Nature & Environment

Record-breaking 'Toadzilla' captured in Queensland

By T.K. Randall
January 21, 2023

Image: Green Toad (illustrative)
Credit: Umberto Salvagnin / CC BY 2.0 (adapted) Weighing in at an outrageous 2.7kg - six times larger than the average cane toad - this monster amphibian was spotted by park ranger Kylee Gray who had been out on patrol in Queensland.

"I've never seen anything so big," she said.

"[It looked] almost like a football with legs. We dubbed it Toadzilla."Toads are not native to Australia but were introduced into the country back in 1935. They have since become a prolific nuisance and are now thought to number in the hundreds of millions.

They also have no natural predators, enabling them to grow to very large sizes.

Even by giant cane toad standards, however, this particular specimen is an absolute beast, easily exceeding the previous record holder - a 2.65kg toad that was kept as a pet in Sweden.

"A cane toad that size will eat anything it can fit into its mouth," said Gray.


Source: BBC News

Tags: Toad, Australia