Cane toad

• The body of this large, heavily built toad can be up to 20cm long.
• A visor or awning extends over each eye. A high, angular bony ridge extends from the eyes to the nose.
• The upper skin is brown, olive-brown or reddish brown, with warts. Males have more warts than females.
• The skin underneath varies from white to yellow and is usually mottled.

3D model

• View the 3D model to help you identify this animal. You can magnify the image and manipulate the view to inspect the animal from every angle.

• Survives in many habitats, but is commonly found in tropical and subtropical lowlands close to freshwater breeding areas.
• Also found in urban and urban fringe areas, tropical savannas, grasslands, disturbed forests, forest edges, forests with limited understorey and agricultural areas.

• Established throughout Queensland.

• Lives at least 5 years in the wild, up to 15 years in captivity.
• Mates at any time of year depending on available food and permanent water.
• Lays eggs in long gelatinous 'strings', in which developing tadpoles appear as a row of small black dots.
• Lays up to 35,000 eggs in a single clutch.
• Under ideal conditions, may grow to adult size within a year.

Environmental

• Cane toads consume a wide variety of insects, frogs, small reptiles, mammals and even birds.
• They produce toxic venom from skin glands. Native predators that die after eating, or attempting to eat, cane toads include goannas, freshwater crocodiles, tiger snakes, red-bellied black snakes, death adders and quolls. A total of 75 species of Australian lizards, crocodiles and freshwater turtles are threatened by cane toads; 16 of these are classed as 'threatened species' at federal or state levels.
• Research in South East Queensland on rainbow bee-eater birds found that cane toad predation caused 33% of nests to fail.
• Native frog tadpoles can die if they consume cane toad eggs. Cane toad tadpoles can also reduce growth rates of native tadpoles under certain conditions.
• When an area is first invaded by cane toads, naturally high levels of invertebrates appear to support large toad numbers. As food items are exhausted, toad levels appear to decline. Decline in invertebrate prey that follows toad invasion probably affects other insectivorous predators and may interrupt ecological processes, at least temporarily.

Social

• Cane toads can harm domestic animals if eaten.
• They can transmit diseases such as salmonella to humans.

• Wolf spiders, freshwater crayfish, estuarine crocodiles, crows, white-faced herons, kites, bush stone-curlews, tawny frogmouths, water rats, giant white-tailed rats, keelback snakes.

• Remove eggs from frog ponds.
• Kill individual toads using commercial spray from a hardware store.
• If you are an experienced operator, you may stun and decapitate toads.
• Construct fences (at least 50cm high) to protect native fish and frog ponds.
• In semi-arid areas, block access to waterholes.

Researchers have successfully mitigated impacts in recently colonised areas by 'training' predators; however, applying this technique at a large scale is difficult.

Read the cane toad fact sheet for more information.

• The cane toad is not a prohibited or restricted invasive animal under the Biosecurity Act 2014. However, by law, you have a general biosecurity obligation to take reasonable and practical measures that are under your control to minimise the biosecurity risks associated with invasive animals.
• Each local government must have a biosecurity plan that covers invasive animals in its area. This plan may include actions to be taken on cane toads. Some of these actions may be required under local laws. Contact your local government for more information.