Sarina, Queensland, is known for its sugar mills, coal exports, and...Buffy, the Giant Cane Toad.
Cane toads are an invasive species, intentionally introduced to Australia by the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations in 1935 in an attempt to control the native cane beetle populations that were destroying the country's sugar plantations. Unfortunately, cane toads had no taste for the beetles, but they certainly loved the skinks and other native fauna that posed no threat to the sugarcane.
Cane toads rapidly bred out of control, spreading diseases, reducing prey populations, poisoning native species, and upsetting the country's natural biodiversity.
Today, there are an estimated 200 million cane toads across northern Australia -- 8x the population of the entire country.
Buffy the Cane Toad started life as a papier maché float in 1983, at Sarina's annual Sugar Festival. He was so popular that residents voted to make him a permanent fixture of the town's main street. Although Buffy represents a loathed creature, he is a beloved landmark in Sarina.