Cane toads have reduced the population of a deadly reptile by nearly 90 per cent in Australia, but on this island they are thriving.
Off Townsville's coast, Magnetic Island is a haven for holiday makers, backpackers — and death adders.
Listed as Australia's ninth most dangerous snake, the death adder has a distinctly stumpy look with brown banding and a peculiar triangular head and lives under leaf foliage where it sits and waits for its prey.
Their numbers have dwindled on Australia's mainland with scientists reporting one death adder population dropped by 89 per cent in the past 30 years.
University of Queensland's Venom Evolution lab manager Dr Christina Zdenek said snakes typically preyed on frogs and were unable to tell the difference between friend and foe.
'Dexterous' hunter prefers skinks
Dr Zdenek said the reason the death adder population on Magnetic Island was unaffected could be found in the snakes' excrement.
Dr Zdenek said unlike snakes on the mainland, Magnetic Island death adders had never had to turn to frogs and toads as a viable food source.
"The theory is [death adders] were never primarily preying on toads on the island," she said.
She said small mammal, and potentially frog, populations on Magnetic Island were smaller to other parts of Australia but skinks were abundant.
"Skinks do really well on the island and possibly have done so for a long time, so [death adders] are specialising [at] eating skinks," Dr Zdenek said.
While other snakes pursue their prey, death adders are an ambush forager, meaning they wait for prey to come to them.
"They're super dexterous in that they can wiggle their caudal lure tail to mimic a grub in the leaf litter to lure prey," Dr Zdenek said.
Spotting a death adder could also be a life-long process.
"Some people will spend years trying to find a death adder, but Magnetic Island is probably one of the only places you'll have a good chance of spotting one," Dr Zdenek said.
Cane toad races the answer?
People have gathered for weekly cane toad races at Arcadia Village Hotel on Magnetic Island for more than 40 years.
Every Wednesday night, a bucket of cane toads is released into a circle as eager crowds wait for one amphibian to hop to the edge, taking first place.
Lyn Coomber has been a volunteer organiser for more than two decades and she believed the event had earned its reputation as a world famous race.
Despite her participation, she's not a cane toad fan.
"There are a lot of people who don't like the toads, but they still come for the novelty of it."
She said while the toads were often reused, they were always happy to accept donations.
"We'd love you to drop off a cane toad … whether it's on the island or the mainland, we're very happy to organise you to drop them off, or we can pick them up for you," she said.
The races have raised more than $2 million for the island's surf lifesaving club, but it was unlikely the spectacle was keeping numbers at bay.
For Dr Zdenek, the real solution was an aggressive cane toad management plan.
