Are Cane Toads Killing Australian Crocodiles Just by Being Eaten?

Australian dwarf crocodiles, whose normal food sources are rapidly vanishing, have begun
eating cane toads instead.  But this new diet is killing them.

The cane toads were introduced in Australia from their homes in Central and South America in
1935 to help control beetles threatening the island’s sugar cane industry.  Now it is estimated
that there might be as many as 100 million of these large amphibians scattered throughout
Australia and they are now considered a dangerous pest.

In 2012, many volunteers signed up to cull these toads, which are threatening not only dwarf
crocodiles, but other reptiles as well, including goannas, snakes and quolls. The toads secrete a
toxin from glands located behind their eyes and on their backs.


The deaths of the freshwater crocodiles and other predators may produce a cascade of
unpredictable ecosystem changes.  This is typical when a new species is produced into a more-
or-less stable ecosystem.  Another example of this problem arose from the introduction of giant
snakes into the Florida Everglades. 

Apparently young crocodiles are more vulnerable to the cane toads’ venom than adults, which
will almost certainly affect future populations of the dwarf crocodiles.

The cane toads appear to be expanding south into the dry interior of Australia, where they will
encounter crocodiles and other predators at water holes.  There is a bit of hope, however, in that
surviving crocodiles may develop a higher tolerance for the cane toads’ toxin.  Some
blacksnakes, which had previously been hit hard by the toads, appear to have developed some
immunity to their poison.

Researchers are carefully monitoring the populations of both cane toads and crocodiles, hoping
to be able to predict the long-term effects of this rivalry on the Australian ecosystems. 

You can read more here:

One Way to Settle a Dispute

The Aborigines of Australia have a unique method for settling land disputes. And if the evidence of ancient aboriginal bones dated at up to 11,000 years old indicate that this tradition goes back a long, long way.

It seems that when a property dispute arose between two Aborigines, the opponents resorted to heavy wooden clubs in order to settle the quarrel. The men face each other and take turns swinging their clubs at one another’s head, with the other man attempting to parry the blow. The disagreement is considered settled when one of the men is so seriously injured that he cannot continue.

The opponents are usually young adults who are seeking land on which to build homes for themselves and their families. It is interesting that almost half of all Aboriginal skulls found in southern Australia show evidence of deep head wounds, usually on the front or on the left side of the skull. These are often accompanied by healed forearm fractures which may represent attempts to parry blows.

This behavior reminds me of the actions of sheep, goats, and other animals who routinely fight for mates or territory by charging at one another in an attempt to physically overwhelm or overcome their rivals. Perhaps, in some ways, humans aren’t so different from other animals after all.