Coolest Things You Need To Know
- The Venezuelan Pebble Toad is best known for their incredible defensive strategy – You didn’t think I was going to tell you what it was in the opening bullet, did you?
- This toad species can be found in Venezuela (obviously) and there have been a few accounts of them hanging out in Guyana
- Unlike other frogs and toads, the Venezuelan Pebble Toad is not able to jump very far – they are capable of jumping roughly an inch
- Besides being poor jumpers, this particular toad is also not a very good swimmer. In fact, there have been a few stories suggesting that these small toads have been known to drown in deep puddles
Stop, Drop and Roll
When the Venezuelan Pebble Toad feels threatened they take the same approach as one would do when you are on fire. That’s right, they stop, drop and roll. Believe it or not, the Pebble Toad will actually fold itself into a ball and simply roll away from danger. Their sandstone colouring gives our featured toad a pebble-like look, which tricks the hungry predator into thinking it is just a rock rolling down the mountain side. Not too mention, it would be pretty difficult to catch up to a pebble rolling down a mountain.
Wouldn’t Rolling Down a Mountain Hurt the Pebble Toad?
You would think that rolling all the way down a mountain would be pretty painful for our little toad. But when you are only 1 inch long and weigh practically nothing, it doesn’t hurt them at all. I don’t recommend you trying this defensive strategy, unless you are less than an inch long and weigh practically nothing. The only danger that has been reported about this free-fall down the mountain is the toad will often land in deeper bodies of water at the bottom of the hill. As mentioned earlier, they don’t swim very well and this can often lead to a devastating outcome.
I think the best way for you to understand the defence mechanism of the Venezuelan Pebble Toad is to watch the 3 minute clip from BBC’s show, Life. Trust me, you have to see this to believe it!
