World’s largest toad found in Australia

An employee of the Queensland Wildlife Service in northern Australia discovered a cane toad weighing 2.7 kg during a raid in the rainforest. The reptile, nicknamed Toadzilla, weighs six times more than normal specimens.

Kylie Gray reportedthat she had never seen anything like it. The toad was about the size of a soccer ball with legs. According to her, an amphibian of this size can eat anything. If only insects, reptiles or small mammals were placed in her mouth.

Gray was unable to determine exactly how old her find was, but specimens of this size in nature can live up to 15 years.

The toad was euthanized, which is a common practice in Australia for pest control. It will be donated to the Queensland Museum.

Cane toads in nature inhabit in South and Central America. They were brought to Australia in 1935 in an attempt to control the population of the cane beetle, which was causing damage to sugarcane crops. The cure turned out to be worse than the disease and turned into an ecological disaster. The toad population has grown exponentially and these creatures have been seen as far south as Sydney. It is believed that in Australia the number of cane toads has reached 200 million individuals.

They became so ubiquitous that the Queensland rugby team made them their mascot.

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