ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, September 15, 1996 TAG: 9609160059
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE
SOURCE: Associated Press
CHARLOTTESVILLE RESIDENTS can breathe a sigh of relief, now that Bufo the giant toad is not wandering the streets, foaming dangerously. - After a summer of freedom, Bufo the killer toad is back in captivity.
``It puts my mind at a great deal of rest,'' said Bobbi Vincent, who lives in the Albemarle County subdivision of Camelot where the toad had been previously spotted. ``I can let my dogs out tonight and not have to worry about it.''
Bufo - short for the toad's biological name, Bufo marianus - was responsible for the death of a German shepherd dog three weeks ago.
The South American giant marine toad was not sighted again until James White noticed it in his back yard Thursday night.
``I looked at it and said, `I can't believe this,''' White said. ``He was just hopping around, having a good time.''
Following instructions given out by the state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, White covered the toad with a bucket and called 911.
Bufo disappeared from its owner, Jean Foss, in June. It appeared again Aug. 24 in Andy Van Der Loo's yard.
Van Der Loo saw his dog, Duke, carrying the toad around in his mouth and noticed that the amphibian was covered in a white film. He quickly wrestled the toad away and threw it over his fence.
Within 10 minutes, Van Der Loo said, Duke became disoriented, began having convulsions and vomiting blood. He had to be put to sleep.
Foss, a biology teacher at Western Albemarle High School, was keeping the toad at home during the summer. Bufo was bought for school use in the fall of 1994.
When Bufo escaped from its 4-foot-high cage, Foss wasn't worried and saw no need to notify neighbors. When she couldn't find it, she assumed it was dead because the animal had been hand-fed.
She said she never considered Bufo to be dangerous.
All toads secrete poisons from their skins as a means of defense, said University of Virginia biology Professor Mike Mellon. He said Bufo is more dangerous than local toads because of its size.
Van Der Loo's wife, Willy, said she recently bought a new puppy to replace Duke. She said she was relieved to hear Bufo was back in captivity.
``I can let my dogs out. It's over,'' she said.
Bufo will not be returned to Foss, said state Game Warden Kenny Dove.
``It's considered contraband,'' he said. ``If we had a breeding pair, we could have some problems.''
LENGTH: Medium: 54 linesby CNB