🔗 Share this article

It's Friday night at half past seven, but instead of heading to the pub or watching a film, I've caught a train to a market town in Wiltshire to meet up with volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals give up their nights to protect the local toad population.

An Alarming Drop in Numbers

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly rare. A recent research conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the British common toad numbers have dropped by half since the mid-1980s. Seeing a species 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 quite well in most of habitats in Britain," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

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

The Danger from Traffic

Though the research didn't cover the reasons for the decline, traffic certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tons of toads are crushed on UK roads annually – in other words, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which might be content to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads favor big bodies of water. Their capacity to remain away from water for more time than frogs allows they can journey farther to find them – sometimes long distances. They tend to stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's common for adult toads to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Fittingly, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a mate around February 14th, but some move as far as spring, waiting until it gets night and moving through the night. During that time, toads start moving from wherever they have been hibernating "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, who was raised in the region and has been working to save its amphibians since he was a child, explains that "They've got just one focus: to go and have an orgy." If their route crosses a street, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would be lost – stopping a next generation of toads from being born.

Rescue Groups Across the United Kingdom

Finding hundreds of dead toads on local roads "resonates deeply with people," and has resulted in the formation of rescue teams across the UK – hundreds of organizations are currently registered with a national initiative. These teams collect toads and transport them over streets in buckets, as well as recording the number of toads they find and advocating for other protection measures, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols tend to operate during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this means they can overlook numbers of young toads, which, having been eggs and then juveniles, leave their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by car traffic." And as being run over "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to collect information on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their carcasses can be counted.

Annual Work

In contrast to most patrols, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out throughout the year – not every night, but when conditions are warm and wet, or if a member has reported about a amphibian spotting in their messaging app. 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 helpers willingly accept to patrol 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. After for two hours without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some wood.

Family Involvement

The family duo joined the group a while back. The youngster loves all things nature-related and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to search for activities they could do jointly to protect native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the middle-aged small business owner tells me – so when the team was looking for a new manager lately, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has played an important role in the organization. A clip he made, imploring the municipal authority to close a road through a protected area during breeding time, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the authority agreed to an "restricted access" restriction between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to spring. Most drivers respected and avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

A few vehicles go past when I'm out on duty and we find some casualties as a result – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We see one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a harvestman, which moves in his hands. Yet in spite of the group's best efforts to show me a toad, the native community has clearly gone dormant for the colder months. It seems that I wouldn't have had any better success elsewhere in the nation – all the rescue teams I contact clarify that it's very difficult at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

A message I receive from another volunteer, who has kindly made the effort to look for toads in a famous site, thought to be the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, reaches me with the title: "No toads." However, in February and March, he informs me, the team plans to assist approximately 10,000 adult toads over the street.

Impact and Challenges

What level of impact can these organizations truly achieve? "The reality that people are performing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is remarkable," notes an expert. "This effort that very much should be celebrated." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – partly since traffic is just one danger.

Other Dangers

The climate crisis has meant extended spells of drought, which cause the poor environment for some of the animals that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have led to an increase of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to wake up from their dormancy more frequently, disrupting the energy conservation crucial to their life cycle. Loss of environment – especially the disappearance of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Researchers are "often concerned about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," but "It's important in just their presence." But toads do have an important role in the food chain, consuming pretty much any small creatures or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn sustaining a variety of predators, such as wildlife. Improving conditions for toads – such as building water habitats, protecting forests and constructing toad tunnels – "benefits for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Cultural Importance

An additional motive to work to preserve toads present is their "important cultural value," notes an specialist. Myths and folklore around toads go back {centuries|hundred