Saturday, November 01, 2008

Cane Toads - That's Good Eatin'???

Northern Territory News has a story about the apparent edibility of the cane toad (Bufo marinus) - "apparent" being a necessary modifier as the cane toad has long been spurned as a nasty invader so poisonous that the dogs and snakes that try to eat them soon die. But Andrew Zimmern, host of the Travel Channel show "Bizarre Foods" (and a man lucky enough to travel with his own chef) has tasted the legs of these bad toads, and pronounced them good. Or at least, he didn't die or get sick, and neither did the members of the environmental group FrogWatch who participated in the tasting. The only details the article provides about how to avoid ingesting the cane toad's poison is a mention of how the chef "skinned the legs and avoided toxins when preparing them."

On a related note, the ISW is proud to be associated with the Terrapin Procrastination blog, which posted this gem of a cane toad photo yesterday:

In America, the frogs drink Budweiser. In Australia, the invasive cane toads apparently drink Foster's.

P.S. - Don't be taking this as an endorsement, a recommendation, or any other kind of encouragement for you to go out and try to eat a known poisonous animal. The ISW wants you to be healthy and happy, so if you have a hankering for invasive amphibian legs, stick with the non-poisonous kind (North American bullfrog, Rana catesbaeiana). :-)

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