🔗 Share this article

It's a Friday evening at half past seven, but rather than going out or watching a film, I've caught a train to a market town in the countryside to meet up with local helpers from a amphibian rescue group. These committed people give up their evenings to safeguard the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Drop in Numbers

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly uncommon. A recent study conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the British common toad numbers have dropped by half since 1985. Observing a species that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decrease is described as "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "should be able to live quite well 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 Danger from Roads

Though the research didn't cover the reasons for the decline, cars certainly plays a part. Estimates suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on British roads annually – that is, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their capacity to stay out of water for longer than frogs allows they can travel further to reach them – sometimes long distances. They tend to follow their traditional paths – it's typical for adult toads to return to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Habits

Fittingly, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a mate around February 14th, but others travel as late as April, waiting until it gets dark and travelling through the night. During that time, toads begin migrating from where they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who grew up in the area and has been working to save its amphibians since he was a boy, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and have an orgy." If their path crosses a street, they could all get run over, and that mating period would never happen – preventing a new generation of toads from being produced.

Rescue Groups Across the United Kingdom

Finding hundreds of dead toads on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the creation of rescue teams across the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a countrywide program. These teams pick up toads and carry them over streets in buckets, as well as counting the number of toads they find and lobbying for other protection measures, such as road closures and amphibian passages.

Volunteers tend to operate during the migration season, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this implies they can miss groups of young toads, which, having existed as spawn and then tadpoles, exit their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their size – just one or two centimetres wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being run over "basically turns them into mush," it's harder to get data on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their carcasses can be tallied.

Annual Work

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out year-round – not every night, but whenever weather are warm and wet, or if a member has posted about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on patrol, they admit it is "not a toady night" – toad hibernation season has begun and it's been a dry day – but several of the volunteers gamely agree to patrol their route with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the group coordinator, indicating her 14-year-old son and the experienced member. After for 120 minutes without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to check under some logs.

Family Participation

The family duo became part of the patrol a year and a half ago. The youngster adores all things wildlife and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to look for things they could do jointly to help local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged small business owner tells me – so when the team was looking for a fresh coordinator recently, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has played an important role in the organization. A clip he made, urging the local council to block a road through a protected area during breeding time, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the authority approved an "restricted access" restriction between 5pm and 5am from February through to spring. Most drivers duly avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

Several vehicles go past when I'm out on patrol and we discover some casualties as a consequence – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We see one living newt as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a harvestman, which moves in his hands. Yet despite the team's best efforts to show me a toad, the local population has obviously settled down for the winter. It seems that I couldn't have found any better success elsewhere in the country – all the rescue teams I contact explain that it's very difficult at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

One email I receive from a different helper, who has kindly taken the trouble to look for toads in a famous site, thought to be the largest accurately monitored toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "None found." However, in late winter, he tells me, the group expects to help approximately 10,000 mature amphibians over the street.

Impact and Limitations

How much of a difference can these organizations actually make? "The reality that people are doing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is remarkable," says an researcher. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams 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 longer periods of dry weather, which create the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have led to an increase of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to wake up from their dormancy more frequently, interfering with the energy conservation vital to their life cycle. Loss of environment – especially the disappearance of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Experts are "often concerned about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," however "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads play an significant part in the ecosystem, consuming almost any small creatures or small animals they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving conditions for toads – such as building water habitats, conserving woodland and installing toad tunnels – "benefits for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Historical 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