Predation on Cane Toads by Saltwater Crocodiles

Invasive Cane Toads Rhinella marina have fatally poisoned many Freshwater Crocodiles Crocodylus johnstoni in Australia, but impacts on the larger Saltwater Crocodile C. porosus remain unknown. We photographically document six cases of free-ranging Saltwater Crocodiles capturing and consuming Cane Toads. In five cases filmed in the lower Daintree River, North Queensland, juvenile crocodiles consumed adult female toads, and in each case the crocodile held the toad for 15–20 min prior to consuming it. Crocodiles showed no overt ill-effects of toad ingestion, and in two of these cases the same crocodile was later observed alive and healthy. In the sixth case, a subadult Saltwater Crocodile in the Mary River, Northern Territory, killed and consumed multiple toads. A survey of commercial crocodile operations revealed that although captive Saltwater Crocodiles in outdoor pens were occasionally recorded to kill Cane Toads, no cases of crocodile mortality or ill-health were seen. We conclude that (unlike the case in some populations of Freshwater Crocodiles), Saltwater Crocodiles kill and ingest Cane Toads without suffering major poisoning effects.