Description
Leopard Toads
By Marc Alexander from his ‘In The Balance‘ series. Leopard Toads, oil on canvas, 68cm by 88cm, (2014).
Leopard Toads
This beautiful South African toad can reach an impressive size of 140 mm in body length and, like all toads, has a rough skin and a large parotid gland behind each eye. Its upper body has chocolate to reddish-brown patches on a bright yellow background, and there usually is a yellow stripe running down the middle of the back. The underside is granular and cream coloured, with a darker throat in males. The eyes are relatively large with horizontally elliptical pupils. The advertisement call of the males (heard at breeding time) is a deep snoring sound repeated every few seconds, and in chorus sounds like a tractor or motorcycle engine.
The western leopard toad is threatened throughout most of its range by general development and habitat degradation.
Specific urban threats:
• Habitat loss and fragmentation – restricts the foraging area and movement of toads, and can lead to the isolation and loss of populations and breeding sites.
• Road traffic – results in the death of hundreds of toads each year, especially during the breeding season when they migrate to and from breeding sites;
• Drowning in water bodies with vertical sides, such as swimming pools and canalized rivers;
• Barriers such as walls, embankments and canals restrict the movement of toads.
Specific threats at some breeding sites include, pollutants in water; introduced predatory fish (such as barbel) and invasive floating plants and reedbeds – reduce and degrade toad breeding habitat. This species is now protected by the Nature Conservation Ordinance of the Western Cape Province.
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