I’m Watching You

by Donna Lewis

I bet most of you have seen these really big toads around your house. They will probably be near a faucet or anywhere it’s wet.  If you make any noise near them they, peak out at you. They are Gulf Coast Toads.

This one is a female, which can be figured out because she is really big. You can tell the Gulf Coast toad species because of the prominent cranial crests on her head, which you can see in Suna’s photo below. 

These toads live from Mississippi in the east down through Mexico. They are common in our gardens, and eat lots of insects. They come out at night to party, so those of you who are out late might see them.

I took a photo of one of their babies last year, I think they are so cute. There were lots and lots of them. [Suna’s roommate in Austin reports there were hundreds of babies in their neighborhood last week; the toads are very common near their creek.]

Something Else to Read

For more on fun with these toads, see Suna’s blog post about how a toad shot out of a water pipe and confused her dog.