Hey guys! It's Em.
Today is the third installment of our new series: "Creature Feature"
Where I look at a different species every single week
And tell you a couple of facts which you may or may not have known about them.
Today's creature is a really charming little dude
And I'm hoping that you'll find him "toad"-ally awesome
[Burp]
Also, just really quickly, I want to show you this new necklace which I've got from the "BIRCHpls" studio
This is an axolotl that I'm wearing today
Which is a kind of aquatic amphibian
They are one of my favorite animals
If you don't know about axolotls, I'll try and feature them at some point
But I just thought that given the animal we're going to look at today
It was a rather fitting one to wear
If you are interested in Fran's shop, I will leave her details in the description box below
And if you're watching this, Fran, then hi!
Da-da!
This here is my buddy, and his name is Prince Charming
Hi~! [Stitch from "Lilo and Stitch" voice]
The species I have here today, who is running away right now
Is the Cane Toad
The Cane Toad from South America
If you could just figure out where you're happiest, then that'd be great [Sped-up voice]
Toad butt, in my face
Prince Charming is an amphibian
Amphibians are cold-blooded creatures which can live in the water and come out onto the land
Amphibians usually begin life in a water-dwelling larval state such as a tadpole
Which uses its gills to breathe underwater
As the tadpoles grow, change, and metamorphosize
They usually lose their gills and their ability to be fully aquatic
There are a few exceptions, such as the axolotl
But that's a whole other Creature Feature
Cane Toads can live between ten and 12 years
In their natural habitat in South America that would be substantially less
Because they do get predated on in their natural habitat
Foodwise, Cane Toads can eat almost anything
And this becomes a bit of a problem later on
When I tell you a bit more about what they're most famous for
Toads do have a kind of warty skin
And it's a common misconception that if you hold a toad
You're gonna catch warts
That's just not the case, don't listen to that
That's a myth
Let's bust it
Busted! [Sped-up voice]
Their skin's so fun to play with!
I know that he doesn't appreciate it but I'm just like, "I must feel you!"
Denied [Deep, altered voice]
In the wild, Cane Toads can eat almost anything
If it fits in their mouth, they're gonna eat it
Their favourite foods in their native South America are: beetles, other invertebrates, spiders, fish
The occasional small bird, and also, each-other
Yes, they are cannibals!
These guys are also known as Marine Toads
But more typically they're known as Cane Toads
And I'll tell you why they're known as Cane Toads right now
In the 1930s in Australia, so all the way [on] the other side of the world
The Australian government were having really big issues with Cane Beetles eating up their sugar crops
So the government had to think of a way
That they could preserve their crops but get rid of the beetles
And the government thought to themselves
"Hang on a second," lightbulb moment, "how about bringing in a natural predator"
"Who will eat them up and that way we won't have to spray our crops?"
So in 1935
The Australian government actually decided
To buy a whole load of Cane Toads
They bought 100 Cane Toads from South America
Unfortunately, the Australian government didn't test out their theory
They had planned that the Cane Toads would eat the Cane Beetles
This just wasn't the case
Cane Toads are very, very, lazy
They're very heavy-bodied and they can't really climb
Whereas Cane Beetles are very fast, very agile, and they can climb very, very, well
So oftentimes whenever a Cane Toad would encounter a Cane Beetle
The Cane Beetle would just scurry off up into the crop
While the Cane Toad was basically on the floor
Thinking, "I've got a grumbling belly, what am I gonna eat instead?"
Well, unfortunately for the native wildlife, Cane Toads loved the taste of the native wildlife
And most unfortunately of all
Is that these guys are actually poisonous
There is poison inside these pouches
In fact, do you see these little black dots here which look like pores?
Well, you'd be absolutely right
If I were to massage those rather hard
A big, pus-y looking liquid would come out of them
Just like if you were squeezing whiteheads
So imagine you're some of the native Australian wildlife
You see this toad and you think, "This looks like a tasty, tasty, meal, I'm going to eat it"
The second that you bite down on the toad and start chewing
It's going to start emitting this poison
And this poison is so toxic
That it can kill almost anything
It will kill the snakes, it could kill a large mammal like a dingo
It can even kill a fully grown Saltwater Crocodile
And, you know, it's not just the adults who are poisonous
The tadpoles are poisonous and the eggs are poisonous, too
Some of you out there might be thinking, "Hang on a second"
"How come the Cane Toad is so poisonous to Australian wildlife"
"But they get eaten by animals in their native land of South America?"
Well, that is a great question!
The answer lies in co-evolution
The animals in South America had thousands, if not millions of years to develop
Some level of immunity to the Cane Toad's poison
When the Cane Toads were brought to Australia
The native wildlife in Australia was taken by surprise
And they haven't had time to develop immunity
Despite Australia's best efforts
It's so hard to contain these guys
And where Australia started off with only 100 Cane Toads
They now have well over 20 million
Cane Toads are not just invasive in Australia
There's also a huge population of Cane Toads in Florida!
Some speculate that they are the result of escaped or released pets
Others think a more likely option was the amount of Cane Toads released
During the filming of the 1972 cult horror film "Frogs"
Which is an amazing film, by the way, you should totally go watch it
The footage you see here
Was taken by my friend and fellow reptile enthusiast, Jennifer Beth-Lewis
Who lives in Florida
Here, you can clearly see three wild Cane Toads raiding her dog's food bowl
Remember, never release pet animals into the wild
Especially if they're not native
Let me know in the comments box down below if you learned something new today
I hope you did, I hope you found something interesting
Even if you weren't a big fan of toads in general
Thank you guys so much for watching and we will see you in another video shortly
Bye!
You gonna wave?
You gonna -- should we -- let's wave, wave!
Wave your back feet
[Groans]
Bye! [Laughs]
[Burp]
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