Australians have long hunted cane toads in inventive and not always kind ways. But experts say there's a way to kill humanely and ward off the so-called zombie syndrome.
Last year's hunt saw more than 55,000 toads captured in a single week.
It may not seem like much in the scheme of things, but the environmental rewards are vast, given every adult female can lay up to 70,000 eggs a year. It's vital not to skip the fridge step because directly freezing toads causes them pain, Ms Vincent warns. "We do know amphibians can do this; they can freeze themselves and wake up. We've contacted the uni to ask about it.
When tadpoles hatch in rivers, streams, dams or ponds, they're gripped by an impulse to seek out and eat eggs laid by other females. They do this by following the scent of pheromones present in cane toad toxin."Cane toad eggs are covered in pheromones by the female when she lays them. She basically coats them in a secretion that contains the toxin. We think this protects the eggs from predators," Ms Vincent says.
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