Alles begann mit einer guten Aussicht: Um die wertvollen Zuckerrohrplantagen vor gefräßigen Käfern zu schützen, führten Australier in den 1930er Jahren Agakröten (Rhinella Marina) in Queensland ein. Doch die giftigen Lurchi beschränken sich nicht auf die Sechsbeiner, sondern entwickeln einen großen Appetit auf andere Amphibien, Schlangen, kleine Säugetiere oder Vögel und breiten sich massiv auf dem fünften Kontinent aus. Heute gehen sie als eine bedrohliche Landplage, die mit allen Mitteln bekämpft wird. Doch manchmal schockieren einzelne Exemplare selbst hartgesottene Ranger, wie das Queensland Department of Environment and Science meldet.
Kylee Gray and her team at Conway National Park were traveling in Queensland when they had to stop their vehicle because a snake crossed the way. When they got out for more detailed observation, they noticed a huge agaca right next to the street. "I reached for the toad and couldn't believe how big and difficult it was," said Gray. "We called them toadzilla and quickly put them in a container so that we could remove them from the wilderness."
In total, the animal weighed 2.7 kilograms and turned out to be a female, as it turned out on closer examination. These grow larger than the males, but no other specimen has probably been detected in these dimensions yet. "An aga toad of this size eats everything that fits in its mouth, including insects, reptiles and small mammals," says Gray. It remained unclear how old the animal is. However, these lurches can live up to 15 years. Given the size, Gray and Co suspect that the animal had been living in the area for a long time.
Since female agactions can lay up to 30,000 eggs per season, the rangers are happy to have caught the specimen called toadzilla. It may end in the Queensland Museum because the toad could be the new record holder of the species. Agacles have only a few natural enemies in Australia, since prey mutants such as bag martens, snakes or crocodiles are not adapted to their poison and can die from consumption. Conversely, the amphibians destroy many Australian species and endanger them. Since pets have already died of their poison, these amphibians are fought intensively - without this having been in order. In the meantime, they have been located in large areas in East and North Australia.
