The wet weather didn’t stop some 40 locals of all ages head to Eagleby Wetlands for a night of toad hunting by flashlight.
Watergum set up the Great Cane Toad Bust across Queensland, Northern New South Wales, and some parts of the Northern Territory as a national incentive to encourage community cane toad control activities.
102 toads were collected from Hawaii and brought to Australia in August 1935and after a study was completed in 1936 aa large-scale release was undertaken. By March 1937, 62,000 toadlets had been released into the wild with number now exceeding 2 billion.
Each female cane toad can produce up to 70,000 babies a year and through toad busting activities communities can remove fertile adults from the environment before they have an opportunity to breed.
Councillor Karen Murphy was at the Eagleby Wetlands cane toad hunt and said it was a great turn out with over 40 community members in attendance despite the pouring rain.
“Well done, Eagleby because 656 toads were collected as part of our latest Cane Toad Busting event.
“Several species of native frogs were also identified that night including green tree frogs, striped marsh frogs and rocket frogs.
“The cane toads collected will be humanely euthanised and will have their glands harvested for future Bufo Tab production (baits to be used in cane toad tadpole traps).”
Photos supplied and used with permission from Cr Karen Murphy.
