#boreal toad

[by-and-for-rodents]

Light in the mountains

Acrylic on canvas, 2025

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Boreal Toad

Center for Biological Diversity

[toadschooled]

Here we see a male boreal toad [a subspecies of the western toad, Anaxyrus boreas boreas] awaiting the arrival of females to a pond in Thurston County, Washington. This species is native to the west coast of North America. These toads are commonly found in the Southern Rocky Mountains, and are the only alpine toad species native to Colorado. Their population has recently been on the decline due to the spread of chytrid fungus. Images by Gary Nafis.

[toadfemme]

A wonderful boreal god from the Bronx zoo,,, am going to see him again in like a week I want one SO BAD

[kay-outside]

one cute pebble

Boreal toad - Bufo boreas boreas

[glaciernps]

Wildlife Wednesday

Boreal toad (Anaxyrus boreas)

Boreal toads (also known as western toads) have a range extending from southern Alaska to northern California and into Wyoming and Colorado west of the continental divide. They occur throughout Glacier and may be found at elevations up to 8,000 feet. These amphibians, nocturnal during the summer months and diurnal during the spring and fall, frequent mountain meadows and wetlands near aspen trees or Douglas fir. The tadpoles are toxic and adults have potent glands behind their eyes and on their hind legs. This makes them better able to coexist with fish than many amphibian species which are often easy prey for a hungry trout. Boreal toads are disappearing from parts of their Rocky Mountain range, but there is no evidence they are declining in Glacier. In the burned areas following the large Moose Fire of 2001, nearly a dozen new toad breeding sites appeared the following year. Some park roads had to be closed for a time because thousands of migrating toadlets were moving across them. Scientists in Glacier are currently studying the toads to determine their adaptability to different hydrological conditions and response to fire in their habitat, as well as how they cope with the effects of climate change on wetlands.

Read more about Glacier’s amphibians here. 

NPS Photo [A boreal toad sits on the ground with grass behind it.]

[toadschooled]

Here we see a boreal toad [Anaxyrus boreas] spotted near Ryder Lake in Chilliwack, Canada. Boreal toads are an endangered species who’s numbers have suffered a severe decline due to the spread of Chytrid fungus. It is also the only alpine species of toad found in Colorado. Images by photographer Andrew Nydam.

[toadschooled]

Boreal toad tadpoles [Anaxyrus boreas boreas] at the edge of South Clear Creek in Arapaho National Forest, Colorado. The Boreal toad is a subspecies of the western toad, and tadpoles of this species can take anywhere between 28 to 45 days to morph into toadlets, depending on environmental factors such as temperature and water levels. Images by Stephen Nyman.