Cane Toad

The cane toad is a big, chunky toad with dry, warty, brown or olive skin and bony ridges above its eyes. It is among the largest true toads. Most are about 10 to 15 centimetres long, but the biggest recorded females can reach a whopping 24 centimetres — nearly as wide as a dinner plate. Toads this large are quite a sight when they come out to hunt.

Like other toads, the cane toad is a patient hunter. It mostly comes out at night and snaps up almost anything that moves — beetles, ants, snails, and other little creatures. It even eats small mice sometimes. A cane toad finds its food by watching for movement and by using its good sense of smell.

Behind each eye, a cane toad has a large gland that makes a milky poison. When another animal bothers the toad, the gland lets out this fluid. The poison tastes very bad, so predators quickly learn to leave the toad alone. This clever defence helps the cane toad stay safe without having to run or fight.

Cane toads come from the warm lands of Central and South America, where they are just one ordinary animal among many. Long ago, people carried them to faraway places like Australia, hoping the toads would eat insects that damaged sugar-cane crops. The toads did not do that job very well, but they liked their new homes and spread across huge areas.

Because they are so good at surviving, cane toads are listed as Least Concern, which means there are plenty of them in the wild. In the places where they were brought by people, scientists and rangers now study them carefully to understand how they fit in and how to protect the local animals that share their home.