The US National Park Service has warned people coming to the park to stop licking the Sonoran desert toad because of a toxin that it secretes from its glands that might induce hallucinations. The National Park Service took to Facebook on November 1 to warn visitors and passersby to use caution around the Sonoran desert toad, also known as the Colorado river toad. It is one of the largest toads found in North America, measuring nearly 7 inches.
"These toads have prominent parotoid glands that secrete a potent toxin. It can make you sick if you handle the frog or get the poison in your mouth," the service advised in its post. The toad makes a distinctive "weak, low-pitched toot, lasting less than a second", it added.
However, toad-licking has evolved into a recreational drug and has long been regarded as life threatening. Not all toads can produce a high, and for those that can, each toad produces a different high.
"As we say with most 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, please refrain from licking. Thank you. Toot!," the post continued.
The production of 5-MeO-DMT and another DMT derivative, bufotenin, which are produced from glands behind the toad's eyes, is possibly what makes it more well-known.
According to Poison Control's website, "When in eyes or nose, Bufo toad (commonly called Sonoran Desert toad) secretions can cause severe irritation, pain, and tissue damage. Licking or swallowing can lead to numbness of the mouth and throat as well as severe and life-threatening effects on the heart as a result of the digoxin-like compounds and catecholamines described above."
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"These effects include irregular rhythm of the heart, heart block, reduced blood pressure, and cardiac arrest. These severe effects can also occur after absorption through the skin," they continued.
The toad is considered "endangered" in California and "threatened" in New Mexico.
