It is a Friday evening at 7:30, but instead of heading to the pub or watching a film, I've taken a train to a market town in the countryside to meet up with volunteers from a toad patrol. These committed people give up their evenings to safeguard the native amphibian community.
A Worrying Decline in Population
The common toad is becoming increasingly rare. A latest study led by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the UK toad population have almost halved since 1985. Seeing a species that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decrease is labeled "concerning" by experts. Toads "don't need very particular environments" and "should be able to live successfully in the majority of habitats in the UK," meaning if even they are struggling to persist, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."
The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985
The Threat from Traffic
Though the research didn't examine the causes 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 would probably be content to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads prefer large ponds. Their capacity to stay out of water for longer than frogs allows they can travel further to find them – sometimes long distances. They tend to follow their traditional paths – it's typical for mature amphibians to return to their natal pond to mate.
Breeding Habits
Fittingly, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a partner around Valentine's day, but some move as far as spring, until it gets dark and travelling through the night. During that period, toads start moving from where they have been overwintering "almost simultaneously."
A local helper, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a child, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their route happens to a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that mating period would never happen – stopping a new generation of toads from being born.
Toad Patrols Across the United Kingdom
Finding hundreds of toad carcasses on local roads "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the formation of rescue teams throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a national initiative. These groups pick up toads and transport them across roads in containers, as well as counting the quantity of toads they encounter and advocating for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and amphibian passages.
Patrols usually work 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 tadpoles, leave their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in late summer. Because of their size – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being run over "essentially crushes them," it's harder to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their remains can be counted.
Annual Work
Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out throughout the year – not every night, but when conditions are damp, or if a member has posted about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I request to accompany them on duty, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – toad hibernation season has started and it's been a arid period – but a few of the volunteers gamely agree to walk up and down their area with me and see what we can find. "Should anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will spot 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 scaled a wire barrier to check under some wood.
Community Participation
The family duo joined the patrol a year and a half ago. The teenager adores all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a conservationist, so his mother started to look for activities they could do together to protect native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner tells me – so when the group was seeking a new manager recently, she decided to step up.
The youth, too, has been instrumental in the organization. A clip he created, imploring the local council to block a street through a nature reserve during migration season, influenced the outcome the team's way. After a year of campaigning, the authority agreed to an "access-only" rule between evening and morning from February through to spring. Most drivers duly avoided the route.
Additional Species and Difficulties
Several cars go by when I'm out on duty and we discover some casualties as a consequence – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one living newt as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his palms. Yet despite the team's hardest attempts to let me see a toad, the native community has obviously gone dormant for the colder months. It appears that I wouldn't have had any better success anywhere else in the nation – all the patrol groups I reach out to explain that it's near-impossible at this season.
They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration
A message I get from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to check for toads in a noted location, considered the biggest tracked toad group in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the title: "None found." However, in late winter, he tells me, the team expects to help approximately 10,000 mature amphibians across the road.
Impact and Limitations
What level of impact can these organizations actually make? "The reality that people are performing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable evenings is remarkable," notes an expert. "This effort that very much should be celebrated." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – not least because traffic is just one danger.
Additional Threats
The climate crisis has meant longer periods of drought, which create the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as worms and slugs, while warmer ponds have caused an rise of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to wake up from their hibernation more frequently, interfering with the energy conservation crucial to their existence. Habitat destruction – particularly the disappearance of big water bodies – is another menace.
Researchers are "often concerned about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on wildlife," however "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads do have an significant part in the food chain, consuming pretty much any invertebrates or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn feeding a variety of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Enhancing situations for toads – ie creating more ponds, protecting forests and installing amphibian passages – "we'll improve them for a wide range of other species."
Historical Importance
An additional motive to try to keep toads around is their "historical significance," adds an specialist. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred
