The United States National Park Service warns visitors to stop licking one of America’s largest toads.
The potentially deadly Sonoran desert toad, also known as the Colorado River toad, excretes a toxin that can harm humans and some say it has psychedelic effects.
In a Facebook post, the service warned people to “refrain from licking” amphibians which can be up to seven inches in size and have “bright eyes”.
“As we say for most things you encounter in a national park, be it a banana snail, an unknown mushroom, or a large toad with bright eyes in the middle of the night, please refrain from licking,” he said. written the agency.
The service released an image of one of the toads captured by a motion-sensing camera as it stared at the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona.
According to the Oakland Zoo, some people have exploited the toad toad as a psychedelic, smoking it to experience euphoria and hallucinations.
He added that one of the chemicals in the toad’s skin, bufotenin, is illegal to possess in California, but up to 10 toads can be legally caught with the proper license in nearby Arizona.
Toad toxins can also kill an adult dog.
