Right-Wingers Rally Around Bush at Shopping Mall
Toads Hopping All Over The Place
September 10, 2003
HILLSBOROUGH, N.J. -- Hundreds of toads are making their presence known at a recently opened shopping center.
The 1-inch-long toads have been seen hopping around at the Hillsborough Promenade during the last few weeks, especially on rainy days, and many have made their way into some of the shops.
"A couple of weeks ago we found one toad and we walked it out to the back and then we'd see another one. One day, we carried out 16 toads," Rick Grossman, owner of the Learning Express store, said.
However, experts say the growing toad population at the Somerset County site -- which opened in October -- is not a cause for concern. They say it's most likely due to the wet and steamy conditions the state saw for most of this summer.
Robert Vappalorti, head of Herpetological Associates Inc., said the store owners are most likely dealing with the American toad, a species common to northern New Jersey.
He said the toads are probably spending time in the water-filled retention basins and while they can live as long as five years, they probably won't make it that long because of the traffic volume at the center.
Aside from the inconvenience of having toads in the stores, Grossman said most people find it humorous and some even think the toads are cute.
"We've been going back and forth with the normal jokes about warts and 'got a frog in your throat,"' Grossman said. "But we don't want a kid to step on it and freak out, or a mother with a stroller to run over the toads." |
