“Toadzilla”
Almost as heavy as a baby: Monster toad discovered in Australia
By chance, rangers spotted this giant specimen of a cane toad in Australia. It weighs 2.7 kilograms.
© DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND SCIENCE/AP/DPA
A record-breaking animal has been spotted at a national park in Australia. “Toadzilla” weighs 2.7 kilograms – more weight than many newborn babies.
Australian rangers have discovered a giant cane toad in a national park. The mighty example of a “Cane Toad”, as the animals are called in English, weighs 2.7 kilos – more than many newborn babies, said the environmental organization Queensland Environment. “Toadzilla” probably sets a new world record.
Ranger Kylee Gray says she was breathless when the monster amphibian suddenly appeared in Queensland’s Conway National Park. “I reached down and grabbed the cane toad and I couldn’t believe how big and heavy it was.” The female is said to be 25 centimeters long. “A cane toad this size will eat anything it can fit in its mouth, including insects, reptiles and small mammals,” it said.
Cane toad in Australia: Such animals normally weigh just under 500 grams
According to the Guinness Book of Records, the previous record holder was registered in Sweden in 1991: Prinsen (Prince) weighed 2.65 kilograms at the time. An average specimen of a “Bufo marinus,” as cane toads are called by their scientific name, weighs about 450 grams, the website says.
The poisonous cane toads originally come from South America. They were introduced to Australia in 1935, originally with the idea of using them as pest control in sugar cane plantations. But the project backfired massively: the toads multiplied so massively that they are now considered a plague. They will also eat almost anything from insects, mice and other cane toads to household waste. Because many Australian animals lack venom resistance to the toads, some mammals, snakes and reptiles are under serious threat from the invasion.