Cane Toads – Facts

The life cycle of Cane Toad

Predators of Cane Toad in its Native Habitat

Predators of Cane Toad outside its Native Habitat

Uses of Cane Toad

Video of Cane Toad

I’m fascinated by animals in general and in this article I’ll be talking about Cane Toad Facts

• Cane Toads (Rhinella marina).

• They are native to South and mainland Central America and can also be found in subtropical forests

• The name Cane Toad was gotten from its frequent use on the farm to get rid of sugarcane pests e.g Cane beetles, as a result of their voracious appetite (devouring great quantities of food), they are used for agricultural pest control.

• They are reddish-brown to grayish-brown with a light-yellow or beige belly

• It’s the world’s biggest toad, also referred to as giant marine toad, giant neotropical toad, Dominican toad, and “South American cane toad”

• The cane Toad has poisonous glands which are toxic to most animals particularly, reptiles and dogs. The Tadpoles of frogs i.e (the amphibian’s tailed aquatic larva, which breathes through gills but lacks legs until later stages of development.) if consumed, are highly poisonous to most creatures. ZEBRA SPIDER

• The Cane Toad comprises both male and female sexes; The females are significantly longer than the males.

• Life Expectancy is 10 to 15 years in the wild…

• Cane Toads in captivity can live for 35 years…

• They have dry and warty skin…

• They live in open grassland, woodlands, Drainage canals, and gardens…

The life cycle of Cane Toad

• A female lays 8,000–25,000 eggs at once and eggs grow into a tadpole. However, only 0.5% reach adulthood

• The tadpoles hatch within 14 hours to 48 hours to almost a week… both eggs and tadpoles are toxic to many animals.

• Cane Toads locate food with their sense of smell. They eat plants, dog food, and household waste, as well as tiny rodents, reptiles, other amphibians, birds, even bats, and a variety of invertebrates. Tiger Trout

Predators of Cane Toad in its Native Habitat

•  broad-snouted caiman
•  banded cat-eyed snake
• killifish
• catfish 
• ibis 
• bullet ants

Predators of Cane Toad outside its Native Habitat

• whistling kite 
•  rakali: eats the hearts and livers of the toads
• black rat 
• water monitor
• Tawny frogmouth
• Papuan frogmouth 
• some Australian crows: flip toads onto their backs and feed on them
•  Didelphis 
• Meat ants are not affected by cane toad toxins

In the year 1840s Cane Toads were introduced into other countries of the world, were introduced in Jamaica in 1844, the goal was to control the rat population which turned out to be a failure. Cane Toads – Facts

And then they were introduced into Puerto Rico in the early 20th century; the goal was to control beetle infestation on sugarcane farms. It was a success…

As a result of Puerto Rico’s success, many countries in the Pacific region decided to adopt the scheme of introducing Cane Toads.

And so in the year 1930, Australia, Florida, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, the Ogasawara, Ishigaki Island, and the Daitō Islands of Japan, most Caribbean islands, Fiji, and many other Pacific islands, including Hawaii Introduced Cane Toads into their farms…

So far the Cane Toad has been a serious threat to pests and animals.

Uses of Cane Toad

1. The Toxins of Cane Toads are extracted in South America and used to make arrow poisons
2. The toxins have been used as a hallucinogenic substance by the Olmec people.
3. The cane Toad is a source of food for humans, particularly the people of Peru; the skin and parotoid glands are carefully removed before consumption, and the meat is rich in omega-3 fatty acids
4. The people of Japan use it as an aphrodisiac, to restore hair; It is also used in china during cardiac surgery to lower the heart rates of patients
5. It is discovered that the cane toad has the potential in treating patients with prostate cancer.
6. Some humans keep them as pets
7. They can be used in pregnancy testing and laboratory research
8. In making leather products

Video of Cane Toad