Rough Skinned Newt

Yesterday as I was hiking, I came across this little newt in the middle of the trail. He was moving pretty slow and I was worried he'd get stepped on, or worse, eaten by someone's unsuspecting labrador. Rough Skinned Newts are highly toxic if ingested and would kill a dog in no time. They say that one of these divided has enough toxins to kill up to 17 people. In fact, snakes that eat them, often fatally convulse within 80 hours spitting the newt back out- alive! What a defense mechanism!

I went about picking him up and moving him to an adjacent hillside. When I grabbed him, he completely stopped moving and his underside turned a vibrant orange, like a little 'danger' flag. He became stiff as a board and his upper body was like a statue as I held his tail. When I set him down on the hillside and he realized the danger had passed, he started to wiggle again. Fascinating creature! I found a stream to wash my hands, since occasionally, but very rarely, touching them can cause a rash.