Cane toads found in Alice From AAP 11jan02 A SECOND cane toad has been found in Alice Springs within a month. The Northern Territory Parks and Wildlife Commission today warned motorists to beware of toads hitching a ride, accelerating the spread of the toxic pest. The two toads were found in suburban gardens, the commission's principal wildlife scientist Tony Bowland said. While the toads could become established in water holes on the Alice Springs golf course and the Ilparpa artificial swamp, they could not survive the freezing desert winter, Dr Bowland said. The main concern was that toads would reach Darwin and Western Australia's Kimberley region years earlier by hitching rides than they would by hopping. "They're very rugged animals and they can travel long distances wrapped up in a swag or in a crate," Dr Bowland said. He said both of the toads found in Alice Springs must have been brought in by road. The second toad was found close to a road transport business. "They were in pretty good nick. They didn't look like they'd just hopped 1500km from Queensland or the top end," Dr Bowland said. He could not speculate how many more there might be in Alice Springs, a town too dry for rats to survive. Any damage cane toads caused to the native desert fauna would be short-term. "They might establish in Alice Springs in the very short term but we're pretty sure the bitterly cold winters we get around here would nail them," Dr Bowland said. The presence of cane toads was confirmed in Kakadu National Park in March last year. They are expected to reach Darwin as early as the present wet season. They are also well established on the northern reaches of the Stuart Highway around Katherine and Mataranka.