The Sonoran desert toad, which emits a quick, “weak low-pitched fang,” can make someone sick if touched or licked, the NPS said in a Facebook post Tuesday. Licking toads, however, has become a way to get high, and has long been considered life-threatening. Not every frog can induce a high, and for those that can, the high they provide varies from frog to frog. Users often get high by either licking the back of a toad directly or storing toxins secreted by the toad for later use. Hallucinations and euphoria are the known effects of this activity, but it can also cause anxiety, nausea or seizures and, in some cases, death. And the park service would certainly prefer if people stopped doing it. “As we say with most things you encounter in a national park, whether it’s a banana slug, an unknown mushroom, or a large toad with glowing eyes in the night, don’t lick it,” the post reads in part. , which was accompanied by a sensor camera photo of a toad at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona. The toad, also referred to as the Colorado River toad, is about seven inches long and its toxins are released from glands near its eyes and jaw. “Harassment animals of this species generally become intoxicated through the mouth, nose or eyes,” according to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, with a special warning to dog owners to keep their dogs safe. While the secretions of such toads can sometimes be used medicinally to treat irregular heartbeats, it is done in a confined environment with strict monitoring. The licking tendency is also not good for the toads themselves. Although the act of licking does not kill them directly, their skin can be sold for their secretions, which makes them susceptible to being killed. The toad is considered “threatened” in California and “threatened” in New Mexico.
