Cane Toad Mystery???

[wattso]

I was wondering if ants were responsible???

possible insect predation would be just as good no?

 

[africancichlidau]

Fuscy me old mate I haven't got a clue as to the scientific name but now that you mention it the white tip does ring a bell I am afraid I see a rat whether it be a protected species or not as being just snake food! The protected ones I would, naturally, never feed to my snakes but they are still just snake food for wild snakes
Yes, White Tips is what I am pretty sure they were

 

[Fuscus]

ants would clean up a dead specimin but I can't see them killing a healthy cane toad.
Maybe I'm letting hope cloud my judgment but if water rats learnt to kill and eat cane toads that would mean a dramatic drop in the CT population and a big increase in the number of fat juicy rats. And we all know who would benifit from that.

 

[Fuscus]

Afi, Both Hydromys chrysogaster and Uromys caudimaculatus are large rodents with white tips on their tails (I'm assuming that the white tailed rat has a white tail, a brave assumption considering what a red-necked wallaby looks like) . And one rat species looks pretty much like another (exspecially when the front half is down the throat of a python ) so I can understand if you don't know.

 

[BROWNS]

Yeah Fuscus i was thinking exactly the same thing, a toad cam is needed here.Whatever it is warrants a closer look that's for sure.It's definitely not ants, they'd have eaten pretty well everything down to the bones.I still remember doing a biology experiment with toads and we chucked em on ants nests,they cleaned em up and i stained the skeleton blue 8)

This is not just a toad here and there, he's found quite a few.

 

[Springherp]

I still remember doing a biology experiment with toads and we chucked em on ants nests,they cleaned em up and i stained the skeleton blue

i like the sound of that experiment :lol:

 

[africancichlidau]

Fuscus the rats I am talking about were indeed very large rodents. The tail was only tipped with white also.

 

[Fuscus]

Sounds like a water rat.
Just went though my library and couldn't find a photo of a white tailed rat with (wait for it) a white tail. They just look like a large rat. A water rat is distingished as having a fur-covered tail with a white tip. In fact they are the only rat with a furry tail.
As an aside I remenber stalking one at springbrook (Qld) for ages thinking that I was going to finally get a good photo of a platypus. I think it took me twenty minutes to figure out it was a rat.

 

[africancichlidau]

Jeez I wish I had a better memory! I can't remember if these critters had a furry tail or not but I don't think they did, I can just remember, ( I think ), them having the last inch or two of their tails white.

 

[Robert]

I reckon that the camera trap is a great idea fuscus.Could be some helpful info.
If these rats are taking out the toads what kind of problems would arise do you think if there were to be a large number of these rats bred and released up north qld, N.T to combat the CT epidemic.
And a heap of crows aswell.

 

[wattso]

http://myway.mywebsearch.com/jsp/GG...msg00027.html&searchfor=preying+on+cane+toads

Predators: Only a minute fraction of the baby toads survive to grow up because of their many predators. Dragonfly larvae and other preying water insects kill the toad larvae. When the toads are mature, dogs, snakes, larger frogs and toads, and birds, all prey on them. ~from.........
http://www.xmission.com/~hoglezoo/animals/view.php?id=21

 

[Pinkie]

it is the native Water Rat, Hydromys chrysogaster, one of the few native predators (the only native mammalian predator) of Bufo marinus.
They are often mistaken for ringtail possums due to the white tip on their tail. They also have webbed hind feet for swimming and status is quite common.

 

[BROWNS]

My old man has had to relocate what he said were big rats from the backyard round the pool cause they were crapping and making a mess everywhere.He can't remember if they had a white tip or furry tail but said definitely a very big rat and definitely not a bandicoot.He's also just recalled finding a few toads that had been eaten through the belly.

My neighbour calls the local ones water rats.I've never seen any.Would the white tip rat be found around the Whitsundays?

 

[gudang]

yeah browns they are in the proserpine river