Cane Toads: The Conquest (ATOM Study Guide)

The South American cane toad's unstoppable journey across the Australian continent has long been the focus of great controversy and bizarre fascination. The cane toad was introduced to Australia in 1935 in an attempt to control the greyback cane beetle. Unfortunately, the toads were disinclined to eat the beetles. Instead, they set about doing what cane toads do best – multiplying, migrating and thriving.

Mark Lewis, director of Cane Toads: An Unnatural History (1988) and The Natural History of the Chicken (2000) explores one of Australia's greatest environmental catastrophes as he follows the march of the cane toad across the country. Despised by many, venerated by some, the toad has become steeped in the nation's consciousness, achieving both cult and criminal status. Despite its international origin, the cane toad has become uniquely Australian – yet, for a world wrestling with the idea that we have irretrievably altered our own ecosystem, its story holds universal relevance. Featuring a host of engaging characters as well as thousands of toads, Cane Toads: The Conquest is a humorous yet thought-provoking journey into the issue of invasive species.

Curriculum relevance

Cane Toads: The Conquest would be an excellent film to show students from upper primary to senior secondary levels across a number of curriculum areas including General Science, Geography, Earth and Environmental Science, Biology and related subjects. It also has a great deal to offer to Media Studies students as an example of a science documentary that is as entertaining as it is informative, and that is both serious and humorous. It is a story that is as much about people as it is about the toad and its progress across Australia. For students of Philosophy and Ethics it raises some particularly interesting questions about how we co-exist with other creatures.