Cane Toads: An Unnatural History

As the sticker on the front of the movie jacket states, this depiction of the environmental and social issues created by the onslaught of cane toads in Australia has a definite Monty Python spin. Although I am concerned about the damage to the Australia natural resources caused by the opportunistic toads, I enjoyed the movie primarily because it was so funny. A bit of tongue-in-cheek Bristish approach, but extremely effective. For one, a good part of the movie is filmed from the perspective of the over-sized toad. Literally. You're looking at people's feet, car tires, homes from the eye level and location of the toad. The music choices were also very supportive, as well as the players in the film, who are so varied and straight in their presentations that you can't help but be drawn into their lives. Flashes of the shower scene from Psycho come to mind as a tenor singing about cane toads draws hopping toads to his safe (?) haven. I was so intrigued I checked out the director, Mark Lewis, who also has a film on the natural history of chickens. Gotta' get it!

"When you look at our imports, what we brought into Australia, this must have been a great country long before the white man came to the joint. We brought in foxes and hares and then to cap it all off, we bring this monstrous thing called a toad in."

Great footage of these fascinating creatures breeding and eating, informative, and another tale of mankind mucking around with the natural order of things without proper consideration, to disastrous effect. The hubris of believing in the simple fix prescribed by entomologist Raquel Dexter at a conference in Puerto Rico in 1932 to help the sugar cane industry, and the long-lasting consequences, are depressing to consider. It's also ironic that the cane beetle problem was not addressed in the slightest in this importation of a new species, and was later handled with pesticide. While it's interesting that many of the residents of Queensland view the toads as friends and live harmoniously with them (like Elvie Grieg, that elderly woman who feeds them and says that if anyone tried to hurt one around her, there "would be a lot of noise, and they would realize I wasn't a lady"), the clear-eyed views of others, pointing out that native species die off from the deadly toxins emitted by the toads, is sobering. As predicted, the situation has gotten worse in the 35 years since this film was made. This one packs a punch in its 49 minutes.

Fairly interesting documentary about the deliberate introduction of the Giant toad (Bufo marinus) or Cane toad as it is called here, into Australia and the ecological havoc it has wrought there. It seems years ago, scientists thought this toad would help control pests that were destroying Australia's sugar cane crop. The toads did little to control the pests that were destroying the sugar cane crops, but they did manage to survive and thrive, reproducing in great numbers. They have brought havoc on local wildlife ever since. This could serve as a future warning to any scientist who gets the brilliant idea of introducing a new species to area it is not native.

While I found this documentary interesting and fun to watch, as an amateur naturalist with an interest in amphibians, a lot of important information about this creature was left out. For example, the film states the toad was introduced from Hawaii into Australia. It never mentions that Cane toads were also introduced into Hawaii, and are not a native species there either (Hawaii has no native amphibians.) Bufo marinus is a native of Latin America. For the record: its natural range extends from Patagonia north, throughout much of South and Central America, into central Mexico, where its range extends through a narrow band into to Northern Mexico where the toads natural range just enters the United States in the Big Bend region of Texas. The film also doesn't mention these toads had little effect on pests destroying the sugar cane crop in Hawaii either. Nor does it mention they were introduced in Florida for the same reason, with little positive effect there as well. With this toads introduction being a failure in so many places, I was hoping this film would raise a few questions on just what was going on in the heads of all those scientists back in early 20th century who spread this creature all over the world.

This is a serious review of the ecologic trauma Queensland, Australia, has suffered after the scientifically foolish introduction of Cane Toads. And, it is a gut-busting look at people (Michael Moore style) talking about the Cane Toads with which they share their corner of the world. And, it is a pretty good parody of some sci-fi monster movies.

A total delight!

This is one of the most enjoyable films I have ever seen. I saw it many years ago in the theater. I'm pleased to see it is being reshown by the Sundance channel. I'm looking forward to seeing it again. Check it out.