While other frogs and toads are becoming endangered, the cane toad has been very successful. Its density is higher in Australia than in its native home.

Life span
Those kept in captivity can live to about 14 years old.

Statistics
Cane toads can reach huge sizes, up to around 25cm in length and over 2kg in weight.

Physical description
They come in various shades of brown and dark yellow depending on their habitat. They are warty and have horned ridges on their heads. The females are usually bigger than the males and smoother to touch. This is how you tell them apart. Cane toads do look similar to other types of toads.

The skin of the cane toad is very poisonous with the greatest amount of venom located in a pair of large (parotoid) glands located on the shoulders. A toad that is attacked will ooze this milky venom into the predators mouth. Bufo-toxins are a complex cocktail of 14 chemicals, which act on the heart and nervous system causing salivation, cardiac arrhythmia, high blood pressure, convulsions and death.

Distribution
The cane toad's natural distribution is an area extending from the northern portion of South America, through Central America to the very southern part of Texas in the United States. It is the most widespread Latin-American amphibian. They have been introduced to Australia and some South Pacific islands.

Habitat
Cane toads actually prefer areas disturbed by people and farm animals. Flattened areas make it easier to get around, and they do that well.

Diet
The main diet is insects but cane toads are not fussy eaters. They have been known to eat small snakes, frogs, lizards and even mice. They will also eat bees straight out of the hive and dog food out of the bowl. They will eat their own young if necessary.

Behaviour
Toads huddle together in groups to stay damp during the day. At night they become active, mainly eating and breeding. They are relatively solitary.

Reproduction
Large groups of males will wait by still water at night and use their distinct call. The female will travel quite a distance towards them with a body loaded with eggs. Once she has chosen the male, he will climb on her back and grip her with little pads on his thumbs. This is called amplexus. They will stay like this for hours until she is ready to drop her eggs. They will then swim in the water and festoon vegetation with jellied strings of tiny, poisonous eggs. They look like rosary beads. These hatch within 36 hours depending on water temperature. They can lay up to 30,000 eggs, thousands more than any native Australian frog. Tadpoles can become tiny, air-breathing toads in as little as 12 days. They reach sexual maturity within a year. Toadlets are vulnerable because they lose the toxicity of their larval stage and have not developed their adult poison glands.

Conservation status
The cane toad is not listed by the IUCN Red List.

Notes
They are a true toad from the family Bufo. This is the same family as the British common toad, Bufo Bufo.

They were introduced to Australia to control two beetle pests of sugar cane. In June 1935, 101 toads arrived at Edmonton, North Queensland. Breeding began immediately, and within 6 months over 60,000 young toads had been released.