Queensland’s most infamous pest has set alarm bells ringing in Sydney, after a cane toad was discovered in a Sutherland Shire street.

Macquarie University biologist Professor Rick Shine told Jim Wilson the toad likely hitched a ride in the back of a van, hiding among landscaping equipment and the like.

“We probably get 100 toads a year in Sydney. We often don’t find them, but there’s no doubt that they’re coming down the highway in good numbers.”

He warned Sydneysiders against killing suspected toads, and instead recommended capturing and/or photographing the animal and informing the local council.

“The big problem is that most people can’t really tell the difference between a cane toad and a native frog: a lot of native frogs are big and ugly and warty.”

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