🔗 Share this article

It's a Friday evening at half past seven, but rather than going out or watching a film, I've taken a train to a town in Wiltshire to join volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals give up their evenings to safeguard the local toad population.

A Worrying Drop in Numbers

The common toad is becoming increasingly rare. A latest study led by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since 1985. Seeing a creature that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decrease is labeled "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "ought to live successfully in the majority of areas in the UK," so if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

Since 1985, Britain's toad numbers have nearly been cut in half

The Danger from Traffic

Though the research didn't cover the causes for the drop, cars certainly plays a part. Estimates suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on British roads annually – in other words, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads favor large ponds. Their capacity to remain away from water for longer than frogs means they can travel further to reach them – sometimes long distances. They tend to stick to their traditional paths – it's typical for adult toads to return to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians start their journey for a partner around February 14th, but some move as late as spring, waiting until it gets night and moving after sunset. During that period, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

A local helper, who grew up in the area and has been working to save its toad population since he was a boy, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and have an orgy." If their path happens to a street, they could be killed by traffic, and that mating period would be lost – stopping a new generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Across the UK

Seeing many of toad carcasses on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the creation of rescue teams across the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a countrywide program. These groups collect toads and transport them over streets in containers, as well as recording the quantity of toads they find and lobbying for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and amphibian passages.

Volunteers tend to operate during the breeding period, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this implies they can overlook groups of toadlets, which, having existed as spawn and then juveniles, leave their ponds over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just one or two centimetres wide – "they can get obliterated by vehicles." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's more difficult to collect information on them. At least when mature amphibians are lost, their carcasses can be counted.

Annual Work

In contrast to most patrols, one local team, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out throughout the year – not every night, but when conditions are warm and wet, or if a member has reported about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I request to accompany them on duty, they concede it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a arid period – but a few of the volunteers willingly accept to patrol their area with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her 14-year-old son and the experienced member. After for two hours without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have climbed over a wire barrier to check under some wood.

Community Participation

The family duo became part of the group a while back. The teenager loves all things wildlife and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to search for things they could do jointly to protect local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged small business owner tells me – so when the group was looking for a fresh coordinator recently, she volunteered for the role.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the group. A clip he created, urging the municipal authority to close a road through a protected area during migration season, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a year of campaigning, the authority approved an "restricted access" rule between 5pm and 5am from February through to spring. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

A few cars go past when I'm out on duty and we find some victims as a result – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is especially excited to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his palms. Yet despite the group's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the native community has clearly gone dormant for the winter. It seems that I couldn't have found any better success elsewhere in the country – all the rescue teams I reach out to explain that it's very difficult at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

One email I get from a different helper, who has kindly made the effort to check for toads in a noted location, thought to be the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, reaches me with the subject line: "None found." However, in late winter, he tells me, the team plans to assist approximately 10,000 mature amphibians over the street.

Effectiveness and Challenges

What level of impact can these groups actually make? "The fact that volunteers are performing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable evenings is quite extraordinary," notes an expert. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while toad patrols are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – partly since traffic is just one danger.

Additional Threats

The climate crisis has meant extended spells of drought, which create the poor environment for some of the animals that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have caused an rise of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to wake up from their hibernation more often, interfering with the energy conservation crucial to their existence. Loss of environment – particularly the disappearance of large ponds – is another menace.

Researchers are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," however "There is a big value in just their presence." But toads do have an significant part in the ecosystem, eating pretty much any small creatures or tiny organisms they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a variety of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving situations for toads – ie building water habitats, protecting forests and installing toad tunnels – "benefits for a whole bunch of other species."

Cultural Importance

Another reason to try to keep toads around is their "important cultural value," notes an expert. Legends and tales around toads go back {centuries|hundred