Friday 9 September 2011

The Symbol of Queensland...

An ambiguity as to why i chose "old mate bufo marinus" as my pseudonym needs to be clarified. In these dark and troubling times survivors need a concept, an example to lead them into triumph over the undead. I humby suggest a noble example.
Any randomly chosen street in Brisbane
Why choose this pest? Its ugly, its hated by everyone, and it isnt Australian (to quote Tracy Grimshaw). It doesnt look good on a banner, and its destroying our ecosystem. But there is certainly many reasons why Bufo Marinus is such a succesful organism here.
1. Resourceful. The cane toad lives in the tropics of Northen Queensland, and are starting to colonise the deserts in the Northern Territory. They will eat literally anything, with reports suggesting they eat bird eggs, carrion, dog food, other animals excrement, rubbish, etc. You cannot starve something that has no qualms about consuming excrement!
2.Adaptive.  Since their introduction in the 30's, cane toads have changed significantly over the small period of 50 generations. Their legs are getting longer to aid them in the invasion of Australias ecosystem. Compared to the rates of when they were first settled, they now spread 5 times faster than they used to 80 years ago. This adaptation has made them more mobile than any native frog species, with some individuals crossing more than 1 kilometer a night. They are neither nocturnal nor diurnal, they sleep whenever is convenient to them.
3. Tough. As you would imagine, crossing 1 kilometer a night would put severe stress on something that jumps to travel. Dissected toads (on the invasion front) often have severe spinal arthritis from all the travelling they do. They put their bodies to the absolute limit. They can survive being swallowed by dogs (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2103746/Spew-the-cane-toad-stays-alive-after-being-swallowed-by-dog.html).

I suggest to you that if you want a biological example of how to survive the current extremely trying odds, if you want to emulate a incredibly succesful role model, look no further than any Brisbane road.

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