# Cane Toad Disposal Plan is the Cat's Whiskas....



## Ursa major (Feb 20, 2010)

> Forget cricket bats, golf clubs or carbon dioxide, Australia has found a new weapon in its war on the cane toad: cat food.
> 
> University of Sydney researchers found that cat food left next to ponds in the Northern Territory attracted meat ants, which then attacked baby cane toads emerging from the water. The results were published in the British Ecological &shy;Society's Journal of Applied Ecology.


 


> In 2008, researchers studied thousands of toads emerging from ponds lined with cat food and found that 98% were attacked by the ants within two minutes. Of those that escaped, 80% died within a day from ant-inflicted injuries.


 
(From Australia uses cat food in fight against cane toads | Environment | guardian.co.uk.)


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## Rosemary (Feb 20, 2010)

That's great news Ursa!  I do wish those people who introduced the Cane Toads in the first place had done more research on them.  They are over into Western Australia now despite all of the volunteers who go hunting them every night!

*Rushes off to get lots of cat food*


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## Culhwch (Feb 20, 2010)

The only negative about Queensland is the toads. Man, I hate those slimy buggers. Anything that gets rid of them is a good thing. As Rosie says, the fact that they were introduced... idiots.

I read not so long ago about crows and other birds in the Northern Territory having developed a method of killing and eating toads by flipping them over and eating their guts, avoiding the lethal poison glands in the throat. Clever little things. Seems everybody is helping out in the war!


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## TheEndIsNigh (Feb 21, 2010)

Wait -

*Head line news*​ 
Queensland made uninhabitable by *Them* man eating ants


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## Dave (Feb 21, 2010)

Yes, it was only discovered in 2025 that feeding cat food to ants had made them grow to incredible sizes. Who could have known back in 2010 that this would be the result?


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## Culhwch (Feb 21, 2010)

Hopefully, once they get to a good size, the crocs will take a liking to them and thin out their numbers.


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## Justin_B (Feb 22, 2010)

An thus unleash the great Croc plague of 2031


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## J-WO (Feb 22, 2010)

_The Cane Toad Disposal Plan_ would be a great name for a band.


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## Ursa major (Feb 22, 2010)

As Ian Hislop might ask: "Would that be some sort of beat combo?"


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## Rosemary (Feb 22, 2010)

Dave said:


> Yes, it was only discovered in 2025 that feeding cat food to ants had made them grow to incredible sizes. Who could have known back in 2010 that this would be the result?



Now what do I do?  Buy cat food or something to get rid of the ants?


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## Dave (Feb 22, 2010)

J-WO said:


> _The Cane Toad Disposal Plan_ would be a great name for a band.





Ursa major said:


> As Ian Hislop might ask: "Would that be some sort of beat combo?"


I see it more of a Progressive Rock concept album.


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## J-WO (Feb 23, 2010)

Oh great; an album cover with a psychedelic toad sat atop a floating island made of cat food tins!


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## Pyan (Feb 23, 2010)

Or alternatively, an album cover with a psychedelic cat food tin sat atop a floating island made of toads...


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## Ursa major (Feb 23, 2010)

But no vocals: they've all got something in their throats....


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## TheEndIsNigh (Feb 23, 2010)

Tin pan alley cats ? Cool!


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## J-WO (Feb 24, 2010)

Well, that's the SFF Chronicles supergroup project decided then!


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