All hail, 'Toadzilla': Giant toad in Australia could be world's largest - The Washington Post

When she picked up the creature, she was holding a monster cane toad that she believes could beryllium the largest of its benignant successful the world. This was the archetypal clip Gray met the large, poisonous amphibian she’d soon beryllium calling “Toadzilla.”

“I reached down and grabbed the cane toad and couldn’t judge however large and dense it was,” she said successful a statement issued by the Queensland Department of Environment and Science.

After weighing the cane toad (nearly six pounds), and concluding that it is simply a pistillate since they measurement much than their antheral counterparts, Gray said she considered naming the toad “Connie.” But upon further consideration, Gray said, she thought that alternatively of a Connie, the cane toad looked much similar a “Godzilla,” the fictional monster that wreaks havoc connected Japan.

“We dubbed it Toadzilla, and rapidly enactment it into a instrumentality truthful we could region it from the wild,” Gray said.

Now, Australian officials are trying to find whether Toadzilla could beryllium the largest of its species. When the rangers returned to basal connected Jan. 12, they weighed Toadzilla astatine 5.95 pounds, which could beryllium a satellite record. The heaviest toad connected grounds was measured successful March 1991 erstwhile Prinsen, a favored cane toad successful Sweden, weighed successful astatine 5.13 pounds and measured astatine 1 ft 9 inches erstwhile afloat extended, according to Guinness World Records.

While Toadzilla’s property is unclear, cane toads tin unrecorded for up to 15 years successful the wild, which made parkland officials deliberation that “this 1 has been astir for a agelong time.”

“She has created a batch of involvement among our ranger unit owed to her size,” Gray said successful a statement.

Native to South America and mainland Central America, the cane toad was introduced into Queensland successful 1935 to assistance power the cane beetle population. However, successful the decades since it was introduced, the amphibian has not lone failed to power the insects but besides has go 1 of the worst invasive taxon successful the world. Cane toads, which person an mean value of astir 3 pounds, person been “remarkably palmy successful reproducing and spreading themselves,” according to National Geographic.

The taxon is estimated present to fig successful the millions successful Australia, with a scope of thousands of quadrate miles successful the northeastern portion of the country, according to research by the University of Western Australia.

The cane toad’s fare consists chiefly of insects, but it volition devour conscionable astir anything, including reptiles, birds and adjacent tiny mammals.

“They are opportunists,” the Queensland Department of Environment and Science said successful a quality merchandise astir Toadzilla.

The warty amphibian tin secrete a milky poison from the parotid glands down its shoulders that tin beryllium fatal to wildlife. Cane toads are besides peculiarly unsafe to dogs that wound the amphibian and ingest the toxin.

“Eating a cane toad volition effect successful the toxin absorbing overmuch quicker than conscionable licking, truthful if your canine has bitten oregon consumed a cane toad, it is indispensable that you instrumentality them to a vet immediately,” according to Greencross Vets successful Australia.

Even with the excitement and curiosity surrounding the immense cane toad, the Queensland Department of Environment and Science announced connected Twitter that Toadzilla was “euthanized owed to the biology harm they cause.” Toadzilla has present been taken to the Queensland Museum for further investigation connected whether she is so the world’s largest recorded cane toad.

“We’re pleased to person removed her from the nationalist park,” Gray said.