Sex driven toads raid Australia
By Emily Rosenbaum
Staff Reporter
Sex-crazed toads with insatiable
appetites are taking over Australia,
leaving destruction and havoc in their
wake.
This may sound like the plot of a
low-budget horror film, but it’s actu
ally the focus of a documentary to be
shown at Sheldon Film Theater.
While it may be hard to believe, the
Bufo Marinus, better known as the
Cane Toad, has overrun the land
Down Under and is causing serious
problems for local farmers.
This strange talc has found its way
to the screen in “Cane Toads: An
Unnatural History.” The documen
tary will be screened at Sheldon Art
Gallery June 16 to 18 as part of the
Flatwatcr Film Festival.
“Flatwater presents itself as a
perfect place to show this kind of
film,” said Jcane Franz, assistant
curator of films for Sheldon. “It’s
funny and educational.”
“We couldn’t show a long, heavy
documentary during the Flatwater
Festival, it just wouldn’t work,” she
said.
The Cane Toad first arrived in
Australia in 1935 to help save the
nation’s sugar cane crop from the
Greyback beetle. The government
imported 101 of the amphibians from
Hawaii not realizing that the beetles
could simply fly away from the toads.
The toads, nevertheless, adjusted
happily to their new environment,
gobbling up everything within reach.
The Greyback beetle survived quite
easily.
i
The eating habits of the Cane Toad
are not the only notable feature of this
animal. Apparently its mating habits
are causing a sensation among Aus
tralians. The male toad couples with
the female of the species and rides
along on her back for several hours.
predators that bile the loads' skin arc
instantly poisoned.
With all its negative aspects, the
Cane Toa’d has proven useful in some
areas and to some people. Many chil
dren keep Cane Toads as pets and
testify that the toads are quite lov
DCWT VISIT THEIR PADALONV.
r~~ -1
John Srucc/Daily Nebraskan
Millions of Cane Toads now in
habit Australia and estimations show
that the toads are spreading through
out the country at the speed of almost
17 miles per year. Efforts are under
way to control the population, but so
far nothing has proven successful.
The toads protect themselves with an
excellent defense mechanism, as all
able. The venom is exported to Japan j
and used as an aphrodisiac. Still oth
ers use the poison for psychedelic
enjoyment.
“Cane Toads: An Unnatural His
tory,” the first film written and di
rected by Australian Mark Lewis, has
brought him international recogni
tion.
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