(CNN) — Rangers in northeast Australia were shocked when they came across what may be the largest toad on record, weighing almost 3 kilos (6 pounds).
Nicknamed “Toadzilla” by rangers, the 2.7-kilogram (5.9-pound) amphibian was found in Conway National Park in Queensland last week as park officials were conducting monitoring work, the Department of the Environment said. and Science of the state in social networks.
In a tweet from thursdaythe department said rangers “were shocked to find a monstrous cane toad.”
“Toadzilla” was removed by rangers as cane toads destroy native Australian wildlife. Queensland Department of Environment and Science/Reuters
Ranger Kylee Gray said the team encountered the gigantic creature when she got out of her vehicle to let a snake slither down the track.
“I reached down and grabbed the cane toad and couldn’t believe how big and heavy it was,” Gray said in a department statement Friday.
“We named it Toadzilla,” Gray said, adding that they worked quickly to remove it from the wild because a cane toad its size would eat “anything that fits in its mouth.”
Believed to be female, as they usually grow larger than their male counterparts, the toad was taken back to the ranger base where it was weighed. The Rangers say that Toadzilla could set a new record.
Toadzilla was placed in a bucket of water for his monumental weigh-in. Queensland Department of Environment and Science/Reuters
The current Guinness World Record for the largest toad was set in 1991 by Prinsen, a pet toad in Sweden, weighing 2.65 kg (5.13 lb).
Toadzilla has since been “euthanized due to the environmental damage they cause,” the department added in its tweet.
The Department of Environment and Science told CNN on Friday that it has been sent to the Queensland Museum for further analysis.
Native to mainland South and Central America, cane toads were first introduced to Australia in 1935 as a biological control against cane beetles. However, they became an invasive and noxious species that “had a devastating impact on our native wildlife,” the department added.