It is estimated that these toads migrate at an average of 40 km per year. This is making people nervous since they are starting to destroy flora, as well as other species, such as the Northern Quoll and certain snakes. To get an idea of how they are spreading, see the map below:
Recently some researchers have made progress predictions regarding the migration of this explosively breeding species. In the spirit of the recent Olympics, scientists have staged a 2 meter sprint event in a laboratory setting. The Ecography journal reports that Toads could hop as fast as 2km per hour at 30C, but were only able to hop at 0.3 km per hour at 15C.
Previous studies have predicted that southern regions of Australia, including Melbourne, will eventually face the toad invasion. Head researcher Dr. Kearney feels otherwise: "The cane toads cannot survive in much of southern Australia because they would be too cold to move about and forage or spawn." Perhaps these cold temperatures will halt the progress of the toad army after all.
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