PERTH NOW (Australia) 11 January 10 Cane toad 'red alert' issued for Kununurra (Narelle Towie).

A RED alert has been issued in Kununurra as rains cause cane toad numbers to explode and the pests move to within 27km of the rural Kimberley town.

Heavy wet season rains have created a breeding haven for cane toads and environmental action group Kimberley Toad Busters are urging people be on the look-out.

KTB field coordinator Ben Scott-Virtue says cane toad numbers are on the rise, with 60 found at Newry Homestead near the Northern Territory/WA border this week, up from three last week.

“Already this season we have seen some sites where the ground is a carpet of moving cane toad metamorphs,” Mr Scott-Virtue said.

“Unfortunately the Achilles heel between Newry Station and the WA border is the Keep River National Park.

"Permit issues and restrictions on access for KTB volunteers to this NT national park bring real fears that this area will be another Kakadu and a major uncontrolled breeding area for cane toads.

“With the recent rains there is an abundance of suitable sites for cane toad breeding.”

But Mr Scott-Virtue says there is some good news.

The relentless hard work of volunteers working at the border have kept front-line toad numbers to a minimum and Mr Virtue-Scott believes the pests won't fully established themselves in WA this wet season.

Cane toads were introduced to Queensland in 1935 wreaking havoc across Australia as they kill native animals with their poisonous glands.

A single female toad can lay up to 70,000 eggs per year.

People are being urged to record native species in their backyards to better document the imminent impact of toads in rural areas.

Species most likely to be seriously impacted are the northern quoll, ghost bat, dingo, freshwater crocodile, monitor/goanna, frill-necked lizard, small skinks, blue tongue lizard, carpet python, yellow tree snake, black headed python, blue winged kookaburra, rainbow bee-eater, birds of prey, owls and other night birds and frogs.

“Up to 90 per cent loss of the Bungarra or Yellow Spotted Monitor was recorded for the Daly River (in the Northern Territory),” education and biodiversity coordinator with KTB Ruth Duncan says.

“ It has been seven years since the cane toads arrived in the Daly and there has been no sign of recovery in their numbers.

“This can be expected to occur in the Ord River system. A loss of such a key predator has implications up and down the food chain."
Cane toad 'red alert' issued for Kununurra

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