It’s the BTNF’s mammals—moose, grizzly and black bears, pronghorn, elk—that get most of the attention, but a University of Wyoming doctoral student in ecology has spent part of this summer studying boreal toads on the Forest. Hardy, boreal toads are the only amphibian species that live in high-elevation ponds. They are terrestrial during the day, hanging out in burrows, and venture out at night. They eat a lot of mosquito larvae, helping to keep mosquito populations in check.
Also, adult males are known for smelling like peanuts.
An August 5, 2026 article in the Jackson Hole News & Guide talks more about Lena Wigger’s research into chytridiomycosis, a fungal disease that affects keratin in the skin of boreal toads and which has decimated amphibian populations across the globe.
