Vancouver Island is the land of the frogs and toads, thanks to the really wet and humid climate.
I spotted this Western Toad hiking my way to the north tip of the island.
Member of the family Bufonidae (“true toads”), this species is also referred to as “Boreal Toad”. True toads are toothless and generally “warty” in appearance and have a “parotoid” gland that excretes an alkaloid poison “bufotoxin” when the animal is stressed. All male toads possess a “Bidder's organ”. Under the right conditions the organ becomes an active ovary and the toad, in effect, becomes female.
