Cane toads threaten iconic king brown snake

[Jewyy95]

Also putting the Water monitors in western Australias Kimberley Desert in danger, wildlife researchers have only spotted up to 20 monitors in the region and they think these predators will soon become victims to the Cane toads. By the end of the dry season experts estimated that Cane toads will have infested the kimberley and will be harming most of the wildlife there.

 

[MR_IAN_DAVO]

Available at your local hardware store. If you continue to use brutal killing methods now that you know this humane product exists you are no better than the cane toads themselves.

HopStop®

HopStop® spray is a convenient and effective way to control cane toads. When used properly, it’s safe for people and pets, and is humane for the toads. HopStop® has been developed for use in home gardens and similar outdoor settings.

This is the first time I have ever seen this product. What is its active constituent??

I can see that a lot of my fellow toad haters agree with mostly everything that I say & as well as cat & fox haters.
You can not tell me that toads are not having a devastating effect on our native wildlife not just snakes. Well you can, but it is not reasonably based on fact.

And so the Hopstop is better than Dettol or a good wack that kills them almost instantly, if the right mix of Dettol is used, the toads are lucky to hop away more than 3 or 4 meters. I wish that when I go it could be that easy.

Cheers
Ian

 

[Elapidae1]

LOL And thy legions shall bow down. I fear to disagree lest your mighty fellows smite me down with a 9 iron and inflame mine eyes with Hopstop.

I wonder how many native frogs have been killed with Frog, sorry Hopstop?

 

[MR_IAN_DAVO]

LOL And thy legions shall bow down. I fear to disagree lest your mighty fellows smite me down with a 9 iron and inflame mine eyes with Hopstop.

I wonder how many native frogs have been killed with Frog, sorry Hopstop?

I would imagine that people that use Hopstop or a nine iron know the difference between a cane toad & a frog.
If something is not done about the march of toads there maybe more to lose than a few innocent frogs hit by the few uneducated.
Please don't take offense to what I say but more try to accept the inevitable if nothing is done!!!!

Cheers
Ian

 

[SteveNT]

Mate, you're kidding yourself. There may be big mobs there now, but once toads are there in numbers, there won't be.

You goose.

Cane toads moved into Ngukurr a decade and a half ago on their way to Kakadu then Darwin. They are everywhere and so are the bhp's. Perhaps the bhp's ability to deal with (immunity to) death adder, king brown, taipan, etc, etc venom, (their favourite food is snakes), gives them an edge against the bastard bufo.

Do you have any idea where Ngukurr is?

 

[$NaKe PiMp]

This is the first time I have ever seen this product. What is its active constituent??

I can see that a lot of my fellow toad haters agree with mostly everything that I say & as well as cat & fox haters.
You can not tell me that toads are not having a devastating effect on our native wildlife not just snakes. Well you can, but it is not reasonably based on fact.

And so the Hopstop is better than Dettol or a good wack that kills them almost instantly, if the right mix of Dettol is used, the toads are lucky to hop away more than 3 or 4 meters. I wish that when I go it could be that easy.

Cheers
Ian

toads have had a devastating effect,just not to the degree first imagined,so theres no harm in killing as many toads as you can manage its just that doesnt even put a dent in ther numbers
Habitat destruction,climate change and other introduced pests have had a more devastating effect, so according to science we have to adress those more importantly.

you can enjoy toad golf if you so desire there is no law against it,and if the scientists have it wrong well you may be saving a few species

 

[MR_IAN_DAVO]

toads have had a devastating effect,just not to the degree first imagined,so theres no harm in killing as many toads as you can manage its just that doesnt even put a dent in ther numbers
Habitat destruction,climate change and other introduced pests have had a more devastating effect, so according to science we have to adress those more importantly.

you can enjoy toad golf if you so desire there is no law against it,and if the scientists have it wrong well you may be saving a few species

Cheers.

 

[saratoga]

Perhaps the bhp's ability to deal with (immunity to) death adder, king brown, taipan, etc, etc venom, (their favourite food is snakes), gives them an edge against the bastard bufo.

Do you have any idea where Ngukurr is?

