Cane toads currently occupy 60 percent of the northern quoll’s historic range, and scientists predict that they’ll occupy all of it within the next 20 years. A compete occupation of the Kimberley is expected within a decade. And unfortunately, the toads are here to stay.

There’s simply no way in the world that we will eradicate cane toads from Australia,” says Shine. He explains that it comes down to simple math: a single female toad can produce 30,000 eggs in one clutch.

As an insurance policy for quolls, the Australian government established a captive breeding colony. They’ve also captured several quolls and translocated them to two offshore, toad-free islands. But without a way to mitigate the effects of toads on the mainland, reintroduction won’t be a viable option.

The ecosystems of the planet are full of invaders that we have no realistic hope of ever getting rid of,” says Shine, “so the alternative strategy is to give the native ecosystem a helping hand to deal with the invader.”

And that’s where the sausages come in.

Wild predators are smart. If they eat something that makes them ill, they’ll learn to avoid that food. Called conditioned taste aversion (CTA), this behavior is well documented in the animal world. Unfortunately, CTA doesn’t kick in if that first bad meal kills you, which is often the case for quolls and toads.

But what if scientists could use CTA to teach quolls to avoid toads before they invaded?

Jonathan Webb is doing just that. Working with Shine and other scientists, he discovered that captive quolls can be taught to avoid toads.

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