In a forest in northern Australia, a cane toad so enormous that wildlife officers believed it to be fake was discovered.
The “monster” specimen, which weighs 2.7 kg and is six times larger than the typical toad, might set a new world record.
The animal, which was quickly placed in a container and taken from the wild was given the name “Toadzilla,”
Since they were initially introduced to Australia in 1935, toads have become one of the most destructive pests with an estimated 2 billion of them living in the country now.
While on patrol in Queensland, park ranger Kylee Gray first came upon the enormous amphibian and couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
“I’ve never seen anything so big,” she said.
“It looked almost like a football with legs. We dubbed it Toadzilla”, she added.
Toadzilla, who was thought to be a female, was promptly captured by her crew, who then went back to base to weigh her. They expected her to be heavy but were stunned to see she could break a world record.
A pet toad named Prinsen from Sweden set the current Guinness World Record for the largest toad in 1991 with a weight of 2.65 kg.
According to Ms. Gray, this enormous animal probably gained weight by eating tiny mammals, reptiles, and insects.
“A cane toad that size will eat anything it can fit into its mouth,” she said.
In Australia, Toads have no natural predators and the poisonous species have wrought havoc on native animal populations.
Toadzilla may have lived up to 15 years in the wild, so Ms. Gray is unsure of exactly how old Toadzilla was, but she believes it has “been around a long time.”
As is standard practice in Australia for the pests, Toadzilla has since been euthanised, and will be donated to the Queensland Museum.
Author-Roberta Appiah
