"PC" wrote in message
...
On 31/03/2010 8:03 PM, John Savage wrote:
Recently I wrote:
On the ABC's Science Show last Saturday. Robin Williams told how an
American herpetologist (I think that's the term for a guy who knows
what he's talking about) has observed how an American opossum (a
nasty-mannered carnivorous marsupial that resembles a giant rat badly
in need of a good PR manager) can make a meal of Bufo marinus, aka
the Qld cane toad. Instead of falling over dead, the possum sat back,
satisfyingly licked its paws and looked around for another toad. This
took place in Panama, the region of origin of our Qld cane toad.

Earlier this year there was a news item saying that perhaps the best
weapon we have in the fight against the cane toad might be our native
meat ant. It has been observed that as tiny toads first leave the water
to start out on their life as an amphibian, their small size at this
stage means they are prized by meat ants.

It was said that the reason they are not heavily predated lies in the
fact that meat ants do not usually nest close to the water's edge. The
discoverer of this predator-prey relationship theorised that we should
explore ways to encourage meat ants to nest closer to the water so that
they will then be better positioned to encounter the juvenile toads from
that body of water as these tasty toadlets first scramble ashore.

Sounds easy enough. :-)
Have you ever stood in the middle of a lot of meat ants? I'd rather continue
picking up and disposing of the toads.

--
John Savage (my news address is not valid for email)

You sound like you might like a few. Also any Frenchmen around? We may be
able to export these delicacies?

It will take someone from the North, a truck load of toads and dumping them
in Lake Burley Griffin, in Summer so they have time to breed up, for federal
politicians to wake up and adequately fund research on eradication. A few
snapping handbags thrown in for good measure might also improve their
attitude to culling crocs.

PhilD