cane toads
Australian pest frogs
Cane toads are large, warty amphibians native to Central and South America, introduced to Australia in 1935 to control sugarcane beetles.
The experiment backfired—the toads spread rapidly, poisoning native predators with toxic glands while failing to control the pests.
They've become a symbol of invasive species gone wrong: Cane toads have devastated native wildlife across northern Australia.
- amphibiansVertebrates with aquatic larvae
- pestHarmful creature or nag
- parotoid glandsAmphibian toxin-secreting organs
- AustraliaSouthern Hemisphere continent-country
- billabongIsolated river pool
toxicity · nocturnal · First Nations · frogs · invasive species · sugarcane farming · introduced species · warty · rainforest habitat · endemic species · vertebrate · biological control · pet food · tadpoles · disruption · plague · environmental disaster · native wildlife
- amphibiansfrog, frogs, newt, tadpole, tadpoles
- pestsants, ant, bugs, cockroach, cockroaches
- Australian ecologyGreat Barrier Reef, eucalyptus forests, bushland, tropical ecosystems, bushfires
- invasive speciesinvasive species, lionfish, emerald ash borer, noxious weeds, kudzu
- QueenslandBrisbane, Gold Coast, Cairns, Townsville, Great Barrier Reef
- wildlifewhite-tailed deer, birds, mammals, elephant, reptiles
cane toadsindigenous species
Organisms originating locally
koalas · platypus · kangaroos · native species · bilbies
cane toadskeystone species
Outsized ecological impact organism
native pollinators · pollinators · bees · earthworms · endangered species
cane, toad, toads, toady, canes, caning, toadstool, caned, sugar cane