“It turns out to be sensational fertilizer”
During a watering hole raid in Darwin Australia, the Toad Busters picked up this huge cane toad.
“It’s huge, to put it mildly,” he said. “The biggest toads are usually females but this one was a rampant male … I would hate to meet his big sister.”
These toads were introduced into Norther Australia in the 1930s (to control cane beetles, which it turns out they had little interest in doing). Instead they have thrived and become a rather pesky non-native species - especially since they shoot toxic juices out of their pores and have no natural predators.
One of my most favorite movies of all times “Cane Toads: An Unnatural History ” (available on netflix!) details the history of the cane toads and the variety of ways in which the locals have responded. From dressing them up and playing with them in the back yard, to smoking them.
The movie left off in the 80’s where the most anybody was doing to get rid of them was run them over on the road. Turns out the toad buster’s patrol is turning them into liquid fertilizer. I actually sort of feel bad for the toads. Poor, huge, nasty, sweet, darling “dairy queen”….