Visitors to US national parks are asked to stop licking toads: why do they even do it

The National Park Service (NPS) has warned that as appetizing as it looks, you should refrain from licking the Colorado Toad. CNN.

Photo: IStock

The NPS used Facebook to warn people to be careful about the Colorado Toad, also known as the Sonoran Desert Toad.

The amphibian is one of the largest toads found in North America, measuring up to 3cm in size, according to a Facebook post. The call of the toad is a distinctive "low sound", according to the NPS.

But toads native to the American Southwest also boast another unique feature: According to the NPS, they have "protruding parotid glands that secrete a potent toxin." The parotid glands are located just behind the toad's eyes.

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These toxins can make people sick if they touch or put the toad in their mouth. Therefore, the service recommends that people who encounter a toad "refrain from licking."

Toad toxins are especially dangerous for other animals. According to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, a zoo accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the toxins released by one such toad can be enough to kill an adult dog.

But among humans, toxins were used for other purposes. According to the Auckland Zoo, accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, when smoked, the toxins are a powerful psychedelic.

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Smoking the secretions of the Sonoran desert toad causes euphoria and intense auditory hallucinations, according to the Oakland Zoo.

Possession of the toad's poison, known as bufotenin, is illegal in California, according to the zoo.

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