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HomeNewsCane toad found in Northern Beaches under investigation

Cane toad found in Northern Beaches under investigation

Quick and clever thinking by Northern Beaches resident Louise Doherty will help the ongoing battle against the invasion of cane toads into the region.

It follows government alerts a month ago that the species was being increasingly detected in Sydney, North Coast, South Coast and North West regions.

The Narraweena resident found the suspicious looking amphibian in her driveway earlier this week during an evening walk with her dog.

Caught web-handed. This cane toad was found in a driveway at Narraweena on the Northern Beaches earlier this week.

“I managed to trap it in a large plastic container and then posted to Facebook. I was concerned that it might be a cane toad but hadn’t thought they were this far south,” she told Manly Observer.

“Most people thought that it was [a cane toad] and I received lots of advice telling me to kill it. I didn’t want to as I remained optimistic that it was a native toad.

“I was also aware that I should report it if it was a cane toad which I did through the Department of Primary Industries (DPI).

An unimpressed cane toad is detained in this plastic prison for crimes against native flora and fauna. Photo: Louise Doherty

Louise was impressed by how quickly DPI responded (at 10pm) and she was told to keep it secure overnight, then in the morning take it to a vet which the Department had made arrangements with.

She said the intention was to euthanise the toad and study it to work out its gender and, if female, find out if it had spawned recently, signalling potential ecological disaster.

Thankfully, it was later discovered to be male which most likely hitched a ride in a truck from up North, but they are studying to see if it had mated recently.

Cane toads were deliberately introduced from Hawaii to Australia in 1935 to control scarab beetles that were sugar cane pests.

Intentional cane toad releases occurred in northern Queensland and northern NSW however the species continues to spread and represent a huge risk to our ecosystems.

The cane toad is tough and adaptable as well as being poisonous throughout its life cycle. It has few predators in Australia, which is bad news for competing native amphibians, and it may be responsible for the population decline of the few snakes and other species that do prey on it.

Why we have to euthanise them

According to DPI they:

  • poison pets and injure humans with their toxins
  • poison many native animals whose diet includes frogs, tadpoles and frogs’ eggs
  • eat large numbers of honey bees, creating a management problem for bee-keepers
  • prey on native fauna
  • compete for food with vertebrate insectivores such as small skinks
  • may carry diseases that are can be transmitted to native frogs and fishes.

How to spot them

DPI provides the following advice if you think you spot a cane toad

Catch it:

  • Don’t harm it – it might actually be a native frog
  • Wear protective clothing such as disposable gloves, glasses, long sleeves and eye protection before touching it
  • Watch out for poison. When stressed, cane toads can ooze and sometimes squirt poison from glands
    behind the head
  • If you can do so safely, keep it in a well-ventilated container with a little water in a cool location while we determine the species

Report it:

  • Take a photo (if you can)
  • Record your location
  • Report the detection

How to report one?

Email invasive.species@dpi.nsw.gov.au and fill in this form available on the DPI website.

 

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Manly Observer is an experiment in providing non-sensationalist hyperlocal news on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. We cover the big news across the LGA, but with a hyper focus on the Manly electorate encompassing Balgowlah, Seaforth, Freshwater, Brookvale and Curl Curl up to Dee Why. It is run by those living in the community for the benefit of an informed community. We care about an informed and connected community. That’s it. Simple. Thank you for your support in keeping quality local news alive!

Kim Smee, Editor


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