Concept: Cane Toads

Alternative Names
  • Toads

Details

Cane Toads (Bufo marinus) originally came from Mexico, Central and South America. They were introduced into Queensland, Australia, from Hawai'i in 1935 in an attempt to control a plague of cane beetles, and from there, Levers took them to the Russell Islands and Guadalcanal in the 1940s, in the belief that they would eat the larvae of beetles which were affecting their coconut plantations. Cane Toads were also taken to Aligegeo outside Auki, Malaita, to help destroy mosquito larvae. However, they poisoned the water and killed the introduced Tilapia and other fish. Subsequently, schoolboys from Auki Experimental School (later King George VI School) (q.v.) at Aligegeo took the toads back to Pawa on Ugi Island. In 1959 or 1960, a sackful of toads was released at Pamua on Makira, and in a matter of months they had spread along the coast as far as Kirakira. Santa Cruz remained toad free in 1969 due to the Local Council passing a byelaw that imposed a stiff fine on anyone importing them. They have now spread throughout the Solomon Islands. (NS 31 Mar. 1969)

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Journals

  • British Solomon Islands Protectorate (ed.), British Solomon Islands Protectorate News Sheet (NS), 1955-1975. Details