Why Is The Cane Toads Problematic

Nobody would have expected just how much damage a palm sized toad could have done. Back in 1935, entomologists were trying to come up with a solution to the beetle infestation which caused the depletion of the sugarcane crop. Reginald Mungomery thought he had the solution by bringing in the cane toad, but eighty years later ecologists are still trying to fix the problem he caused. Mungomery's theory worked in Hawaii with the toads eating the beetles. Unfortunately, the cane toads in Australia ignored them and just lived and reproduced at high rates. The cane toads caused catastrophic damage to the environment. Almost all animals that ate the cane toad died; as a result, there was a 95% mortality rate. Worst of all, cane toads move at alarming rates. Originally they moved six miles annually, but today it is anywhere from twenty-five to thirty-five (Guarino [2-4]). Cane toads are a threat to the environment and all wildlife. It is necessary that we keep the population of these toads under control.
According to National Geographic, there were only 3,000 cane toads (also known as Bufo marinus) brought into to Queensland, Australia. Now there is an estimated number of over two billion ([2]). With this large number of cane toads, their impact on the environment is much greater than was ever anticipated. Cane toads reproduce extremely fast, and only need a small pool of water. Females can lay up to 35,000 eggs at once, and they usually lay eggs twice a year. Cane toad eggs hatch in about a day and it takes 2 years for them to become full grown adults (Australian Museum [5]). This large number of toads may not have been a problem if it wasn't for one key trait they have, poisonous