A brief history of cane toads

I miss TI and the laid-back lifestyle.  The kids miss being able to take themselves up Greenhill or down to the beach. I miss my walks through the cemetery and around Millman Hill.  Although we moved to Cairns to be near Bubu, we were looking forward to different ways of being active.  One thing I have been doing is researching cane toads following an unfortunate incident.  

     Oh, I have learned a lot about cane toads since I arrived in FNQ which is where the ugly, warty amphibians were released 79 years ago.  If ever there was a metaphor for regret, here it is: 

     Sugar cane was brought to Australia in 1788. The crop wasn't a raging success until the Queensland government, desperate for cash in the early 1860s, supported the establishment of cane plantations along the coast. 

     In the 1930s the sugar cane industry was thriving in the far north and contributed well to the GDP.  However, two species of native cane beetle were problematic.  It wasn’t the adult beetles eating the cane leaves that bothered farmers so much, but the larvae which ate away at the roots of the cane stalks.  Farmers were stumped.  Not only were the larvae hard to reach, but using pesticides killed native insects and even then it was considered a no-no to exterminate native species.  If only farmers had persisted with pesticides!

     After importing 102 cane toads (native to Central and South America) from Hawaii and breeding offspring, 2400 toads were released at Gordonvale in 1935 thanks to the special efforts of some entomologists working for the Queensland Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations (and despite warnings from colleagues about potential damage and poor planning).  Of course, this was before Environmental Impact Statements.

     There were three problems.  First, the introduction of cane toads had no effect on the cane beetle larvae.  Though I can find no reference, I recall an essay written by a fellow year 11 student a long time ago, outlining the adult cane beetle, when approached by the toad, simply used its wings to fly.  So much for disrupting the reproduction cycle!

     Secondly, cane toads have an insatiable desire for travel, particularly interstate.

     This leads to the third and most important point, cane toads have a toxic venom and have caused extensive ecological damage because they have no predators such as larger animals like native rats, snakes, goannas or even feral dogs and cats.  Certain death greets toad munchers unless the animal is really, really big so less affected by the poison. However, the Torresian crow and another bird species or two has learned to flip the toads and pick at their innards.  This isn’t enough to halt breeding or migration beyond NSW and NT where toads are happily planning to invade other states and perhaps New Zealand down the track.

     As far as I can work out from a quick squiz at unacademic literature, there is no magic, scientific solution to eradicating or sterilising this scourge.  And I can imagine scientists would be incredibly cautious playing with nature this time around.

     Why my sudden interest in cane toads?  It’s like this.  There are not many toads on TI.  In fact I’ve seen three in 20 years.  I understand there are more and they will invade the island eventually, but the recipe for a population boom hasn’t arisen such as enough females or a ready food supply for toadlets.

     As far as I know, Gina Rose hadn’t seen a cane toad till three weeks ago.  What fun, she thought of this apparently defenceless and mouthful-sized creature.  Mum rushed in holding her as she convulsed, arching her back with a WTF expression, not fearful or wretched. Toad venom is a hallucinogen like magic mushrooms and is sometimes known as doggy acid.  Check out this clip.

     Anyway, I have a love-hate relationship with Gina Rose. She is the most unloving and unlovable dependent and for a nano-second, actually for nine seconds I wondered if I should leave her to battle the toxin naturally.  I once read a book about Charles Darwin and the adaptation of the species and survival of the fittest stuff.  It made sense, more so for cantankerous, middle-aged dogs.

     Bubu insisted I take her to the vet.  Gina Rose was whisked away as soon as the word ‘cane toad’ was mentioned.  I think ‘cane toad’ is vet speak for ‘easy money.’ The vet nurse returned with a form for me to sign, acknowledging I would be paying between two and three hundred dollars.  I practically had to use my left hand to force my right to take hold of the pen.

     ‘You’re lucky,’ said the vet nurse.  ‘A dog came in fifteen minutes before you and is so badly poisoned it needed to be anaesthetised.’

     I left relieved and hoped my invoice was closer to the 200 mark.  Four hours later I returned and collected a groggy Gina Rose.  I held her on the counter as the vet nurse handed me the invoice.  I coughed and queried the $340 charge.

     ‘She needed to be anaesthetised just after you left.’

     ‘But, but you said ….’ and the vet nurse agreed to drop the bill to $300. 

     As I handed over my credit card (yes, the left hand had some more work to do), a Labrador whimpered in the waiting area.  Gina Rose whipped around and began growling, scratching at the laminate counter top to attack the harmless dog.  Gina Rose learned nothing about her brush with death and I knew she’d be attacking more toads forthwith.

     I asked the vet nurse about the treatment.  Too easy, I thought as I left.  I'll find some Valium and if Gina Rose eats another cane toad, I'll shove one down her throat and let her be.

     On the drive home I vowed to learn a new skill to mitigate my future losses; hand collecting cane toads and depositing them in plastic bags in the freezer. This is one of the humane (and simplest) methods recommended by the RSPCA for cane toad eradication (forget clove bud oil and blasting them with carbon dioxide). The RSPCA does not endorse spraying toads with Dettol or using them as golf balls.

     So one of the things I do now in my spare time is pick up cane toads from the garden. I have been using a plastic bag, but yesterday I used my bare hands.  What a rite of passage!  I will offer the kids a bounty, fifty cents a scalp or ear, whatever they have.  After all, I don’t want Pepper Zen to do battle with a cane toad. 

     And I have been thinking.  If cane toads on TI got their shit together and made a go of reproduction, all those roaming and hungry dogs would chance upon slow moving edible morsels.  This might be the only positive outcome from an ill-planned and badly implemented project four score years ago.