I'm A Celebrity Chaos as Thousands of Deadly Amphibians Infiltrate Camp
A mass cull of poisonous jungle invaders took place before the start of the ITV show I'm A Celebrity. Environmental experts eliminated an astonishing 38,000 toxic cane toads from the filming area in Murwillumbah, New South Wales.
The brown cane toads secrete a harmful milky white slime from glands behind their eyes when threatened. Contact with this toxin can cause nausea, vomiting, and in some cases, hospitalization if contestants touch the toads and then their mouth or eyes.
Contestants for this season include comedienne Ruby Wax, reality star Jack Osbourne, and model-actress Kelly Brook. A source explained the precautions:
“The celebrities are always given a strict talk about what wildlife to avoid when they are in the camp but it is quite easy to brush past one of these toads and get slime on your hands or people might think they are cute frogs and try to stroke them.”
Besides affecting humans, the toxins from these toads are fatal to birds, dogs, and cats. The growing cane toad population, now estimated at 200 million across Australia, presents a major environmental problem because they lay multiple batches of eggs, rapidly increasing their numbers.
The town of Murwillumbah, where the show is filmed and set to premiere on Sunday, November 16, is heavily infested with these dangerous amphibians.
Key Risks and Precautions
- Contact with cane toad toxins can cause vomiting and require hospitalization.
- Toads’ secretions are dangerous to pets such as dogs and cats and local wildlife.
- Contestants receive strict warnings about avoiding the toxic toads in camp.
- Large-scale cull aimed to reduce risks before filming commencement.
The increasing population of cane toads remains one of Australia's largest environmental challenges due to their rapid reproduction and toxic nature.
Author’s summary: The ITV show’s filming location faced a major health risk from 38,000 poisonous cane toads, prompting experts to remove them before contestants arrive, as their toxins can harm humans and animals.