---excerpt from personal comunication about B.alvarius ---

Unless we get a lot of monsoon rain this year, most populations of this
species will stay buried underground. I was fortunate enough to discover a
few local populations of this toad that are not dependent on the rain in
their life cycle, and this is where I harvested my venom. So, one toad
yields an average of 250mgs of venom (when all the glands are milked twice.)
I aggregate the venom of all the toads together to average out the
variations in the levels of any substances present in the venom. Last night,
I spent two hours round trip driving and four hours hunting and only milked
10 toads (twice each.) This kind of yield sucks! However, if we get enough
rain and I can collect and milk 100 toads (twice) in one night, that's 25grs
for a (long) night's work and I'm ready to make deals! So, I guess the
situation right now is to wait out Mother Nature. To get the price I need
right now for the effort I've put into acquiring this venom, I'm not sure
it's worth it to anyone.

------------ originally published on tacethno.com -----------------