I think the point here is not immunity to venom but that apart from the Taipan, the other snakes are big frog eaters. Toads knocked out the frog eaters and left the BHPs way ahead of the competition.
That there have also been more sightings of Top End taipans in the last few years also supports this idea

 

[SteveNT]

If any of you have seen my other posts on this I apologise.

The Cat food and Meat Ant Solution.

In many of the cane toad breeding pools, from puddles to the lake at the bottom of Gunlom Falls, the tadpoles congregate at the easiest exit points. Traditional owners up here noticed if there was something tasty for meat ants left there (lolly wrapper, almost empty corned beef tin) the meat ants were drawn to the area and got stuck into the emerging toadlets in a typically ruthless and thorough manner.

I tried this with the Kalkarigi Rangers at a small spring with a nice focal point for the tadpoles/ toadlets. The ant trail lasted 4 days and the bait was a small bit of tinned cat food initially. Once they were onto the toadlets they kept collecting them

That's a lot of non toads in that area. I camped there 4 weeks later and saw no young toads (but still a few adults) (since departed)

It's not eradication but it's a control method for some areas.

 

[SteveNT]

I think the point here is not immunity to venom but that apart from the Taipan, the other snakes are big frog eaters. Toads knocked out the frog eaters and left the BHPs way ahead of the competition.
That there have also been more sightings of Top End taipans in the last few years also supports this idea

I see where you're coming from. Around Kalkaringi there are rediculous numbers of varanus storri and from what I saw there, over a 6 month period, they dont eat frogs, they are entirely insect focussed. And they take mostly the high dry stonier country where the toads are minimal.

It's good to see some of the guys are thriving because it breaks my heart to travel through formerly rich mammal and herp country and see only juvenile frill necks, king browns, freshwater crocs, v.panoptes and no bandiccoots or quolls. And plenty of toads.

 

[MR_IAN_DAVO]

Maybe we need to be encouraging meat ants??????
I just hate it when people say there is no awnser or it is too hard or evolution will take over, evolution will but at what cost???

I hope that it does not come back in years to come in saying, well Ian davo was right, but we got it wrong & have lost those species forever.

Cheers

 

[saratoga]

we cant rely on anecdotal information,
Toads are easily seen by most people as the biggest pest that ever existed cause they are so visible to everyone,However,there are much worse threats from more devastating habitat destruction and other feral animals like cats/foxes which are scientifically known to have caused extinctions already.
Those factors have been around alot longer so Toads could still very well lead to some extinctions.
Its sad to see these big NT Kingbrowns disappear,heres a picture of two beauties i got to play with

Agree we can't entirely rely on anecdotal info, but too often it is discounted altogether.

When anecdotal info comes from a swag of experienced naturalists who spend a lot of time in the bush it really needs to be taken into account and given some weight.

Baseline biological data takes a very long time to collect and needs to be ongoing over decades. Doing nothing until the scientific data "comes in" while changes are happening before our eyes just doesn't make sense.

Fortunately a study has been ongoing at Fogg Dam for some time so there is some good data available for that area I think, but we shouldn't ignore what is obvious to even the most casual observers.

Agree that other ferals and land clearing pose big threats. In the Top End introduced pasture grasses also are rapidly colonising new areas and changings the ecology very quickly by promoting very hot and widespread fire regimes.

Beautiful big snakes there snakepimp... tire the arms pretty quickly. Saw a disgusting video a few years ago put out by one of Australias leading duck shooting magazines. It showed them hunting near Fogg Dam and blowing away 2 big Kingis like this in the middle of the floodplain...no threat to anyone out there!

 

[SteveNT]

I searched for positives to the toadvasion a few years ago and only found one. Goannas are the most significant taker of turtle eggs on most of the coastline up here. When their populations collapsed (old mate toad) the hatching rate improved significantly.

Now I,ve heard a second from a local fella.

If your house has a cockie infestation, import 1 big toad- all gone in two days. Then toss the toad. Always more where they come from!

 

[mmafan555]

You goose.

Cane toads moved into Ngukurr a decade and a half ago on their way to Kakadu then Darwin. They are everywhere and so are the bhp's. Perhaps the bhp's ability to deal with (immunity to) death adder, king brown, taipan, etc, etc venom, (their favourite food is snakes), gives them an edge against the bastard bufo.

