Cane toads, Rhinella marina*, are a common sight in Hawaii. Their native range is from south Texas to the Amazon Basin, but introduced populations occur in many tropical and subtropical locations throughout the Pacific and Caribbean. They were introduced to the state in 1932 to control sugarcane beetles. Contrary to the common meme that introduced species fail to control the target pest, but rather become pests in their own right (think mongoose), introduction of cane toads has been successful in controlling pests in several locations, including Hawaii. (Check out the longish Wikipedia entry for cane toad for lots of interesting info.)
Anyway, the guy below showed up in one of the large pots in our yard that Marla grows water lilies in. At night he calls for a mate. The call resembles a combination of an air compressor, a single-cylinder diesel engine, and a woodpecker, but is, to me at least, rather pleasant.
An ugly beauty. Look at those eyes!
*To the consternation of some of us old-timers, the scientific community keeps reclassifying animals and plants. They’ve decided that the cane toad is no longer Bufo marinus, but is in a separate genus of toads, Rhinella. Apparently Rhinella is a feminine noun in Latin, while Bufo is masculine, so marinus became marina.
onebreathkohala 