This month marks the 80th anniversary of the fateful decision to introduce cane toads into Queensland.
To mark the occasion, we've compiled a comprehensive list of 80 historic, scientific and quirky facts about one of our most recognised, and most hated, creatures.
1. The first cane toads were brought into Queensland by Reginald Mungomery, an entomologist with the Queensland Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations posted in Meringa, near Cairns.
2. Cane-growers were concerned about the damage cane-grubs were doing to crops – particularly the frenchi and greyback beetles. They were native to Australia, but bad for the imported yet valuable cane crops.
3. Prior to 1935, Australia had never had any toads. The entire continent, while full of diverse frog species, had no toads.
4. But we shouldn't be too harsh on Reggie. Mungomery had a lot of success using insecticides to control other pests, but preferred using biological measures as in general they were less harmful. Hawaiian cane-growers had seen increased yields by using South American cane toads, so Reggie really was going off the best science at the time. It's just a shame that science was completely wrong.
5. The cane toad's Latin name at the time was Bufo marinus; they are now known as Rhinella marina due to advances in DNA knowledge. Rhinella is a sub-group of the genus Bufo.
6. The 102 cane toads that began the Australian invasion were sourced from Hawaii, where they had been imported from Puerto Rico, having descended from toads originally collected from South America.
7. There were 51 males and 51 females, although when the crate carrying them was unpacked in Cairns on June 22, 1935 after a three-week return trip, one of the males had died.
8. The experimental toads were housed in what became known as the "Gordonvale Gazebo" on the BSES farm. Mungaery and his assistant James Buzzacott were worried they may not survive the cooler winter months.
9. It took one week for the toads to start laying eggs, and another three days for the eggs to start hatching. Within weeks they had thousands.
10. The toads were initially released around Cairns, Gordonvale and Innisfail, with subsequent releases at Ingham, Ayr, Mackay and Bundaberg.
11. Australian entymologist Walter Froggatt was the first to express dismay at the cane toad solution, writing at the end of 1935: "This great toad, immune from enemies, omnivorous in its habits, and breeding all the year round, may become as great a pest as the rabbit or cactus."
12. It was only after they were introduced did everyone realise cane toads couldn't jump very high, and therefore couldn't reach the beetles they was supposed to eat. And yet, nobody considered sending out a clean-up crew to collect and/or destroy them.
13. Hardily built and with the "invader" drive to keep moving into new areas, the cane toads started reproducing and expanding outwards every wet season.
14. This "invasion front" moved around 10km a year until the 1960s, when it began speeding up significantly.
15. Cane toads reached Brisbane in 1945, Byron Bay in 1965, the Northern Territory in 1984 and Western Australia in 2009.
16. The cane toad invasion front is now estimated to be between 40km and 60km per year.
17. Toads will keep moving faster and faster due to classic survival of the fittest Darwinism. The fastest toads are naturally at the head of the invasion front, so when they breed, their offspring become even faster. The slow ones get left behind.
18. Dr Greg Brown, part of a University of Sydney research team called Team Bufo based at Fogg Dam in the NT, has used radio-tracking to follow individual toads in the vanguard of the invasion front. He's found they can hop more than one kilometre every night during the wet season. Think about that the next time you're struggling on the treadmill.
19. Dr Brown and colleague Dr Rick Shine also worked out the vanguard toads have evolved to move in straight lines, making their dispersing easier and faster. Toads: they're pretty much the Terminator.
20. They've also worked out that even though it makes sense for toads to move in specific directions, they're not.
21. Speaking of evolution, cane toads are rapidly adapting to dry climates, a huge change from their origins in the South American rainforest. Cane toads are now well-established in Longreach, as well as desert regions along the Victoria River in the NT.
22. Originally nocturnal, research by the same UTS Team Bufo has found cane toads are learning to sleep at night. The diurnal behaviour appears to help them cope with hotter and dryer conditions.
23. Toads are also adept at stowing away. As a "weed" species, they are most abundant around human populations, making it easy for them to sneak into vehicles, or get caught up and accidentally transported by trucks or trains to a brand new home.
24. Toads compete with native species for sheltering sites and food resources, and while feed primarily off insects, will also snatch small vertebrates.
25. Female cane toads grow to about 12cm in length, with males smaller in size. However, they are among the biggest frog species in the world.
26. Oversized toads are not uncommon. In March 2007, a Frogwatch community toad hunt in Darwin disovered a 20cm long, 861g "Toadzilla". It even made the BBC news.
