Cane toad has big, flattened head with prominent ridges above the eyes. It has large, stocky body and short limbs with partially webbed toes on the hind feet.
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Bufotoxin induces painful sensation in humans. Intoxication rarely ends up fatally, but it may result in blindness (if toxin gets in contact with eyes).
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Even though mulga snake tolerates venom of numerous poisonous snakes, it dies after close encounter with poisonous cane toad. This type of toad is responsible for drastic decline in the number of mulga snakes in the northern parts of Australia.
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Females deposit 20.000 to 30.000 eggs arranged in long strings onto the vegetation in the water. Eggs hatch after 36 hours. Tadpoles are small and black colored. They transform into froglets (young frogs) after 4 to 8 weeks. Cane toads can be safely consumed only during the froglet stage (only froglets are toxin-free; eggs and tadpoles are also poisonous).
Why cane toads are bad?
You can easily fact check why cane toads are a problem by examining the linked well-known sources.
Cane toads are solitary during the night (when they search for food). They gather in groups called "knots" during the day.
Cane toad can reach 4 to 6 inches in length and 2.9 to 4.4 pounds of weight. Females are larger than males.
Cane toad has voracious appetite. Its diet is based on insects, snails, lizards, frogs, small snakes, birds and mice.
Due to the limited number surnames, the phone book on Australia's Norfolk Island lists nicknames such as Cane Toad, Dar Bizziebee, Lettuce Leaf, Goof, Paw Paw, Diddles, Rubber Duck, Carrots and Tarzan.
Some dogs are deliberately getting intoxicated by cane toads, because their toxins are hallucinogenic - source
When cane toads introduced to australia?
Cane toads were introduced in Australia with the intent to control the cane beetle, a pest of the sugar cane. Efforts to control the beetles failed, and worse, cane toads were very much worse pests.
How cane toads were introduced to australia?
Cane toad often steals dog and cat food from the bowls placed in front of the house. It also attacks and eats bees directly from the beehive.
Cane toads reach sexual maturity at the age of one year.
Bufotoxin is a mixture of 14 different compounds. Cane toad is usually the last meal of many large predators. Animals often die 15 minutes after swallowing of cane toad.
In Australia, dogs lick the back of cane toads to get high
Cane toad does not drink water. It absorbs dew and moisture from the soil through the skin on the belly.