An amphibian was seen crossing a ski trail in the Sierra Nevada mountains in January, an unusual sighting that may indicate changing hibernation patterns.
Observation by Mike Brook:
I've definitely never seen anything like this in the snowy part of California. I was out skiing and came across what I think is a toad (but might be a frog). It was moving slowly, but it seemingly wasn't in distress. The weather has been relatively warm and the snowpack is low, but there was still many feet of snow on the ground in Soda Springs.
Comment from LEO Editors:
This is the second post we have received this month about unusual sightings of amphibians ... on snow. The first was posted on January 25th by Haillie Mesics in West Burke, Vermont. See attached post entitled 'Spotted salamander in middle of winter". In both instances the sighting was preceeded by warm weather and tagged with the category "unseasonable". For assistance with identification we have reached to the US Forest Service Taylor Creek Visitor Center. Identification pending. Also a good resources and key for amphibian identification, CaliforniaHerps.com is linked. LEO Network welcomes members to provide comment including species identification assistance for this animal. We think this is probably a California Toad but we have not yet received an expert confirmation.
As an aside, LEO Network is demonstrating for the first time in this post, a comment provided with the use of artifical intelligence. The reason is both to utilize AI as an assist to the LEO Network Team in the research piece of the platform, and also to model ways to be transparent and up-front about the use of a technology that has only become available in the past year.
LEO Network is a place where different knowledge systems (science, local, indigenous) are all welcome to join and work cooperatively. We see the value of all knowledge systems in understanding and responding to the changes we report on each and every day. We hope we can integrate AI as well in a responsible and constructive way. M. Brubaker
Comment from LEO.ai:
The sighting of a toad on a snowy ski trail in Soda Springs during winter is indeed an unusual event, as these amphibians typically hibernate during cold months. The warm weather and low snowpack conditions mentioned could have disrupted the toad's hibernation cycle, causing it to become active at an atypical time of year. Amphibians are sensitive to changes in temperature and precipitation, and such occurrences can serve as indicators of broader environmental changes. It's important to monitor these events, as they may signal shifts in local climate patterns or the onset of more erratic weather conditions due to climate change. Continued observation and reporting of such anomalies can help understand and predict the impacts of these changes on local ecosystems.
Observations From Members 
iNaturalist