An unusual recommendation is the one that the authorities in the United States had to make due to cases of different people who have licked a type of toad for “psychedelic” purposes.
The alert came directly from the US National Park Service (NPS), who made a publication on social networks and provided some details about this animal.
According to what was explained on Facebook, it is the Sonoran desert toad (Bufo alvarius), also known as the Colorado River toad, “one of the largest found in North America.”
It measures almost 18 centimeters (7 inches) and emits a faint sound that lasts “less than a second”.
What is the risk?
As detailed by the institution, these toads have “prominent parotoid glands that secrete a powerful toxin.”
These glands can make people sick if they “handle it or put the poison in their mouths.” “Please refrain from licking it,” they insisted.
Their danger is so great that they can even kill a dog, reports the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.
Humans, meanwhile, have turned to these dangerous toxins, according to CNN, for “recreational” purposes. And it is that, according to the Conservation Society of California, the toxic ones would be hallucinogenic.
“Humans have exploited this harmful toxin as a psychedelic. It is illegal to have the toad’s poison, called bufotenin, in the state of California,” they report.
Information of: chvnoticias.cl
Photo credits: US National Park Service
