In a wonderful and “green” pest control plan, an Australian newspaper is reporting that a local authority in Queensland is set to introduce 22,000 Black Mamba snakes into the region in order to address the area’s Cane Toad problem. True, the Black Mamba is one of the most deadly snakes in the world: highly venomous, very fast and extremely aggressive, but this will surely rid Burdekin Shire of the much-hated invasive toads; except:
Burdekin Shire Council Animal Management Secretary William Matevellio said the jury was still out on whether the Black Mamba will hunt the cane toads, “Currently, there is no evidence that these snakes hunt cane toads, so this is just a trial. I can’t make any promises that the toad population will be reduced. We’ll have to wait and see.”
I’m all for experimentation though. In the meantime:
The introduction begins on the 29th of January and Council has told residents to be cautious when walking around their yards and homes. Council has also instructed residents to keep pets locked up inside until further notice.
It’s great to see the council finding novel ways of controlling these invasive alien species, without needing to use any nasty chemicals, which could potentially harm local residents.