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MAGNETIC ISLAND NEWS (Australia) 22 May 06 Death by cane toad (Cris Lane)

Recently brought to the attention of the National Parks rangers by residents from Horseshoe Bay was a dead snake with a large bulge.

Commonly called a carpet python or carpet snake, Morelia spilota is one of the two or three species of python found on Magnetic Island. It can grow up to four

metres in length but this specimen was about 35cm.

All snakes on the island are protected species.

This small, harmless, snake apparently died shortly after eating quite a large meal, as indicated by the bulge in the photograph. Curious as to what the snake had been attempting to digest, rangers dissected and removed a juvenile cane toad (Bufo marinus) with a head twice the size of the snake's.

This may seem an impossibility but snakes have a unique ability to eat things much bigger than themselves. To do this they generally kill the food first. Non-poisonous pythons, such as this one, "hug" their prey to death by coiling around it and constricting their bodies whilst poisonous snakes rely on their toxic bites. When the prey no longer moves they swallow it by dislocating their jaw bones to accommodate prey and then simply stretch their flexible flesh and skin and squeeze it in. So the little snake in the picture was able to swallow, whole, a toad with a head size twice as big as its own.

Photo : The toad removed from the dead python

The spread and impact of cane toads which are toxic throughout their entire life-cycle and even eggs can be is considered a Key Threatening Process under Federal Government legislation.

They are also lethal to small fish. They exude poison from glands on their head and for this reason should never be handled with bare hands. If this does happen, hands should be washed thoroughly.

The toad taken from inside this snake was a juvenile, probably hatched in the early stages of this rainy season. With an abundance of rain recently and an resulting abundance of food, it is likely toads on the island have been able to breed more than once this season. This has, in fact, been observed in other local amphibians. Cane toad breeding activity increases after rain, is not confined to creeks, and can occur in temporary areas such as puddles.

Cane toads can lay up to 25,000 eggs at a time and their survival rates are often better than native frogs. Any creature that eats frogs eats cane toads. They simply don't know the difference. Even animals as large as dogs and cats have been known to sicken and even die from encounters with these feral pests.

Since cane toads recently invaded the Northern Territory, scientists showing an increasing interest in the problem there have been monitoring the declines of several native species using methods that were just not available when the toads were brought to North Queensland in 1935.

Snakes, goannas and marsupials such as the Northern Quoll have all declined dramatically in areas like Kakadu National Park where the toads have recently become established.

Frog-eating bird species are also at risk. A Northern Territory web site dedicated to the demise of toads can be viewed at (click here). This site provides much valuable information and articles pertaining directly to cases where cane toads have decimated native species. The local community in areas such as Darwin have made an all out attempt to stem the tide.

A co-ordinated effort on an Island such as Maggie could rid us of these pests forever. The Federal Government legislation site regarding cane toads can be found at (click here).

It is important that occurrences like the death of this snake are noticed. Dead creatures of any kind, from any cause, should be brought to the attention of Queensland Parks and Wildlife on 4778 5378 as the information can be useful in many ways. If the office is unattended they can be reported to 4758 1274. More information on the snakes can be found at James Cook University's Herpetology website at (click here).
Death by cane toad

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• AUS Press: Death by cane toad - W von Papineäu, Sun May 28 17:40:39 2006