🔗 Share this article

It is Friday night at half past seven, but rather than heading to the pub or watching a film, I've caught a train to a town in Wiltshire to meet up with volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals give up their nights to protect the local toad population.

A Worrying Decline in Population

The Bufo bufo is growing more rare. A latest research led by an wildlife conservation group showed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since 1985. Observing a creature that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decrease is labeled "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "should be able to live successfully in the majority of habitats in the UK," so if even they are struggling to persist, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

Toad populations across the UK have declined by almost 50% since the 1980s

The Danger from Traffic

Though the research didn't cover the causes for the drop, traffic is a major factor. Estimates suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on British roads every year – that is, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "with just a small container," toads favor big bodies of water. Their capacity to remain away from water for longer than frogs means they can travel further to reach them – often long distances. They tend to stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for adult toads to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Fittingly, the initial amphibians start their journey for a partner around Valentine's day, but others travel as late as April, waiting until it gets dark and travelling through the night. During that time, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been hibernating "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, who grew up in the area and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a boy, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their path happens to a road, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would be lost – preventing a new generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Throughout the UK

Finding hundreds of dead toads on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the creation of rescue teams throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are currently registered with a national initiative. These teams pick up toads and carry them across roads in containers, as well as recording the number of toads they encounter and advocating for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers tend to operate during the migration season, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this implies they can miss numbers of toadlets, which, having existed as eggs and then juveniles, leave their ponds over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by vehicles." And as being run over "basically turns them into mush," it's harder to collect information on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their remains can be tallied.

Annual Efforts

In contrast to many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out throughout the year – not every night, but whenever conditions are damp, or if a member has reported about a amphibian spotting in their messaging app. When I request to accompany them on duty, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a arid period – but several of the volunteers willingly accept to patrol their route with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the group coordinator, indicating her 14-year-old son and the experienced member. After for two hours without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some wood.

Family Involvement

The mother and son became part of the patrol a year and a half ago. The youngster adores all things nature-related and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his parent started to look for things they could do jointly to help native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur tells me – so when the group was seeking a new manager lately, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the group. A video he created, imploring the local council to close a street through a nature reserve during breeding time, swung the decision the group's way. After a year of lobbying, the authority agreed to an "access-only" restriction between evening and morning from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the road.

Additional Species and Difficulties

Several cars go by when I'm out on patrol and we find some victims as a consequence – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one living newt as well, and the teenager is especially excited to see a daddy longlegs, which moves in his palms. Yet despite the group's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the local population has clearly gone dormant for the colder months. It appears that I couldn't have found any more luck anywhere else in the country – all the rescue teams I contact explain that it's very difficult at this time of year.

This team anticipates assisting around ten thousand mature toads over the street

One email I receive from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to look for toads in a noted location, considered the largest accurately monitored toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the title: "No toads." However, in February and March, he informs me, the group expects to help around ten thousand adult toads across the road.

Impact and Challenges

How much of a difference can these organizations actually make? "The reality that volunteers are doing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is remarkable," notes an researcher. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – partly since traffic is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The global warming has meant extended spells of dry weather, which create the poor environment for some of the animals that toads eat, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have led to an increase of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to emerge from their dormancy more frequently, interfering with the resource preservation crucial to their life cycle. Loss of environment – especially the loss of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Researchers are "often concerned about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on wildlife," but "It's important in just their presence." But toads play an important role in the food chain, consuming almost any small creatures or tiny organisms they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a number of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Improving conditions for toads – ie building water habitats, protecting forests and installing amphibian passages – "benefits for a wide range of other species."

Cultural Importance

An additional motive to try to keep toads around is their "important cultural value," adds an specialist. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred