Tanzanian Toad of Terror

The day and a half of rain that we had a couple of weeks ago (sadly there has been no rain since and the heat is beating down fiercely again) brought out of hiding not only the scorpions but also lots of frogs and some rather charmless toads. The children were fascinated by the frogs and particularly by these enormous, fat, ugly toads. This one was having a lovely rest from his daily chores in amongst the wet grass in our garden.
These toads, however, are to be viewed with some trepidation... Esther and Ben went very close to get a good look at this specimen, but next time, I will be more cautious in allowing my children near to the creatures, since I just learnt that one of the little girls on the nearby MAF compound tried to approach one to see if she could pick it up and it suddenly leapt up and bit her! Shrieking with fright, with blood pouring from a wound on her hand, the poor little thing ran inside to be comforted by her Mum. None of us had ever heard of a biting toad before, but it seems most wildlife here in Tanzania should be treated with caution! Fortunately, the bite is not poisonous, but it still seems very odd that a toad can strike out and bite! I never even knew that toads had teeth...
Jane tells me, though, that one of the local tribes near Dodoma find these toads rather tasty, cooked up with a bit of "ugali" (think mashed potato but made with cornflour rather than potoatoes). She herself has never tried them, but I can't help wondering how many people get bitten in their attempts to catch their toady dinner. As for me, I have no intention of finding out for myself- toad in the hole made with pork sausage is the closest I'd ever hope to get to eating anything with the word "toad" in the title!