Watch this video ad-free on Nebula: nebula.tv/videos/realscience-australias-most-destructive-creature It's a great way to support this channel! :)

Wait, so you're telling me.....they are literally turning the fricking frogs gay?

"All of this because of this stupid, ugly toad" i laughed way more than i should have

fun fact: Recent observations found bin chickens (ibises) using a method of wash, rinse, repeat (and then swallow whole) in order to eat the cane toads safely. Cane toads may be dangerous but Australia's wildlife always find a way to be more.

You know the toad disaster is bad where the DEATH ADDER is going endanger.

Okay, Australia isn't allowed to have any more new animals. It's obvious everything just gets faster and deadlier there.

I watched this documentary too back in high-school. I still distinctly remember the popping sounds the cane toads made when run over. I'm surprised that it's such an iconic part of science education even outside of Australia.

I grew up in far north Queensland as a boy, the LZ of the cane Toad... this is an informative video, but I can add a little more information. There is a little monitor lizard that has reached the endangered list because it sees the toad as a frog that is a normal part of its diet, also this little monitor is the ONLY animal to predate on the largest and most aggressive of the crocodiles, the "Saltwater crocodile" this little monitor will sneak into a crocs nest and steal eggs when the parent is off feeding... So now without a reduction in the crocs clutch, all the babies are hatching, this has in turn caused a boost in croc numbers...

As someone studying biology I absoloutely adore canetoads you're doing a really excellent job at explaining all these lovely creatures.

By 2050, Australia will either be toad-free or overrun by genetically engineered truck-sized mega toads. Either I'm excited to see it.

Cane toads and the gene shredder program remind me of the krogan from the Mass Effect video game series. A very aggressive and fast reproducing species was uplifted to fight a galactic invasion, and after they won the war they started reproducing out of control. Eventually the other species deployed a sterility plague which meant the majority of females are infertile, keeping their reproductive rate more in line with the other species.

14:18 "We as a species already are playing god, whether we like it or not. So we might as well get good at it." Why is this such a raw line oh my gosh... XD

This is the best segue into a sponsor I have ever seen. Not forced at all. Actually amusing making me want to do what she says to do. I'm a severe cynic so that is extremely rare. Kudos!

As a kid, Detol in a water-gun did the trick of killing a toad, the smell the next day was horrendous clearing the yard of dead toads. Toads will actively avoid car tires at the last second, they've become masters of avoiding cars on the road now.

i remember every summer growing up in queensland my family would have to cull the toads. they hunt at night so we would use lamps to attract moths which in turn attracted an army of toads emrerging from their burrows. culling is such a strange feeling. you are taking a life to save many other lives but its not their fault they are good at surviving.

I grew up in Townsville in the 90s and can attest to the sheer numbers being talked about here. Our local government used to offer bounties for toads.. it wasnt alot per toad, but it did encourage the young people in our town to earn some pocket money, and we did haha. When it actually did rain.. which was fairly irregular their populations would absolutely explode and we would do exactly what was told here.. get our dads golf clubs and a large bin of any description and cull as many as possible. While in retrospect it was pretty inhumane, it was much more important to save our native species.. and filling our wallets with enough candy money for weeks!

This is one of the most interesting nature videos I've ever watched about predatory animals. I've never even heard of the Cane Toad or most of the predators mentioned. This video was so fascinating, that I subscribed to this channel, something I hardly ever do. But one thing I have noticed about living organisms on this planet, nature generally finds a way to restore equilibrium, it may take decades, but it happens. BTW-thanks for putting the advertisement at the end of the video.

“We, as a species, already are playing God, whether we like it or not. So we might as well get good at it.” Absolutely brilliant 😂

Bees have caused problems in some regions. For example, in Mexico it has led to the decline of endemic bees, who don’t have stings (they actually look like oversized flies) and thus have a hard time competing against their overseas cousins

good job, nice sounds, scenerio and editing^^

Thank you for the recent info? on these monsters. I live in Florida and they are hated here by many! Please can you do a video of how to rid them of your yard? They are so hard to kill.

Fun fact: Some dogs get a high from licking Cane Toads. It's hella bad for them but some of them can't stop. My mate has a dog that's legit addicted to chewing and licking the toads

I live in Florida and I had two of these jerks living in my yard - my baby koi kept disappearing. I accidentally stepped on one of the toads one night and I swear he just shoved my foot off it’s back and waddled off. Thankfully, my husband was able to catch them and my koi pond is starting to recover.

