A walking stick toad so giant wildlife officers thought it was fake has been found in a north Australian rainforest.The beast specimen is 6 times larger than the typical toad, weighs 2.7 kg, and could break a world record.Dubbed Toadzilla , the animal was rapidly put in a container and removed from the wild.Toads - which were initially presented to Australia in 1935 - are among the nations most harmful pests and are now estimated to number in the numerous millions.When park ranger Kylee Gray initially spotted the massive amphibian while out on patrol in Queensland, she could not believe her eyes.
Ive never seen anything so huge, she told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
[It looked] nearly like a football with legs.
We called it Toadzilla.
Her group rapidly captured Toadzilla - believed to be a female - and went back to base to weigh her.
They knew she would be heavy, however were amazed to find she could set a brand-new world record.The existing Guinness World Record for the largest toad - 2.65 kg - was set by a pet toad in Sweden named Prinsen in 1991.
Ms Gray says this giant specimen most likely bulked out on a diet plan of bugs, reptiles and little mammals.
A walking cane toad that size will eat anything it can fit into its mouth, she said.Toads have no natural predators in Australia and the dangerous types have wrought havoc on native animal populations.Ms Gray isnt sure how old Toadzilla was - the types can live up to 15 years in the wild - but thinks she has actually been around a long period of time .
Toadzilla has because been euthanised, as is basic practice in Australia for the bugs, and will be contributed to the Queensland Museum.Source - BBC-Agencies