Great Plains toad

A warty prairie toad that rises from the ground by the thousands after summer rain to fill Great Sand Dunes with a buzzing, metallic trill.

Great Plains toad at a glance

Anaxyrus cognatus GRAYT PLAYNZ TOHD; Anaxyrus cognatus is an-AX-ih-rus kog-NAH-tus

Type
Amphibian · toads
Diet
Insectivore
Size
Usually 2 to 4.5 inches long, about the size of a big lemon.
Lifespan
Often 3 to 10 years in the wild, with one recorded captive toad reaching almost 11.
Conservation
Least concern

Eats ants, beetles, cutworms, flies, centipedes, mites, other insects

It sits and waits, then snaps up passing insects with a fast, sticky tongue; ants and beetles make up much of the diet.

Should you worry?

Not dangerous if you leave it alone. It can ooze a milky, irritating poison from the glands behind its eyes if it feels threatened, so don't put your hands near your face or mouth after touching one, and wash up afterward.

The dunes at Great Sand Dunes can go weeks without a single toad in sight, and then a hard summer rain fills the flats near Medano Creek and the ground changes overnight. Great Plains toads come up from underground by the hundreds, all at once, packed so densely into the shallow water that the park service warns it’s hard to walk through without stepping near one. The night fills with their call: a long, buzzing, metallic trill, like a jackhammer running somewhere out in the dark.

That crowd isn’t wandering — it’s racing. A female can lay more than 40,000 eggs in a single night, dropped in long strings through the flooded grass, and the whole clutch hatches within a week while the pool is still there to hatch into. There’s no second chance if the water dries first, so the toads don’t trickle in over a season the way some frogs do; they show up together, breed together, and are mostly gone from the surface again within days, back underground until the next rain resets the clock.

Handle one carefully if you find it afterward. The warty glands behind its eyes hold a milky poison that a coyote or a curious dog learns to avoid fast, and a toad that feels grabbed will puff itself up and let some of it ooze out. Wash your hands, keep them away from your face, and let it go back to waiting under the sand for the next storm.

Did you know?

  • A single female Great Plains toad can lay more than 40,000 eggs in one night after a summer rain.
  • Its call is a long, buzzing, metallic trill — like a small jackhammer — that can run for close to a minute without stopping.
  • When something grabs it, it puffs up its body and can ooze a milky, irritating poison from the glands behind its eyes.

Common questions

Are Great Plains toads poisonous? Can I touch one?

They aren't dangerous to touch, but they can ooze an irritating poison from glands behind their eyes if they feel threatened. Don't touch your face afterward, and wash your hands.

Why are there suddenly so many toads after it rains?

Great Plains toads spend most of their time underground and come out together to breed the moment a big rain fills up shallow pools, so a dry field can look covered in toads within a day or two.

What does a Great Plains toad sound like?

A long, buzzing, metallic trill that can last close to a minute — people often compare it to a small jackhammer.

How many eggs does a Great Plains toad lay?

A single female can lay more than 40,000 eggs in one night, usually in long strings in shallow water.

What do I do if toad poison gets in an eye or mouth?

If the toad's poison gets in an eye, rinse the eye with room-temperature running water for 15 to 20 minutes, then call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. Call them too if any gets in a mouth. Wash skin with plenty of water. Do not try to make anyone throw up.

Where it lives

Where we got this