What impact has the cane toad had on the environment?

Answer 1

The cane toad has had a very negative impact since it was introduced into Australia.

They feed on small native species, and are believed to eat around 200 items of food every night. Because they are prolific, hardy enough to survive a variety of climate and environmental conditions, and are continuing a relentless push south wards, they pose a great threat to native species. As well as ants, beetles and termites, they can also eat frogs, small reptiles, mammals and birds. They compete with native species for food and shelter, and are known to be directly responsible for he decline in a number of native species.

Cane toads have had a major impact on quoll populations in Queensland and the Northern Territory. Quolls are carnivores, and feed on birds, reptiles, arthropods and mammals up to the size of a possum. Habitat loss has resulted in fewer of these species and thus a reduced food source for the quolls, so they have resorted to eating cane toads. Spotted-tail and Northern Quolls are both being killed off as a result of eating the Cane Toad, which is poisonous.