Fun Fact July 16, 2021.
I rescued a toad over the weekend. I found it “swimming” in a bucket of water. I could tell by the look in his little brown eyes that he wasn’t enjoying his dip in the cool water. A little research and I found that he was most likely a Fowler Toad, Anaxyrus fowleri, a very common species here in Virginia and all along the eastern coast. He was probably looking for a quick drink and ended up falling into the bucket and wasn’t able to get out. Like most toads, they start out life as eggs laid in shallow, still water among aquatic vegetation. They develop into tadpoles and eventually, through metamorphosis, move from the water to land to repeat the cycle. We all had a good look at him before I released him into the woods. He was still hanging out near where I set him free later that afternoon.
