Not new, but still brilliant. Nature adapts — and fast. Australia’s native water rats, also known as #rakali have figured out how to safely eat deadly #canetoads by surgically removing and feasting only on their hearts.
#nature #adaptation #australia #evasivespecies

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/26/australian-water-rats-cut-cane-toads-open-with-surgical-precision-to-feast-on-their-hearts

Australian water rats cut cane toads open with 'surgical precision' to feast on their hearts

Scientists say native rodents in Western Australia have discovered how to kill and eat parts of the poisonous pests

The Guardian
@mojo Re-read it now, & enjoyed it anew. It would be great for a journo to follow this up now, five years on. Fingers crossed the trend has continued & expanded 🤞

Did you see, sometime in the past week iirc, another article about native bush rats beginning to displace / replace the undesirable imported rats in various places?
Carn you little Aussie battlers! 😆
@MsDropbear42 Yes, nature’s fighting back in all sorts of clever ways. Northern quolls are another great story — some are evolving resistance to cane toads, and others are being trained with taste aversion.

@mojo

Good for them! And us!! Clever little Vegemites. 🙂

Can think of a few other toads to toss them, when they’re ready to branch out into other species…