The US National Park Service went there last week with a startling warning to visitors to its Sonoran Desert facilities: Don’t lick the toads!
Posted at 4:00 p.m.
Are outdoor enthusiasts looking for prince charmings? More of a hallucinatory delirium, because the Sonoran Desert Toad, located between California and Arizona, in the United States, produces a powerful toxin that can cause a memorable spiritual experience… or death.
the bufo alvarius, from its Latin name, measures up to 18 cm and secretes the toxin when it feels threatened. It is normally dried and then smoked. But some visitors do not hesitate to lick the toads they encounter. The practice can make them sick, in addition to harming amphibians.
“As we say with most things you encounter in a national park, whether it’s a banana slug, an unfamiliar fungus, or a big bright-eyed toad in the middle of the night, please refrain from licking them,” advises the National Park Service on its Facebook page.