🔗 Share this article

It is Friday evening at half past seven, but instead of going out or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a town in the countryside to meet up with volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their evenings to protect the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Drop in Numbers

The Bufo bufo is growing more rare. A recent study conducted by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since 1985. Seeing a creature that has been a stalwart of the British countryside in decrease is labeled "concerning" by experts. Toads "don't need very particular environments" and "should be able to live quite well in the majority of areas in the UK," so if even they are struggling to persist, "it kind of suggests 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 causes for the decline, traffic is a major factor. Estimates suggest that 20 tons of toads are crushed on UK roads annually – in other words, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "with just a small container," toads prefer large ponds. Their capacity 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 common for mature amphibians to return to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Fittingly, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a mate around February 14th, but others travel as late as spring, until it gets dark and travelling through the night. During that period, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been hibernating "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a boy, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their path happens to a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that mating period would be lost – stopping a new generation of toads from being born.

Rescue Groups Throughout the United Kingdom

Finding hundreds of dead toads on local roads "resonates deeply with people," and has resulted in the creation of toad patrols throughout the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a countrywide program. These groups collect toads and transport them over streets in buckets, as well as recording the quantity of toads they find and lobbying for other protection measures, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols tend to operate during the breeding period, when toad crossings are frequent. However, this means they can miss groups of young toads, which, having been eggs and then tadpoles, leave their water habitats over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just one or two centimetres wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being run over "essentially crushes them," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are lost, their remains can be tallied.

Annual Work

Unlike many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out throughout the year – not nightly, but when weather are warm and wet, or if a member has reported about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on duty, they concede it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a dry day – but a few of the volunteers willingly accept to walk up and down their area with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the group coordinator, pointing to her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to inspect beneath some logs.

Community Involvement

The family duo became part of the patrol a while back. The teenager adores all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to search for activities they could do together to protect native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur tells me – so when the group was looking for a new manager recently, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the organization. A video he made, imploring the municipal authority to close a street through a protected area during migration season, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the council agreed to an "restricted access" restriction between 5pm and 5am from February through to spring. Most drivers duly avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

A few cars go past when I'm out on patrol and we discover some victims as a consequence – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We see one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is especially excited to see a harvestman, which dances in his palms. Yet in spite of the group's best efforts to show me a toad, the local population has obviously gone dormant for the colder months. It appears that I wouldn't have had any more luck elsewhere in the nation – all the patrol groups I reach out to explain that it's very difficult at this season.

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

A message I receive from another volunteer, who has generously taken the trouble to look for toads in a famous site, thought to be the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the title: "No toads." However, in February and March, he informs me, the team expects to help approximately ten thousand adult toads over the street.

Impact and Challenges

How much of a difference can these organizations actually make? "The reality that people are performing this regularly on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is quite extraordinary," notes an researcher. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while rescue teams are able to slow the decline, they cannot prevent it entirely – partly since vehicles is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The climate crisis has meant extended spells of dry weather, which cause the poor environment for some of the animals that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have led to an rise of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also lead toads to wake up from their dormancy more frequently, disrupting the resource preservation vital to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – especially the loss of large ponds – is another menace.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," however "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads play an significant part in the food chain, eating almost any small creatures or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Enhancing situations for toads – ie creating more ponds, protecting forests and installing toad tunnels – "benefits for a wide range of other species."

Historical Significance

Another reason to work to preserve toads around is their "historical significance," adds an expert. Legends and tales around toads go back {centuries|hundred