Huge cane toad found in northern Australia believed to be largest on record - NPR

Kylee Gray, a ranger with the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, holds a elephantine cane toad connected Jan. 12 adjacent Airlie Beach, Australia. The toad weighed 5.95 pounds. Queensland Department of Environment and Science via AP hide caption

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Queensland Department of Environment and Science via AP

Kylee Gray, a ranger with the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, holds a elephantine cane toad connected Jan. 12 adjacent Airlie Beach, Australia. The toad weighed 5.95 pounds.

Queensland Department of Environment and Science via AP

Park rangers successful bluish Australia recovered a cane toad truthful elephantine that it provoked gasps and disbelief.

The toad, which the rangers nicknamed "Toadzilla," weighed successful astatine what's believed to beryllium a record-breaking 5.95 pounds — compared to an mean value of 1 pound.

Park ranger Kylee Gray spotted the monster toad portion conducting way enactment successful Conway National Park and "couldn't judge however large and dense it was," she said successful a quality release.

The rangers judge it is simply a pistillate toad, and portion they don't cognize however aged it is, "this 1 has been astir a agelong time," Gray said. Cane toads tin unrecorded up to 15 years successful the wild.

The rangers rapidly enactment the toad successful a instrumentality to region it from the chaotic and euthanize it. Cane toads were introduced successful Queensland successful 1935 to power the cane beetle population, but became a damaging pest successful their ain right, colonizing habitats and poisoning different wildlife.

"A cane toad that size volition devour thing it tin acceptable into its mouth, and that includes insects, reptiles and tiny mammals," Gray said.

Cane toads are autochthonal to South and Central America and person nary earthy predators successful Australia. There may beryllium much than 200 cardinal cane toads connected the continent — an astonishing summation from the 100 that were introduced little than a period ago. Because their bodies are toxic to different species, they've caused section extinctions of immoderate would-be predators.

The toad's assemblage volition beryllium donated to the Queensland Museum, which expressed involvement due to the fact that she whitethorn beryllium the largest connected record. The erstwhile largest known toad is Prinsen, a Guinness World Record-holding favored cane toad who clocked successful astatine 5 pounds and 13 ounces successful 1991.