Ranger Kylee Gray says she was so shocked to discover a 2.7-kilogram giant toad next to a hiking trail in North Queensland she thought it was a practical joke.
"But then I realised it was breathing," she said.
"A big warty, brown, ugly cane toad just sitting in the dirt.
"I just couldn't believe it to be honest — I've never seen anything so big."
Department of Environment and Science rangers had been clearing a trail at Conway National Park in the Whitsunday region when they discovered the mighty amphibian.
"There was a red-belly black snake on the track in front of us … so we stopped to let the snake pass and got out of the vehicle and right next to us was this huge cane toad," she said.
"It flinched when I walked up to it and I yelled out to my supervisor to show him.
"[It looked] almost like a football with legs."
She said she couldn't believe how heavy the toad was when she reached down to grab it.
According to the Guinness World Records, the largest known toad weighed in at 2.65 kilograms in 1991.
"We didn't get it on certified scales … so we're sort of kicking ourselves."
"We dubbed it Toadzilla."
The 2.7-kilogram toad measured just over 25 centimetres in length.
Ms Gray said it was by far the largest toad she had encountered.
"A cane toad that size will eat anything it can fit into its mouth, and that includes insects, reptiles, and small mammals," she said.
"We believe it's a female due to the size, and female cane toads do grow bigger than males.
"She was found at an elevation of 393 metres, which isn't unusual, but she has created a lot of interest among our ranger staff due to her size."
Ms Gray said the toad's age was not known but they could live up to 15 years in the wild "so this one has been around a long time".
The poisonous pest was euthanased and will be taken to the Queensland Museum in Brisbane.
Story by: Mia Knight
Original Story link:https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-20/giant-cane-toad-found-in-north-queensland-conway-national-park/101873072?fbclid=IwAR2NVx7wZwHNHQ4JI75FqC6eXmBcf13exOjoSso7r2ul9tUgEbBr1xdXVAQ
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