In 1935, Australian farmers brought cane toads from Hawaii to protect their sugar cane from beetles. Unfortunately, the toads did not eliminate the beetles and there are now more than 200 milion cane toads in Australia. This has become one of Australia’s worst environmental disasters. The toad’s skin is poisonous. ‘Lizards, birds and snakes eat cane toads and then often die,’ explains Dr Ben Philips, of Sydney University. ‘Some species may soon disappear, if we don’t get rid of the toads.’ Recently, scientists have discovered a worm that attacks toads’ lungs and kills them. They are planning to use the worm to fight the cane toad. But they are cautions:‘Before we use it, we will do more research.’