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The
story of the cane toad is one of absurd irony and colossal environmental
devastation. In
less than 70 years, this devasta tingly
remarkable creature has confounded science and wrecked ecological havoc
through its oblivious conquest of
land, stream and pond. In 1935 this giant toad, Bufo marinus, was imported
to Australia from Hawaii to combat a major ecological pest – the
cane beetle, which was attacking the economically important sugar cane
crops in Queensland. One hundred two individuals were released in Gordonvale,
QLD just south of Cairns with the hope that it would save the day – and
the sugar. Unfortunately, and inconveniently, the cane toad’s biological
history did not intersect with that of the cane beetle. Incapable of jumping
very high, the toads were unable to eat the cane beetles that preferred
to reside high in the stalks of the cane plant. When the beetle’s
larvae were emerging from the ground, no cane toads were around to avail
themselves of the insects. Thus, through a combination of human folly and
ecological incompatibility, the cane toad unwittingly played the penultimate
trick on the residents of Queensland and took its first hops towards an
unlikely dominance of the local environment. |