27. Females have smooth brown skin while the males' is more rough and yellow in colour, particularly during breeding season. All cane toads have bony "M" shaped ridges over their eyes.
28. The easiest way to tell a male from a female is to pick it up (being careful to wear sturdy gloves). A male will sound out a short trill, known as a "release" call.
29. This release call is designed for use in mating. Amorous male toads are not fussy about what they grab and will often latch onto another male. The trill is the toad equivalent of "Sorry buddy, I don't swing that way".
30. When a male toad finds a female to mate with he will seize her forelegs, grab under her armpits and hang on. The females don't have the capacity to make sound, but she can vibrate her body if she wants to try to disengage.
31. Male cane toads have ovaries – sort of. Their testicles are internal (like birds and fish), but they also have two "Bidder's Organs" located above the testicles, often just as big. They produce sex hormones like female ovaries and contain tiny egg cells. If a male is castrated, the Bidder's Organ grows larger, turns into a functional ovary and starts producing eggs.
32. All toad species have Bidder's Organs – frogs do not.
33. An average clutch, laid in a double strand in a long strand of gelatinous jelly, contains more than 30,000 eggs, more than any species of native Australian frog.
34. Cane toad tadpoles look different to native species. They are jet black with big nostrils and a wider body across the gills.
35. New research by UTS Bufo and UQ has found that toad eggs are poisonous, but baby tadpoles less so. However, they then become more more dangerous when they get older. This is a promising area for further research into control methods.
36. Toad toxin is concentrated in their warty skin and secreted by two large parotoid glands behind the ears (it cannot "spit" poison at you).
37. A sticky white substance, it is highly dangerous if eaten or rubbed into the skin or eyes.
38. Toad toxin contains both adrenaline and cardotoxic steroids, which means it gets your heart racing in order to deliver its poison shock faster. Key takeaway message? Don't lick a cane toad.
39. Australian native fauna that have been killed by eating or mouthing cane toads include goannas, freshwater crocodiles, tiger snake, red-bellied black snakes, death adders, dingoes and quolls.
40. However, cane toads have not caused the extinction of any native animal.
41. Vets also warn pet owners of the dangers of letting domestic animals "mouth" cane toads. Animals absorb the poison through their lips and gums and can die in 30 minutes.
42. If you do find your pet drooling excessively, with red gums, vomiting or paralysed, rinse their mouth out with cool running water for at least 10 minutes and observe them closely. If they show signs of cane toad poisoning, take them to the vet immediately.
43. There is no evidence that cane toads poison waterways or spread disease.
44. There are no recorded human deaths from cane toad poison in Australia. Still, don't lick one.
45. However toad venom could be a weapon in the fight against cancer. A University of Queensland School of Pharmacy study found cane toad poison could kill cancerous prostate cells while sparing healthy cells. Study author Dr Jing Jing is now working on improving the venom's ability to dissolve so it can be taken to the market.
46. Many Queenslanders consider the killing of cane toads as not merely a responsibility but a state birthright. However, being cruel to cane toads is actually unlawful under the Queensland Animal Care and Protection Act 2001, which means no cricket bats, golf clubs or kerosene baths.
47. Some Australian native frogs look very similar to cane toads, and can fall victim to over-zealous toad hunters. Try this quiz from the Sunshine Coast Council to test your knowledge. If in doubt, do not kill the creature.
48. As a member of the NT parliament, colourful Queensland-born politician Dave Tollner sparked controversy in 2005 when he called for a cane toad whacking day. "If I was a cane toad, I'd much prefer to go out by being belted over the head with a golf club than I would being stuck in a deep freeze," he said at the time. Mr Tollner is no longer in politics.
49. The RSPCA recommends two humane methods of dispatching the pests: stepped hypothermia, which involves placing bagged toads in the fridge for 12 hours to anaesthetise them, then freezing them for 24 hours to kill them; and HopStop, an aerosol spray that quickly sends them to Toadhalla.
50. The Rudd government cancelled funding to a project that aimed to create a genetically modified virus that would stop tadpoles from metamorphosing into toads. Environmental groups such as Frogsafe said that was the right decision, as a GMO virus was just too risky to put into the delicate Australian ecosystem where it could potentially mutate and start affecting native wildlife and fish.
51. UTS Team Bufo believes an inoculation-style program would help Australian predator animals learn to avoid biting the cane toad. By dropping small "teacher toads" a few kilometres ahead of the invasion front in the dry season, scientists hope animals that have never encountered the toads before will learn to avoid them before the masses arrive the next wet season.
