RIC-6277 I can dance the Barramundi

CANE TOAD
CANE TOAD
• WHAT does the cane toad look like?
The cane toad’s body is covered with dry rough blotchy
skin. Many large warts cover the body, particularly
behind the head where poisonous glands bulge from
the toad’s neck. The head is large with protruding eyes
and thick eyelids covered with warts. It has a broad thick
body, short legs, stubby fingers on the front legs and
webbed toes on the back legs.
• HOW large is the cane toad?
A cane toad can grow up to 23 cm and weigh up to
3 kg.
• WHERE does the cane toad live?
The cane toad thrives in rainforests, sandy dry areas
and in suburban gardens, but it prefers to live in grassy
lowlands.
• HOW does the cane toad travel?
The cane toad hops along tracks and roads. It can also
hitch rides in fruit crates and luggage.
• WHAT does the cane toad eat?
The cane toad eats everything it can swallow, including
insects, reptiles, small birds and mammals.
• HOW poisonous is the cane toad?
The poison of the cane toad is so venomous it can kill
crocodiles and tiger snakes.
The cane toad is toxic at every stage of its life—even as
an egg or tadpole and even when it is dead.
If you ever see a cane toad, DON’T TOUCH IT.
• WHEN does the cane toad breed?
The female cane toad lays up to 35 000 eggs twice a
year.
• WHY don’t we want the cane toad in Australia?
The cane toad doesn’t really belong in Australia. It was
brought into Queensland in 1935 to eat beetles that
were damaging the crops of sugar cane. The cane toad
is now spreading from Queensland across the Northern
Territory to Western Australia
• HOW can we save Australia from the cane toad?
Two well-known Western Australians, Tim Winton
and Luc Longley, believe a toad trap would be the
best way to catch cane toads. Some people in the
Northern Territory formed a group called ‘Frog Watch’
I can dance the barramundi
Preparation
• Collect pictures of cane toads.
Presentation
• Share and discuss the cane toad pictures
with the class.
• Say the rhyme with the actions for the class.
Additional activities/information
ISBN 978-1-74126-424-1
• The class claps the beat while saying the
rhyme.
• The class says the rhyme with the actions.
and designed a trap which lures the cane toad through
a one-way door into a trap equipped with lights that
attract insects. Then the cane toads are carefully
collected from the trap and placed into plastic bags and
destroyed. Cane toads are still poisonous to touch even
after they are dead. They cannot be buried because
their poison will seep through the ground and perhaps
get into water that animals (or people) might want to
drink. Toad traps can be effective in some places but
scientists continue to work to find other solutions to
exterminate cane toads.
• Share the following story with the class.
TOAD TRAP
Early one morning, Bully the cane toad hitched a ride on a fruit
and vegie truck. He found his way into a box of fruit and was
gobbling away when the truck pulled up in a parking bay.
Bully hopped off the truck and into a nearby forest. A winding
track led him through the trees to a busy frog bog in a shady
swamp.
‘Frogs for brekky!’ thought Bully.
Then he heard a peculiar sound.
‘Brrrm Brrrm, Brrrm Brrrm’, went the sound and there, sitting
on the bank, was a plump little motorbike frog.
‘You’ll do for starters’, thought Bully and he smiled horribly at
Brrrm Brrrm.
Brrrm Brrrm trembled with fright.
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Then, just as Bully was about to pounce, Swamp Tortoise saw
him, scooped Brrrm Brrrm up in its mouth and took him down to
the safe muddy bottom of the swamp.
Bully decided he didn’t want frogs for breakfast after all.
‘Waterbirds lay their eggs around swamps’, remembered Bully.
‘Duck eggs! Egret eggs! Heron eggs! YUM!’
Soon he was hopping from nest to nest, gobbling and gorging
until he could eat no more.
‘Time for a nap’, thought Bully.
It was dark when he woke up. He noticed a light through the
trees. He hopped towards it. Inside a toad trap, insects were
fl ying about the light.
‘Insects!’ thought Bully. ‘My favourite tucker!’
He pushed the door open and hopped inside and the door of the
trap closed fast behind him ...
• What do YOU think happened next to Bully the
cane toad?
30 R.I.C. Publications ® www.ricgroup.com.au