🔗 Share this article

It's Friday evening at 7:30, but rather than going out or watching a film, I've caught a train to a market town in Wiltshire to join volunteers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their nights to protect the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Drop in Numbers

The Bufo bufo is growing more rare. A latest study conducted by an wildlife conservation group showed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since 1985. Seeing a creature that has been a stalwart of the British countryside in decline is labeled "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "should be able to live successfully in most of areas in Britain," meaning if even they are struggling to persist, "it kind of suggests that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

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

The Threat from Roads

Though the research didn't examine the reasons for the drop, traffic is a major factor. Estimates indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on British roads annually – in other words, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be content to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads favor large ponds. Their ability to stay out of water for longer than frogs allows they can travel further to reach them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They tend to stick to their traditional paths – it's typical for mature amphibians to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Appropriately enough, the first toads begin their quest for a mate around Valentine's day, but some move as far as April, until it gets dark and moving after sunset. During that period, toads start moving from wherever they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who was raised in the region and has been working to save its toad population since he was a child, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their path crosses a street, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would never happen – stopping a next generation of toads from being produced.

Rescue Groups Across the United Kingdom

Finding hundreds of dead toads on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the formation of rescue teams throughout the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a countrywide program. These groups collect toads and carry them across roads in containers, as well as counting the number of toads they find and advocating for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers tend to operate during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are more regular. However, this implies they can overlook groups of young toads, which, having been spawn and then juveniles, leave their ponds over an unpredictable schedule in late summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by vehicles." 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.

Annual Work

In contrast to most patrols, one local team, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out year-round – not every night, but when weather 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 admit it is "not ideal conditions" – toad hibernation season has started and it's been a dry day – but a few of the volunteers gamely agree to walk up and down their route with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can locate any toads tonight, that pair will find one," says the patrol manager, indicating her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. After for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to inspect beneath some wood.

Family Participation

The family duo became part of the group a while back. The youngster adores all things wildlife and has an ambition to become a conservationist, so his parent started to search for things they could do jointly to protect native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner explains – so when the team was seeking a new manager recently, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the group. A video he created, imploring the local council to close a street through a protected area during migration season, influenced the outcome the team's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the council approved an "restricted access" restriction between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to spring. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

Several cars go past when I'm out on patrol and we find some casualties as a result – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one living newt as well, and the youngster is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which moves in his palms. Yet despite the group's best efforts to show me a toad, the native community has clearly gone dormant for the winter. It appears that I couldn't have found any better success anywhere else in the country – all the rescue teams I reach out to clarify 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 get from a different helper, who has generously made the effort to look for toads in a famous site, considered the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the title: "No toads." However, in late winter, he informs me, the team expects to help around ten thousand adult toads across the road.

Impact and Challenges

How much of a difference can these groups truly achieve? "The reality that volunteers are doing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is quite extraordinary," notes an expert. "This effort that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – not least because traffic is just one danger.

Additional Threats

The global warming has resulted in extended spells of dry weather, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have led to an increase of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to emerge from their dormancy more often, disrupting the energy conservation vital to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – especially the loss of large ponds – is another menace.

Experts are "often concerned about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on wildlife," however "It's important in just their presence." But toads play an important role in the ecosystem, consuming almost any invertebrates or small animals they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Enhancing situations for toads – such as building water habitats, protecting forests and installing amphibian passages – "benefits for a wide range of other species."

Cultural Significance

Another reason to work to preserve toads around is their "important cultural value," adds an specialist. Legends and tales around toads go back {centuries|hundred