Yosemite Toad

A unique quality of the Yosemite toad is that it walks instead of hops. Toads can walk up to a mile between burrows and breeding grounds.  

Breeding season starts in May and extends through July. Males can first breed at 3 to 5 years of age. Females are sexually mature at 4 to 6 years. Females lay approximately 1,500 to 2,000 eggs at a time in a jelly-like group called a clutch.

Yosemite toads have a long lifespan – up to 15 years for females and 12 years for males.

A unique quality of the Yosemite toad is that it walks instead of hops. Toads can walk up to a mile between burrows and breeding grounds.  

Yosemite toad populations continue to decline because of:

• Habitat loss: Habitat degradation and loss, especially meadow degradation, caused by grazing, timber and fuels management, recreation and water development. Yosemite toads are sensitive to even minor changes in hydrology and water quality.
• Disease: Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, also known as Bd or the amphibian chytrid, is a known cause for amphibian declines worldwide. Although its specific effects on the Yosemite toad are still being researched, the disease has been found in dead Yosemite toads. Because many species closely related to the Yosemite toad have been negatively affected by Bd, it is thought that the fungus will have a detrimental effect on the Yosemite toad population. Bd thrives in cold temperatures and the fungus spores are spread through waterbodies across the Sierra Nevada, where the Yosemite toad is found.
• Climate change: Yosemite toads have a low tolerance for both extreme cold and hot temperatures - meaning that any climate shift, even slight, could have a negative effect on Yosemite toad populations. In addition, Yosemite toads breed in shallow pools of water, and changes to the temperatures can have an effect on the hydrologic cycle.
• Mortality: Direct mortality from road crossings and trampling from livestock and packstock.

Males range in color from yellowish green or olive, with few or no spots. Females are lighter in color and have many dark spots on top of a light green back. The throat and belly are pale on both sexes.

The Yosemite toad is stocky with bumpy skin and widespread legs. Females are often larger than males.

Measurements:
Length for both sexes: 1.2 to 2.8 inches (3.0 to 7.1 centimeters)

Measurements:

Both Sexes: 1.2 to 2.8 inches (3.0 to 7.1 centimeters)

Yosemite toads require two types of habitat. The toad requires slow bodies of fresh water, including wet meadows, slow-moving streams, shallow ponds, springs or shallow areas of lakes for breeding. They also require upland habitat such as conifer forests and the edges of steep slopes for foraging and overwintering. Toads overwinter in upland underground areas such as root tangles at the bases of willows, crevices beneath rocks and stumps and burrows of small mammals. These upland areas provide coverage for the toad from predators, protection from bad weather and a steady supply of food. The toad can travel nearly a mile between the aquatic breeding sites and upland foraging and overwintering sites.

The Yosemite toad eats different foods throughout its lifecycle. Tadpoles will graze for food at the bottom of shallow waterbodies, eating algae, zooplankton and plant materials. Adult Yosemite toads hunt for food in waterbodies and on land. Adults wait for an invertebrate to approach, and then use their sticky tongue to capture it. Adults eat various small invertebrates such as flies, spiders, ants and beetles.