A water rat in Australia has done what scientists failed to do despite years of effort.

The rats have been checking the spread of a deadly, toxic and invasive toad that was causing widespread damage in the country. But the way the rat species called rakali has done it is astonishing.

To avoid being poisoned, the rats cut out the toads' heart and liver and feast on them. These parts of the amphibian are not toxic.

This "precise dissection" technique was revealed by a University of Melbourne study.

The scientists say the rakali is the only mammal that can kill the toxic cane toads without harming itself.

Cane toads were first brought to Australia in 1935 to control beetles attacking sugarcane in fields on the north-east coast. The plan was for the toads to eat the beetles.

The amphibian is known for adapting easily to any environment. It breeds prolifically and can spread up to sixty kilometres a year.

That is how the toads reached the Kimberley region of Western Australia between 2011 and 2012. Since then they have caused the destruction of several predators in the area.

Crocodiles, koalas (described as small animals with a pouch on the belly) and lizard-type animals are on the verge of disappearing from the area, because they all ate the toads.

Source: BBC Bangla. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.