Do you have any idea where Ngukurr is?

Sounds unlikely imho...As after all the cane toad has poison..which is obviously different to snake venom....And the king brown is a snake eater and kills/eats venomous snakes and seems rather helpless against the cane toads toxins....The Bhp probably just knows to avoid the toad or has figured out a way to eat them safely( I'm not familiar with the diet of a Bhp) but it seems very unlikely that it has any significant resistance to the toads poison...

Cats in general are just incredibly destructive to animals their size and smaller....Felines( the feline family in general) are mega carnivores with extreme hunting/predator instincts and most animals just don't know how to deal with them at all...Same goes for feral dogs to some extend.

 

[waruikazi]

Steve, although certaintly not in the numbers we used to see, i am still finding panoptes/gouldii (i can't quite tell them apart most of the time) of various ages around the flood planes. I've also been finding mertens/mitchells (again i can't always tell them apart) in the streams coming off the escarpment occasionally.

Here's one (mertens) and a habitat pic.

I see where you're coming from. Around Kalkaringi there are rediculous numbers of varanus storri and from what I saw there, over a 6 month period, they dont eat frogs, they are entirely insect focussed. And they take mostly the high dry stonier country where the toads are minimal.

It's good to see some of the guys are thriving because it breaks my heart to travel through formerly rich mammal and herp country and see only juvenile frill necks, king browns, freshwater crocs, v.panoptes and no bandiccoots or quolls. And plenty of toads.

 

[lazylizzy]

i wannt them gone, but at the same time its not their fault. WE brought them here, and they are just trying to survive like any other animal. very sad i hate being torn 2 ways like this. cane toads are quite beautiful. if they wernt hated and a danger to native wildlife, i would keep one i a heartbeat

 

[PythonLegs]

"You goose.

Cane toads moved into Ngukurr a decade and a half ago on their way to Kakadu then Darwin. They are everywhere and so are the bhp's. Perhaps the bhp's ability to deal with (immunity to) death adder, king brown, taipan, etc, etc venom, (their favourite food is snakes), gives them an edge against the bastard bufo.

Do you have any idea where Ngukurr is? "

Can't say I've been to ngukurr, and there are many other places I haven't been. But toad populations in NT are increasing, and aren't close to what they are are in southern QLD. Great that BHP's you see are immune to cane toad venom, but what we're talking about is wide scale food chain collapse which will affect BHPs eventually. You goose.

 

[waruikazi]

Can't say I've been to ngukurr, and there are many other places I haven't been. But toad populations in NT are increasing, and aren't close to what they are are in southern QLD. Great that BHP's you see are immune to cane toad venom, but what we're talking about is wide scale food chain collapse which will affect BHPs eventually. You goose.

If you haven't been here how do you know the numbers are not what they are in southern QLD? The toad pop isn't increasing here perse`, it is expanding.

 

[kawasakirider]

i don't wanna sound cruel but i'm a bloody proud aussie and i am so sick of seeing our natives come under threat because of this introduced feral, what needs to be done is an annual nationwide toad cull with huge prizes for the winners and no holds barred on how you do it, also people need to take it in your own hands and get as many as you can whenever you see them, i remember when i was growing up, if i seen one, it never saw the light of day again, also the government seriously needs to get off it's backside, stop acting like a bunch of twits and put some massive funding towards a virus that is genetic specific to something the cane toad needs to survive, but that natives don't have, it's no longer good enough to be an ostrich with your head in the sand, its time to stand up and say if they wont do it then i will _ Michael Harris

So you're saying we should launch biological warfare on everything the cane toad eats, drinks and breeds in? Sweet plan, lets just drop a nuke on Australia.

A culling competition would do nothing. Cane toads have 40,000 babies twice a year each. Every one cane toad a person kills, there's thousands upon thousands more annually.

 

[waruikazi]

Something tells me that's not quite what they meant.

So you're saying we should launch biological warfare on everything the cane toad eats, drinks and breeds in? Sweet plan, lets just drop a nuke on Australia.

A culling competition would do nothing. Cane toads have 40,000 babies twice a year each. Every one cane toad a person kills, there's thousands upon thousands more annually.