Australia: How 'bin chickens' learnt to wash poisonous cane toads

[Still Waters]

There are few Australian animals more reviled than the white ibis.

It has earned the moniker "bin chicken" for its propensity to scavenge food from anywhere it can - messily raiding garbage and often stealing food right out of people's hands.

But the native bird may have figured out how to overhaul its bad reputation.

It has developed an "ingenious" method of eating one of the only animals Australians hate more - the cane toad, a toxic and pervasive pest.

First introduced to Australia in the 1930s, cane toads have no natural predators in the country and have wrought havoc on native animal populations.

The toad's skin contains venom which it releases when threatened, causing most animals that come into contact with it to die quickly of a heart attack.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-63699884

[+Desertrat56]

So, my question is, Why was the cane toad introduced to Australia in 1935?  Someone had a bad idea.  There are so many other non-poisonous toads & frogs that could have taken care of the insect problems. 

https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/introduction-of-cane-toads

The cane toad is one of Australia’s best-known introduced pests.

Released in Queensland to help the cane industry deal with insect attacks on sugar cane roots, it has since spread all the way across to northern Western Australia.

[Sir Wearer of Hats]

5 hours ago, Desertrat56 said:

So, my question is, Why was the cane toad introduced to Australia in 1935?  Someone had a bad idea.  There are so many other non-poisonous toads & frogs that could have taken care of the insect problems. 

https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/introduction-of-cane-toads

The cane toad is one of Australia’s best-known introduced pests.

Released in Queensland to help the cane industry deal with insect attacks on sugar cane roots, it has since spread all the way across to northern Western Australia.

No, it was not a “bad idea”. It was a ****ing disastrous idea that took literal murders* to even begin to resolve. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

* I saw literal murders because crows have learnt and are actively teaching how to eat the bloody things safely. 

[Alchopwn]

19 hours ago, Still Waters said:

There are few Australian animals more reviled than the white ibis.

It has earned the moniker "bin chicken" for its propensity to scavenge food from anywhere it can - messily raiding garbage and often stealing food right out of people's hands.

New respect for Aussie bin chickens. Cane toads are a menace.  They are the toads the DEA told us not to lick btw, as they are so poisonous that they WILL get you high.

Edited November 27, 2022 by Alchopwn

[bmk1245]

15 hours ago, Sir Wearer of Hats said:

No, it was not a “bad idea”. It was a ****ing disastrous idea that took literal murders* to even begin to resolve. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

* I saw literal murders because crows have learnt and are actively teaching how to eat the bloody things safely. 

I say, whites/yellows leave Australia, natives want to live in dirt/leaves huts.

[openozy]

23 hours ago, Alchopwn said:

They are the toads the DEA told us not to lick btw, as they are so poisonous that they WILL get you high.

And that sounds like a teenage green light for toad licking, lol.

[Alchopwn]

Just now, openozy said:

And that sounds like a teenage green light for toad licking, lol.

Without the helpful hints from the DEA nobody would ever think to lick a toad.

[openozy]

18 hours ago, bmk1245 said:

I say, whites/yellows leave Australia, natives want to live in dirt/leaves huts.

With KFC, grog, ice and petrol to sniff, lol.

[openozy]

On 11/27/2022 at 5:25 AM, Desertrat56 said:

So, my question is, Why was the cane toad introduced to Australia in 1935?  Someone had a bad idea.  There are so many other non-poisonous toads & frogs that could have taken care of the insect problems.

Why was anything brought to Oz that can turn feral and destroy the environment? the number of plants and animals that fall under this category is amazing.

[Alchopwn]

18 hours ago, bmk1245 said:

I say, whites/yellows leave Australia, natives want to live in dirt/leaves huts.

That right there is why the upcoming referendum in Australia won't pass imo.  Non tellus nulla, sed capita vacua.

[bmk1245]

9 minutes ago, Alchopwn said:

That right there is why the upcoming referendum in Australia won't pass imo.  Non tellus nulla, sed capita vacua.

Good one.

PS sure as hell, Latin language is beautiful.

[+Desertrat56]

5 hours ago, openozy said:

Why was anything brought to Oz that can turn feral and destroy the environment? the number of plants and animals that fall under this category is amazing.

It's like the big cats that are roaming around England and the U.S. that came from Africa, as well as boa constrictors all over the world that don't belong.