….We need to kill them. They were never going to get to Brisbane (too cold) never going to cross the Gulf ( too dry) etc,etc,etc
They are an evolutionary powerhouse and the damage will just continue from the point zero of Gordonvale. People there think that things have returned to normal but it is a NEW normal and a thinner and emptier one.
I very much sympathise with what you are saying. The toads do need to be stopped somehow, if at all possible. The point I was making earlier is that one off removal of a 50 toads here or a hundred toads there, from areas where they are already established, is not going to change anything in the long run. Toadbusters are doing their best to try and hold the invasion front and they have had some measure of success in doing so. They are removing around 50,000 toads a year from half a dozen invasion corridors.
The available evidence indicates that populations of native vertebrates do come back, in varying degrees, in areas where the toads have long been established. Unfortunately there were no population studies done before the toads were introduced so there is no data that can be utilised as a basis to determine an accurate degree of “bouncing back”.
It is anything but a simple matter to do a population survey on a range of different animals over massive distances and taking into normal annual variation in numbers with seasonal changes, variation in numbers with a change in the geography, and variation due to variation in climatic patterns and parameters from one year to the next. Think of the amount of water dropped in Queensland this year, the effects that could have and how long they could last. The there is the sampling method, which needs to appropriate for each separate species and may require development and trialling first, which takes time, effort and money. There are now monitoring methods in place for a select number of species to try to accurately determine the actual impact toads have. From Dr. David Pearson’s studies (DEC WA) so far,
Varanus panoptes populations are significantly reduced and so is
Pseudechis australis. We haven’t a clue on the effects on invertebrates. What can be said, at this point in time, is that no vertebrate animal has become extinct or is in imminent danger of extinction as a result of the cane toad. But that is no reason for complacency.
Blue
question tho, wouldn't blunt force trauma on the head kill them rather quickly if not instantly? Is it not recommended cz theres sometimes not enough force exerted which means it dies rather slowly or is it something else?
Yes, blunt force trauma will kill them instantly, if done properly. I don’t why it is not recommended but I will hazard a guess… The toads are very robust and you need to totally destroy the brain box and contents to kill them. So hitting a golf shot with them would do the trick if the head were hit like a golf ball. However, trying to club one to death on soft, wet ground is not likely to meet with immediate success. The other factor is probably the toxin. Your blunt force trauma is very likely to contact the parotid glands, and in the process, you end up with toxin being sprayed around or onto things. That would be my guess.
Blue
