It's Friday night at 7:30, but instead of heading to the pub or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a town in the countryside to join local helpers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals give up their nights to protect the local toad population.
A Worrying Drop in Population
The common toad is becoming increasingly uncommon. A recent research conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the British common toad numbers have dropped by half since 1985. Seeing a creature that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decrease is labeled "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "should be able to live successfully in the majority of habitats in the UK," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that the ecosystem is unbalanced."
Toad populations across the UK have declined by almost 50% since the 1980s
The Threat from Traffic
Though the study didn't cover the reasons for the drop, cars certainly plays a part. Estimates indicate that 20 tons of toads are crushed on British roads annually – in other words, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which might be content to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads favor large ponds. Their ability to remain away from water for longer than frogs allows they can journey farther to reach them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They tend to stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's common for adult toads to return to their birth pond to mate.
Breeding Habits
Appropriately enough, the first toads begin their quest for a mate around February 14th, but others travel as far as April, waiting until it gets night and travelling through the night. During that period, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been hibernating "all pretty much at the same time."
A local helper, who was raised in the region and has been working to save its amphibians since he was a child, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their path happens to a road, they could all get run over, and that mating period would be lost – stopping a new generation of toads from being produced.
Toad Patrols Across the UK
Seeing hundreds of dead toads on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the creation of toad patrols throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a national initiative. These groups pick up toads and transport them over streets in containers, as well as counting the number of toads they find and advocating for other protection measures, such as road closures and amphibian passages.
Volunteers usually work during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this implies they can miss groups of toadlets, which, having existed as eggs and then tadpoles, exit their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being run over "essentially crushes them," it's more difficult to collect information on them. At least when adult toads are lost, their remains can be counted.
Year-Round Work
Unlike most patrols, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out throughout the year – not nightly, but when weather are warm and wet, or if someone has reported about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I ask to join them on duty, they admit it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a dry day – but a few of the volunteers gamely agree to patrol their route with me and search for any toads. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the group coordinator, pointing to her 14-year-old son and the experienced member. We've been out for two hours without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have climbed over a wire barrier to check under some wood.
Family Participation
The mother and son joined the group a year and a half ago. The teenager adores all things wildlife and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his mother started to search for things they could do together to protect native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur explains – so when the group was looking for a new manager recently, she volunteered for the role.
The youth, too, has played an important role in the organization. A video he created, imploring the local council to close a road through a protected area during breeding time, influenced the outcome the team's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the authority agreed to an "access-only" restriction between 5pm and 5am from February through to spring. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the road.
Additional Species and Challenges
A few cars go by when I'm out on duty and we discover some casualties as a result – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a harvestman, which dances in his palms. Yet despite the group's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the local population has obviously settled down for the winter. It seems that I wouldn't have had any more luck elsewhere in the country – all the rescue teams I contact clarify that it's very difficult at this time of year.
This team anticipates assisting around ten thousand mature toads over the street
A message I receive from another volunteer, who has kindly made the effort to check for toads in a famous site, thought to be the biggest tracked toad group in the UK, reaches me with the subject line: "None found." However, in late winter, he informs me, the group plans to assist approximately 10,000 adult toads over the street.
Impact and Challenges
How much of a difference can these organizations actually make? "The reality that people are doing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is quite extraordinary," notes an researcher. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – partly since traffic is just one danger.
Other Dangers
The global warming has resulted in extended spells of dry weather, which create the wrong conditions for some of the creatures that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have caused an rise of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also lead toads to emerge from their dormancy more frequently, disrupting the energy conservation vital to their life cycle. Loss of environment – particularly the loss of large ponds – is an additional threat.
Researchers are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," but "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads do have an significant part in the food chain, consuming almost any small creatures or tiny organisms they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a variety of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Enhancing conditions for toads – ie building water habitats, protecting forests and installing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a whole bunch of other species."
Historical Importance
An additional motive to try to keep toads present is their "historical significance," adds an specialist. Myths and folklore around toads date back {centuries|hundred
