# Raining snakes and cane toads as Kununurra is pelted in downpour



## Flaviemys purvisi (Jan 1, 2019)

Mitchell Woodcock - PerthNow
December 31, 2018




In a state where extremes of weather are the norm, the phrase “raining like cats and dogs” was always going to take on a new meaning.

After rain pelted the remote northern town of Kununurra this morning, it indeed began to rain snakes and cane toads. All at the same time.

Father-of-three Andrew Mock posted this picture taken by his brother, guaranteed to bring a shiver to even the most ardent serpent fan, of a snake covered in more than half a dozen poisonous cane toads.

Paul Mock, who took the incredible picture, said he discovered the snake and cane toads in his own backyard.

_“We had a storm come through last night at about 1.30am and I was worried it was going to blow my dam,”_ he said.

_“I went out to lower the spillway towards the end of the storm and noticed the water level was dangerously high. It had flushed out the cane toads out of their borrows next to the lake.

“I went to the other end of the lake, where I discovered the snake covered in cane toads.”_

Mr Mock said he was used to the cane toads and snake, who they had named Monty.

_“It has been hanging around our place for quite a while,”_ he said.

_“We have seen it eat small animals, such as wallabies. It was about 3.5m long, the last time I measured it._

_“We sometimes see it around the edge of the pool. It gives my wife a fright from time to time.”_

Kununurra has notched up more than 54mm of rain today alone and the Bureau of Meteorology are forecasting the possibility of thunderstorms and showers right through until Sunday.

It’s not unusual for the north west of WA to see such extremes during the wet season, which generally runs over the summer period, but the past two weeks have seen temperature records tumble in many of our towns, including the infamously toasty Marble Bar.

A spokesman for BOM said the thunderstorm experienced at Kununurra was not unexpected during the wet season.

Kununurra snake handler Bob Cooper said a cane toad could kill a snake from the egg stage right through until adulthood because of the toxin they excrete from their eyes.

_“They can die that quickly that the toad could still be protruding out of the snake’s mouth,”_ he said.

Mr Cooper said the cane toads could have been chasing a female who had taken a ride on the snake thinking it was a log in the wet.


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## dragonlover1 (Jan 1, 2019)

You could play cane toad golf except for some reason our soft c0ck govt has made it illegal to kill feral pests


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## Flaviemys purvisi (Jan 1, 2019)

dragonlover1 said:


> You could play cane toad golf except for some reason our soft c0ck govt has made it illegal to kill feral pests


Not illegal mate, I'm trapping Indian mynas literally as I type this message. Perfectly legal to trap and kill them.


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## dragonlover1 (Jan 1, 2019)

kill 'em all I say


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## Bl69aze (Jan 1, 2019)

I thought u had to give it to someone for them to destroy them


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## Flaviemys purvisi (Jan 1, 2019)

Bl69aze said:


> I thought u had to give it to someone for them to destroy them


Nope.


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## Bl69aze (Jan 1, 2019)

Cool...


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## dragonlover1 (Jan 1, 2019)

Bl69aze said:


> I thought u had to give it to someone for them to destroy them


Don't tell anyone shhhh


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## Flaviemys purvisi (Jan 1, 2019)

dragonlover1 said:


> kill 'em all I say


I made 2 of my own Peegees myna traps with myna trap plans downloaded off the net back in June 2015. Since then I've trapped and destroyed 164 mynas. I have 3 in one of my myna traps now and 1 in a Bunnings big cheese cage rat trap. I've never had one enter a rat trap before lol.


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## Bl69aze (Jan 1, 2019)

Flaviemys purvisi said:


> I made 2 of my own Peegees myna traps with myna trap plans downloaded off the net back in June 2015. Since then I've trapped and destroyed 164 mynas. I have 3 in one of my myna traps now and 1 in a Bunnings big cheese cage rat trap. I've never had one enter a rat trap before lol.


So.. do u kill them or.. chuck a Lacie in with them


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## baker (Jan 1, 2019)

dragonlover1 said:


> You could play cane toad golf except for some reason our soft c0ck govt has made it illegal to kill feral pests



It is certainly not illegal to kill feral/introduced species, it just needs to be done in a humane manner. The only reason cane toad golf is not allowed is that it's not a humane quick death. While some toads will be killed instantly, others are not as lucky resulting in them suffering until they die. Even though they are a massive ecological threat, at the end of the day individual toads are just doing their own thing like any other native species, they're just in an area they shouldn't be. This doesn't mean they deserve to suffer before they die.

If you'd like a humane method or two to get your fill of toad removal head into Bunnings and buy a couple of tins of Hopstop, or catch them and then put then in a fridge and then freezer. 

Cheers, Cameron


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## Flaviemys purvisi (Jan 1, 2019)

Bl69aze said:


> So.. do u kill them or.. chuck a Lacie in with them


Gas them. Carbon monoxide.
[doublepost=1546328907,1546328820][/doublepost]


baker said:


> It is certainly not illegal to kill feral/introduced species, it just needs to be done in a humane manner. The only reason cane toad golf is not allowed is that it's not a humane quick death. While some toads will be killed instantly, others are not as lucky resulting in them suffering until they die. Even though they are a massive ecological threat, at the end of the day individual toads are just doing their own thing like any other native species, they're just in an area they shouldn't be. This doesn't mean they deserve to suffer before they die.
> 
> If you'd like a humane method or two to get your fill of toad removal head into Bunnings and buy a couple of tins of Hopstop, or catch them and then put then in a fridge and then freezer.
> 
> Cheers, Cameron


I've always just used detol for cane toads. Stops them dead in like 7 seconds flat. Some detol mixed with water in a spray bottle... a quick squirt on each individual toad and they're done in seconds. Toxic shock syndrome.


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## Sdaji (Jan 2, 2019)

Bl69aze said:


> I thought u had to give it to someone for them to destroy them



Would that mean if we both caught toads and wanted to kill them I could give you mine and you could give me yours and we could destroy each others'?


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## Bl69aze (Jan 2, 2019)

Sdaji said:


> Would that mean if we both caught toads and wanted to kill them I could give you mine and you could give me yours and we could destroy each others'?


Yes.

But I meant like DEP workers


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