I would love to hear you talk about the reindeer and mice/rats of South Georgia. That's an amazing success story!

I think it's fascinating to see such a fast evolutionary competition

Considering Australian declared war on Emus, I'm not surprised the next step would be bringing in a non-native, invasive species to the country. Great job, Aussies.

The same thing happened in Missouri with the Asian carp. It was introduced in the 70's to battle a moderate algae problem. There are now a trillion spread out over several states in one of the largest freshwater lake and river systems in the US. It's been described as putting out a campfire by blowing the hoover dam.

i came over just to figure out exact details of the toad's appearance for my school project... i did not expect all the other necessary information to be here too. thank you so much!

When i was in Canberra, i once jumped out of shock and went looking for my relative who was in the house when i came across a Possum that was jumping from out of no way onto the fence right in front of me behind my cousin's house. At that time i didn't know and wasn't sure about the behavior of that fiercely cute looking creature. That four-legged animal is like an alien to me and does not exist in my country.

As someone studying biology I absoloutely adore this channel, you're doing a really excellent job at explaining all these interesting concepts.

Why are they called cane toads? I didn't see a single toad using a cane in this video.

I'm a zoology major and your videos are absolutely amazing.... However I noticed that the cane toad was referred to as "stupid and ugly"... Although I agree they're not good looking, the idea of calling them stupid is unfair... Because humans are the ones at mistake here to have not done a proper environmental assessment before introducing a new species. Otherwise good job! I love the content... Keep it coming!! Thank you.

I learned so much interesting things this morning my eyes were just wide watching this it was funny and serious and just different emotions

There's also a follow up documentary called Cane Toads: The Conquest. It features some of the same people from the first one from the 90's!

I'd love to see a video about how wax worms (or was it silk worms) have evolved to eat plastic and if we are doing anything to help that process in a fight against plastic pollution.

12:25 the legend. I love him serving trying to get em all

Really appreciate your informative videos. I've learned so much by following Real Science 🙏🏻

I think the reason people are worried about weaponizing genetic technology, has more to do with what will happen when we turn around and start using them on each other as opposed to using them against toads.

I actually caught my pet cane toad in the yard of my summer home in Florida. As devastating as they are, I freaking love Patty and can’t wait for her to grow dinner plate sized

as problematic as the kudzu plant is, it's all so beautiful looking 4:18

As an avid gardener and insect enthusiast, what you said about honeybees at 3:35 is kinda wrong. They've been linked to the decline of both native bees and plant species in many areas in the U.S at least. They outcompete native bee species and hoard resources, while also spreading pathogens and parisites to them from flower-to-flower contact. Honeybees also can't pollinate a lot of native plant species, and on top of reducing the number of native bees able to pollinate them, lead to the overall decline of native plant species too. Honeybees certainly aren't the worst invasive species, and can be neutral or even benificial to some ecosystems. However the damage they cause to native pollinators shouldn't be ignored, especially considering how the whole "save the bees" campaign focuses on them and largely ignored the other bees at risk.

Interesting that it wasn’t mentioned that corvids and some other birds have started eating the toads too

This whole rapid evolution side of things is fascinating. I wonder how all of this will play out. Nature will eventually find a balance, but I wonder how.

I've seen Owls swoop down, flip a toad on its back to avoid the poison glands and peck out its organs they're learning and adapting.

Wow 😳 THAT'S crazy 😮.... Great video, very informative 👍😁

I love your channel, while being able to communicate amazing and fun information you also act like a person by reminiscing about things you've learned as an individual and it's cool to be able to relate to that

"All because of this stupid, ugly toad." Correction. This innocent, amazing toad, brought somewhere they didn't belong by stupid, ugly humans.

I remember reading (long ago now) that a caffeine solution would kill frogs by basically hyping their heartbeat up until they drop dead. Because they breathe through and absorb moisture through their skin. I am curious (if anyone reading this knows) as to why Australia has not attempted this method of eradication too?

I'm not too surprised to hear that these Toads are evolving faster than scientists ever thought possible for Toads, Australia seems to be an evolutionary crucible like no other.

Let us always remember though, that humans are the OG invasive species.

