Emily Vincent
ABC News
David Attenborough
smart
, the local coordinator of Watergum’s Cane Toads program, told it was “quite amusing” to watch the birds prepare their hoppy meal because it’s different to how other animals eat the poisonous pests.
“The ibis will pick up cane toads and they will flick them about and stress out the toads,” she said.
“What this does is it makes the cane toads release toxins from the parotoid gland at the back of their neck, which is their defence mechanism when they’re faced with predators.
“Then they’ll take them down to the creek and wash them.”
Imagine being down the creek on a walk and you get to witness that. Just stopping dead in your tracks as an ibis stalks and snatches a cane toad, shakes the shit out of it and then washes it in the creek before eating it. You’d straight up feel like watching nature take its course.
My God, they’re just so I can’t get over it. All that time of chowing down on rubbish after humanity destroyed their swampy homes and displaced them and yet they’re still coming up with ingenious ways to do their bit for the native bushland.
That’s it, I’m Team Ibis now. Love those hooked-beak freaks so much. If there’s ever a time to invest in the weird little guys it’s right now, especially if they can help eradicate those uninvited toad-y jerks.
The post Well Shit, Ibis Are Helping Our Cane Toad Problem By Eating Them Without Getting Poisoned appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
