NetworkWorld's John Cox reports that wireless tracking devices strapped to 50 four-pound cane toads are being used by researchers at the University of Sydney to determine the way the "amphibian pests" are invading Australia.

"The telemetry data shows that the toads, like people, move faster along and beside roadways than through thick vegetation," Cox writes. "The toads appear to seek out the roadways, lie over during the day and take up their march at night."

Cane toads were imported to Australia from Hawaii in the 1930s to control a beetle infestation. Not only did that effort fail, but now they're becoming a significant problem themselves: they have no predators, they can weigh up to 4.5 pounds, and they're covered with warts that release a poision called bufotoxin which is strong enough to kill a dog.

"The new research suggests a more direct and one must admit a more satisfying way to control the toads -- by modifying roadside areas with dense vegetation or other barriers thus 'forcing toads onto the road itself, thereby increasing their vulnerability to vehicular traffic,'" Cox writes. "Splat."