(WEHT) – The National Park Service often educates the public through the use of social media and Tuesday’s topic? Toads… and more importantly, not to lick them.
The post provides ‘ribbiting’ late night content about the Sonoran Desert Toad (Bufo alvarius), one of the largest toads in North America. Also known the Colorado River Toad, the amphibian measures almost 7 inches.
Officials say the huge toad’s call sounds like a weak low-pitched toot that lasts less than a second. Furthermore, they have prominent parotoid glands that secrete a potent toxin. Experts say it can make you sick from handling the frog or licking the frog. Reports say the substance in the toad’s toxins when crystalized is a schedule 1 drug and can get people high.
However, park officials ask people to refrain from licking the things you come across in a national park whether it be a banana slug, unfamiliar mushroom or a large toad with glowing eyes in the dead of night.
To read the full post, click here.