Thank you for bringing up cats as invasive species. Many people don't like to hear it or are unaware of the problems cats cause when let outside without being watched.

Very well explained !

I can't even be mad at the toads; this is just another classic human blunder.

Water pistol full of Dettol, or my favourite method - the nine iron. Fun fact - there's cane toads in Perth, I had one in my yard when I lived over there about 15 years ago. It got the 9 iron treatment

12:04 That sounds like Charlie work

Yep, that cane toad doco is an Australian classic. I watched it at high school in 1991.

1. The cane toad's expression says, "I fully intend to cause trouble-lots and lots of trouble. Just for fun." 2. The cane toad is almost as big as my cat. That is disconcerting. 3. Australian government: "I've made a HUGE mistake."

These videos are so excellent - informative, clear, engaging. I often pause to read, consider or look up stuff. Great learning material!

there's loads of toads in Bermuda and almost all of them are deformed and at last check no one could figure out why. i kicked one once by accident, coming round from the laundry back to the front of my house, i was barefoot too, also there is a tree in bermuda that's native to Australia and although it been growing in Bermuda happily for a few hundred years it still follows the Australian seasons, so it'll bloom in a Bermudian winter even though its a summer bloomer. its proper weird

Licking cane toads is something people sometimes do in northern Australia. It's extremely dangerous because it's impossible to know what dosage you will receive. It takes only a small amount to give you life long brain damage.

I've watched crows where I use to live here in Queensland flip them over and kill them, some would just do it for fun and not eat anything.

What amaze me the most is the fast pace of the animal's adaptability to poison. I always imagined that it had a much slower pace

Not to be nitpicky but they carry poison, not venom. Used to eat something = Venom || Persuade something to not eat you = poison

Cane toads actually eat insects so much which is why in hindsight it is useful in for the environment particularly for the rice farmers.

I've heard that frogs are dying in a kind of pandemic the world over, could the cane toad be seen as a positive exception to this being a hope for frog survival in some kind of way?

Fascinating as always. I hope the other gen editing program which is on mosquitoes succeed.

"We are already playing God so we might as well get good at it " is the most Heavy Metal Sci-fi quote I've ever heard

Great article!

Wait, you mean to tell me this toad not only survived Australia's hellish plants and animals but is actually *conquering* the place? What a badass.

That “King Brown Snake” was a Brazilian rainbow boa. Otherwise great episode as always! 😄

These kind of insane invasive species that we did to our selves.. freak me out so much, and think about how much it has changed a amazing ecosystem. Like Australia's ecosystem that before was so unique and different than anywhere on the planet. Before this plague of toads.

🎯 Key Takeaways for quick navigation: 00:03 🦗 Australian sugar cane crops were attacked by cane beetle grubs, leading to a misguided attempt to control them by introducing cane toads from Hawaii. 00:33 🐸 The introduction of cane toads to control cane beetles in Australia turned into a massive ecological disaster, with toad populations exploding and causing harm to native species. 01:28 🐸 Cane toads have become invasive in Australia, growing large, poisonous, and consuming various prey items but failing to control the cane beetle population. 02:25 🌿 Invasive species harm native ecosystems by outcompeting or preying on native species, and the cane toad's toxic nature makes it particularly destructive. 04:17 🌍 Introduced invasive species disrupt ecosystems where native species haven't evolved defenses against them, leading to negative impacts on native plants and animals. 05:12 ☠️ Cane toads' extreme toxicity and the lack of natural predators in Australia result in native species suffering massive declines and extinctions. 07:33 🥚 Cane toads lay vast numbers of poisonous eggs, and their tadpoles are also toxic, posing threats to predators that try to eat them. 08:56 🐸 Cane toads have evolved to spread faster and are rapidly moving across Australia, potentially due to the longer legs of the toads on the leading edge of the invasion. 10:20 🌱 The invasive cane toads are driving rapid adaptation in native predators, including cannibalistic behaviors and developing tolerance to the toxin. 11:44 ⚙️ Various attempts to control cane toad populations involve culling, trapping, and genetic modification methods to reduce their reproductive success. 14:31 📽️ The cane toad issue inspired humorous documentaries, serving as a reminder of the challenges posed by invasive species and the need for intervention. 16:22 📺 CuriosityStream and Nebula offer educational content and documentaries, supporting creators and providing access to informative material. 17:14 🌍 Signing up for the CuriosityStream and Nebula bundle supports educational creators and provides access to exclusive documentaries and original content. Made with HARPA AI

Haven’t Honey bees been linked to the endangerment of native bee species?

