Kimberley Toad Buster's

Media Release

The aim of this website is to document the Kimberley Toad Busters fight to stop the cane toad crossing into Western Australia and to provide the Western Australian Community some understanding of the enormous efforts (and contributions) that can be made by unpaid volunteers!
14/02/2011
Cane toads are well and truly on their way to Broome-Next stop Perth.
27/03/2011
‘Rambo like’ cane toads hit WA!
26/04/2011
‘Toads hit Rio'
10/07/2011
Toads evolving response to human predation
14/08/2011
“Cane Toads, TAP and where's the ‘green’ in Bob Brown?"
04/09/2011
Cane toad volunteers fight back!
 
The Cane Toad is a Key Threatening Process to the Australian Nation
Declared by the Federal Government 12 April 2005.


KTB press 8th May 2011.


LAKE ARGYLE ‘TOADS’ IN SWIM CLASSIC?

Cane toads have finally settled all points of the massive area of Lake Argyle. Many times larger than Sydney Harbour it has only taken this amphibian nightmare less than two years to inhabit all the varied ecosystems making up Lake Argyle.
In a chance encounter half way across Lake Argyle, Ben Scott-Virtue the Field Coordinator of Kimberley Toadbusters together with ‘Macca’ of ‘Go Wild Eco-Canoeing were amazed to see a lone toad swimming its way towards the Eastern Shores, still swimming strongly despite having already had a swim of close to 20 kilometres.
“To see this toad happily swimming along at almost midday took us both by surprise! Here we were with the Western Shore of Lake Argyle barely visible, the Eastern shores only half a Km or so away with the toad heading straight to it! God knows how long it had been ‘frog kicking’ away.” Macca, Owner and operator of Go-Wild Eco- canoeing.
“We were returning from the south of revolver creek and were surprised to see a toad happily swimming kilometres away from land in the middle of the lake.

Photo by Donna Cavolic.

We only managed to see the toad as the water was dead calm and the toad was making the only ripples. We stopped the boat and picked the toad up which turned out to be a male. The following weekend I saw another toad swimming in the lake while providing kayak support to one of the 20km (human) swimmers on the 30th April. Other kayakers saw toads in the lake that day also” stated Stephen Stevets and Donna Cavlolic KTB volunteers.

“This once again pushes against the boundaries of what we all understand about a toad’s capability. Whilst a toad’s expansion across the Lake has previously been put down to toads ‘rafting’ on reeds and floating logs, and while we have been aware of their incredible ‘Ian Thorpe’ ability to swim this is the first time that we have caught a toad swimming the length of Lake Argyle!”Ben Scott-Virtue, Field Coordinator, Kimberley Toadbusters.
“To see the footage of the toad still powering on so close to the Eastern shore might account for the rapid colonization of Lake Argyle. We now have conclusive proof that all corners of Lake Argyles massive shoreline have been found to hold this unwanted amphibian!” Dean Goodgame, Founding member and bloody handy fella to have about the Kununurra KTB Depot.
Kimberley Toad Busters will use the dry season to try and reduce toad population numbers around the Lake and to reduce the new breeding outbreaks located in some of the river and creek systems running into the lake.

For further information and copies of photographs please contact
John Cugley 08 91682576
Ben Scott-Virtue 08 91682576