Killing the cane toad

As we in Queensland know, cane toads can be deadly to household pets.  The glands at the back of the head secrete a poisonous liquid - and when a dog, cat or any other animal chases, catches and tries to bite  the cane toad - its mouth fills with the dreaded poison and if not treated, it can die.  We nearly lost our beloved pet Kramer several times - he was a dachshund, a hunting dog and for him the jumping cane toad was fair game.

Last night as I was taking Marti outside for his last 'pee' I saw one jump away.  Marti didn't see it, so I pushed him inside the house, while I used that I think is an axe handle, and killed the toad.  Carefully I pushed it into a plastic bag, and sealed the top.  This morning I will put the carcase in the big rubbish bin, and tonight I will keep my eyes open to see if the toad had any rellies in the back yard.

And I will keep an eye on Marti.

Here's a video of one of the little blighters.




You can read more about them from the Australian Museum website here - where this video came from.

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