52. Save the spiders, stop the cane toads. Queensland Museum arachnid expert Dr Rob Raven says there are several native spiders, including Queensland's native tarantula, that are known to kill and at least partially eat cane toads. It's hard for some to put into practice, but we need to protect our creepy-crawlies.
53. The University of Western Sydney has found the toads are slowly wiping out dung beetles, which ironically were also an introduced species, but one that's been highly successful in keeping flies and worms away from cattle.
54. Could fences stop cane toads? Researchers from the University of New South Wales discovered each dam on rural properties attracted an average 600 toads, which use it as a refuge in the dry season. By fencing them off, it cuts off that oasis and reduces numbers. The fences don't affect water supply for cattle either, as the water is pumped from the dams into troughs anyway.
55. Perhaps arthritis will get them in the end. The UTS Team Bufo is one of several research outfits investigating the recent phenomenon of arthritis in cane toads at the vanguard of the invasion front. It's speculated their rapid growth in size and speed may have compromised their immune systems.
56. Ibis can eat cane toads with no problem. Because of course they can.
57. In 2006, the West Australian government employed the country's first cane toad sniffer dog, Nifty the Belgian malinois, to help detect cane toads bearing down on its border with the Northern Territory. Sadly, Nifty died in October 2014, with her death somewhat controversial.
58. Researchers in the Northern Territory are looking to breed cane toad-eating quolls from the Top End with their more gastronomically-educated Queensland counterparts.
59. Want to catch cane toads? The New South Wales Parks and Wildlife Service has a complete guide on how to build your own super trap.
60. Cane toad races remain a popular sport, and are a regular event in the tourist hub of Port Douglas.
Just won a pub cane toad race at Port Douglas. Here is me holding the winner "Camel Toad" pic.twitter.com/qLtn1Pn8RC— Rowan de Groen (@StuffedShoulder)
May 30, 2015
61. Foodies in the Top End have been advocating eating cane toads for a few years. The Gulp NT food blog even has a recipe for cane toad legs in garlic butter.
62. School children of a certain era will remember being shown filmmaker Mark Lewis' 1987 cult documentary Cane Toads: An Unnatural History in class.
63. It featured a catchy song, Cane Toad Blues by Tim Finn.
64. Lewis backed up with another documentary in 2010. Cane Toads: The Conquest, a 2010 documentary updating the cane toad's destructive story.
65. Popular children's author Morris Gleitzman wrote a book called Toad Rage, about a cane toad called Limpy trying to save his family from becoming placemats.
66. Animated comedy short What Happened to Baz? won laughs and plaudits in 2003 with its depiction of various cane toad enemies.
67. The National Trust named the cane toad a Queensland icon in 2006, along with the Big Pineapple,. the Great Barrier Reef and the lamington. Premier Peter Beattie said at the time it should be "exterminated rather than celebrated".
68. Beattie was on occasion depicted as a cane toad, seen here in this 2013 Australian Financial Review being ridden by Kevin Rudd:
69. And the AFR's toadified treatment of Clive Palmer:
70. Speaking of satire, The Cane Toad Times was a quarterly satirical magazine produced in Brisbane between 1977-79 and 1983-90. It highlighted absurdities of life in the Joh era, and also lionised corruption fighter Tony Fitzgerald.
71. Looking for a perfect gift for that hard-to-buy-for someone? Four words: cane toad coin purse.
72. Not couture enough for you? Polish label Kobja kicks it up a notch with designer accessories.
73. Cane toads have featured in advertisements, such as this strangely sexual commercial for Ford Falcons:
74. The cane toad ranks number 16 on the Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) list of 100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species. Number 1? Australian acacia shrub. Really.
75. Can something generally regarded as ugly be made into objects of beauty? New South Wales North Coast artist Linelle Stepto uses cane toad skin in her art, and the results are stunning.
76. In November 2014, the NT News ran a story about a mutant five-legged cane toad found in Berry Springs, south of Darwin, and declared it to be a sign of the end times.
77. A few days later, they featured another yarn about a woman who found a cane toad in her lavatory. The newspaper was clearly delighted to have an opportunity to use the puns "Kermit the Bog" and "cane turd".
78. All glory to the Hypnotoad.
79. Do you remember Dana Lyons, the man who wrote the 1996 hit Cows With Guns? He released a song in 2013 called Cane Toad Muster:
80. And last but not least, Queensland State of Origin players are often referred to as Cane Toads. It's hardly a pleasant imagery, but when your opponents are the Cockroaches, being honoured with the name of a toxic, invasive pest might just be a compliment.
