The National Parks Service in the United States of America has asked people to stop licking a specific toad.
It’s hardly too much to ask, is it?
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Honestly, who had the idea to do this in the first place, and what exactly were they trying to do?
The mind boggles.
Anyway, we’re talking here about the Sonoran Desert toad which is found in a fairly wide area in northern Mexico and across the southwestern USA.
Also known as the Colorado River toad, it is known for having glands on its skin from which toxins are secreted.
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Those toxins – if you pick the poor thing up and lick it – are known to have psychoactive properties.
OK, the first thing to note is that not everyone is licking the toads.
They exude two toxins – 5-MeO-DMT and bufotenine – which are both from the hallucinogenic tryptamine family.
It’s worth pointing out that these secretions are a defence mechanism for the toad.
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They’re meant to stop you eating it, and they can be seriously toxic to some animals, including humans.
It might seem fairly self-explanatory that you shouldn’t go around licking animals that you find in the wonderful and varied national parks of the United States.
Grizzly bears won’t take kindly to it either, for example.
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However, the National Parks Service has now added tongue-contact with the Sonoran Desert to a list of stuff that they’d warn against doing within their parks.
In a slightly bizarre Facebook post, the organisation wrote: “Hey there! Here is the ‘ribbiting’ late night content no one asked for. Yet here we are.
“The Sonoran Desert toad (Bufo alvarius), also known as the Colorado river toad, is one of the largest toads found in North America, measuring nearly 7 inches (18 cm).
“What sound does it make? Its call has been described as a ‘weak, low-pitched toot, lasting less than a second'.
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“Was that the toad or did something startle you?
“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.
“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.”
In recent times, more and more people have spoken about experiences with smoking the toxic secretions from the toad, including Mike Tyson.
Some even believe that it might have therapeutic benefits, although we’re not quite there with the science on that.
In New Mexico, the toad has become so sought after that it has been declared as threatened by ‘collectors that want to use the animal for drug use’, according to the state Department for Game and Fish.
The US Drug Enforcement Administration currently lists 5-MeO-DMT as a schedule one drug, meaning it is not suitable for use medicinally and has a high potential to be abused.
As the National Parks Service points out, please don’t go around licking things you find on the floor.
Let alone things that are alive and secreting toxins.
Tom Wood