A giant cane toad weighing 2.7 kg was found, but not on the river bank. The animal was on a trail in Conway National Park in Queensland, Australia, when it was spotted by the local Department of Environment and Science team.
Park rangers were cleaning the park’s trail when they had to stop the vehicle because a redbellied black snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus) crossed the path.
At the moment of the stop, one of the guards, Kylee Gray, noticed that the giant frog was next to her foot. “I bent down and grabbed the frog and I couldn’t believe how big and heavy it was,” she said in an interview with AFP agency.
The “monster” was weighed and measured, which lived up to the name Toadzilla (conjugation of the word toad, in English frog, with the fictional monster Godzilla). The frog, which normally weighs 450 g, weighed 2.7 kg and measures 25 cm.
According to the Department of Environment and Science, this species’ diet includes insects and reptiles, but when they reach such large sizes, the diet expands to include small mammals, birds, and even pet food.
“A cane toad this size will eat anything it can fit in its mouth, including insects, reptiles, and small mammals,” adds Kylee Gray.
Cane toads were brought to Queensland in 1935 to help fight a beetle infestation. However, it had devastating consequences for other species and spread unchecked throughout the region.
The frog was taken out of the park by park rangers to be put down. It is carefully weighed, examined and, after stuffing, sent to the Queensland Museum.
It is worth noting that depending on the exact dimensions of the frog, the animal becomes the weight record holder. The world’s heaviest frog, The Prince, was awarded this title by Guinness World Records in 1991. The animal measured 35 cm and weighed 2.65 kg.
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