Great post my friend. I appreciate any awareness being brought to light concerning invasive species.

First the Emu wars, now the TOADWARS

As a person that lives in Queensland, the correct way to deal with a cane toad is to kill with a shovel then flip so the birds can eat them, a lot of the birds a figured out how to eat them with out dying now

I was aware of the toad invasion from some years already... But totally didn't know about the whole evolution of the native animals as well as the toads themselves. Nature's fast...

If I remember correctly, I think scientists were doing something similar with mosquitoes in either Hong Kong or Singapore, I don't remember. But they were trying to breed mosquitoes that only lay male mosquitoes and releasing them annually or smth

Okay... _Who the freak_ thought it was a good idea to bring POISONOUS toads in to save their crops??? Like _bruh..._ I could understand non-toxic toads, but seriously!? Poisonous ones?

These bloody things are everywhere. They're in the lift, in the lorry, in the bond wizard, and all over the malonga gilderchuck.

This game of Frogger has turned rather intense...

5:00 "Venom secreting poison glands" I feel like something is not right, the poison glands secrete venom ? So the toad has to bite to inject it ? Or venom gland that secrete poison ? Then why would the venom glands be on it's back and not somewhere more convenient for injection ?

Fantastic video !

Tbh, I feel like people don’t really know that we’ve gained some good things from messing with nature. In fact, we’ve been doing it for at least a few thousand years! If we never did, we wouldn’t have strong, fast horses, life saving medications, or even dogs! I definitely blame popular media for painting a black and white picture of nature itself and our impact on it as well as the overwhelmingly negative views of the world on the internet. I think we need to start taking more action and having more faith in ourselves than we actually do these days. (Also, I won’t deny we have been bringing forth a new mass extinction event with plastic, pollution, etc. But I also think that we’re doing better about it than we were way back when!)

Can you guys do "The insane biology of primates" video please. I've always been fascinated by their biology and their adaptations i love your videos

Imagine being a cane toad, listening to humans, who've impacted the environment so extensively, now showing up to backhand any other species that try to do it 😂😂 i'd be salty

What a video! Excellent.

Honey bees are invasive, for example in the US where they have crowded and killed off native pollinators and caused declines in some native plant species. They also actively compete with the native bee species and are causing some to go extinct.

Can you talk about the beaver in Tierra del Fuego, Argentina?

This kinda reminds me of The Simpsons when they introduced the lizards and then they send in Chinese needle snakes to eat them, followed by snake-eating gorillas, which will "simply freeze to death" when wintertime rolls around.

I thought the speakers guy was pretty smart but the gene editing plan is brilliant.... Though if i knew that kinda thing was possible idve probably thought of it myself tbh

Is it possible to make passive traps for these frogs? Like for mices, big bucket where mices can go in but can't get out.

The documentary is called "Cane Toads: An Unnatural History" and I highly recommend it. My favorite part is a scientist holding a struggling cane toad and imitating its mating call completely deadpan.

Okay great video, however u might want to know that the cane toad produces poison not actually venom. You would have to actually orally taste the toads liquid white substance in order for you to feel the effects. Hence venom and poison are two very different things.

In Puerto Rico we are having the same issue with snakes people buy from Pet Smart. Huge boas constrictor and others. Now we find them as radkill. Thats how fast they speread.

I'd like to hear about the science behind Starlings. From what I understood, they were released because people wanted the animals mentioned in Shakespeare's works in America. But, now they've spread all the way Westward, and compete with native bird species. I like the way you present things, though, so I'm curious what facts you could dig up.

I’ve never hated an animal more than the Cane Toad in my whole life. I’m also utterly ashamed as an Australian that our ‘smart’ people did this and thought it’d be a good idea…

You make amazing videos. This videos contains a lot of knowledge. Expecting more videos from you😍

The Pet Shop Boys "Go West" would make the perfect theme song for the cane toad.

Here is how you deal with the invasive cane toad. First you get a shop vac (wet/dry vacuum). Next is wait for the season when they lay their eggs. Wade into those ponds, turn the shop vac on and suck up all those slimy eggs into the vacuum.