Meet Our Animals

Western Toad

Bufo boreas

Names and Personal History:
Clark: We acquired him from a Sacramento City College Biology student that found him in a flowerpot brought home from the nursery in 2001.

Native Habitat:
The Western Toad is widely distributed throughout the western U.S. The subspecies B. b halophilus is found from California to Baja California , and the subspecies B. b. boreas is found from Alaska down through California and New Mexico (Garcia). The Western Toad can be found in all of Washington except the more arid regions of the Columbia basin, and in all of Oregon except the northern Coast Range and most of the Willamette Valley. They live at a variety of elevations, from sea level up to 7,370 feet in the Steens Mountains in Oregon .

Environment:
Western Toads are mostly terrestrial and live in habitats ranging from mountain meadows to desert flats. They are most common around marshes and small lakes. The toads are nocturnal at lower elevations and diurnal at higher elevations.

Physical Characteristics:
A large toad with dry, bumpy skin, two horny tubercles on hind feet, distinct oval parotoid glands, and horizontal pupils. Coloration ranges from reddish-brown to gray to olive green. A cream-colored stripe runs down the middle of the back. The underside is yellow or cream color with dark blotches. When the toads are threatened they excrete a mild white poison from their parotoid glands and warts.

Diet:
Western Toads will eat many kinds of insects, such as moths, beetles and crickets.