Australia: discovery of a giant cane toad weighing 2.7 kg, probably a record
Photo released by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science on January 12, 2023, of a ranger holding a 2.7-kilogram cane toad discovered in Conway National Park, Australia
Australian rangers have found a giant cane toad in the brush of a coastal park - a warty brown specimen, as long as a human arm and weighing 2.7kg.
The toad was spotted after a snake moving on a track forced wildlife officers to stop as they drove through Conway National Park in Queensland, the government said. 'State. "I bent down and grabbed the toad. I couldn't believe its size and weight," ranger Kylee Gray said, describing her discovery of the amphibian last week. The animal, from an invasive species, was taken away and euthanized.
The toad could break the record for the largest specimen of this species
Cane toads were introduced to Queensland in 1935 to control the proliferation of certain beetles, with devastating consequences for local wildlife.
At 2.7 kg, almost the weight of a newborn human, the toad could break the record for the largest specimen of this species, put forward the Queensland Department of Environment and Science in a communicated. Described as a "monster", the department said it could end up in the Queensland Museum. Due to its size, rangers believe it to be a female.
Extremely poisonous animals
Although its age is unknown, "this one has been around for a long time," Gray said, explaining that amphibians have a lifespan of 15 years in the wild. Female cane toads can produce up to 30,000 eggs in one season. These animals are extremely poisonous, causing the local extinction of some of their predators.
Source: websites