Ol' Rip the Horned Toad returned to the courthouse. Some speculated that the body in the coffin was a substitute, with the real lizard being held in a private collection. Looney Tunes character, Michigan J. Frog was inspired by Ol' Rip's story. Ol' Rip the Horned Toad Ol' Rip (died January 19, 1929) was a horned lizard (commonly referred to as a "horned toad" or "horny toad") whose supposed 31-year hibernation as an entombed animal is believed by some and doubted by others. His name is a reference to the fictional character Rip Van Winkle. In 1897, a horned lizard was placed in a cornerstone
Wyoming toad County Wyoming Toad Task Force in order to protect the Wyoming toad. The committee started taking toads into captivity for reproduction, but the group and the reproduction plans were only in the works for two years. After the group discontinued, the IUCN stepped in to save the toad. The IUCN ran field studies, captive breeding plans, and tests on what diseases the toads held that may be causing mortality. Through field notes, researchers Withers and Corn (2005) discovered that Wyoming toads tend to mature earlier than other amphibians in their surrounding habitat. The scientists discovered that the average Wyoming toad