Toads are much more drought tolerant than frogs, and can thus tolerate loss of water for much longer. Just a few days ago water was flowing here, and now I met many toads seemingly unable to know what to do or where to go. This one is full of mud, probably from the location it used to swim in a few days ago and.
In the midday heat of the sun, this mud covered toad was likely better off than those black ones without, which I feared would get a heatstroke if they didn’t find some sort of cover.
As I followed the dried stream upwards it eventually had sufficient water, and lots of tadpoles!
Farming and mining is taking a toll on the ground water and springs that feed streams like this, but these tadpoles and toads have survived the entire dry season and the rain is closing in each passing day. A week or two later I found that this area got its first taste of the wet season.
Altitude: 3670 metres.
-19.904403,-67.620993
Last updated on 8 November 2024
