🔗 Share this article

It's a Friday evening at half past seven, but instead of heading to the pub or watching a film, I've taken a train to a town in the countryside to meet up with volunteers from a toad patrol. These committed people give up their evenings to safeguard the local toad population.

An Alarming Decline in Numbers

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly uncommon. A recent research led by an wildlife conservation group showed 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 decline is described as "concerning" by experts. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "ought to live successfully in the majority of areas in the UK," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it kind of suggests that things are not as they should be."

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

The Threat from Roads

Though the research didn't cover the reasons for the drop, cars is a major factor. Calculations indicate that 20 tons of toads are killed on UK roads annually – in other words, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which might be content to mate "if you left out a small container," toads favor large ponds. Their ability to remain away from water for more time than frogs means they can journey farther to find them – often hundreds of metres. They usually stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's common for adult toads to return to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a partner around February 14th, but others travel as far as April, until it gets dark and travelling after sunset. During that period, toads begin migrating from where they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a boy, explains that "They've got just one focus: to go and mate." If their route crosses a street, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would never happen – stopping a new generation of toads from being produced.

Rescue Groups Across the United Kingdom

Seeing many of toad carcasses on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has resulted in the creation of rescue teams throughout the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a national initiative. These groups collect toads and transport them across roads in buckets, as well as counting the quantity of toads they find and advocating for other protection measures, such as road closures and amphibian passages.

Patrols tend to operate during the migration season, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this means they can miss numbers of young toads, which, having existed as eggs and then tadpoles, exit their ponds over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their size – just one or two centimetres wide – "they can get obliterated by vehicles." And as being hit "basically turns them into mush," it's harder to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their carcasses can be counted.

Year-Round Work

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out throughout the year – not nightly, but whenever conditions are damp, or if someone has posted about a amphibian spotting in their messaging app. When I ask to join them on duty, they admit it is "not ideal conditions" – toad hibernation season has started and it's been a arid period – but a few of the helpers willingly accept 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, indicating her 14-year-old son and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to inspect beneath some logs.

Community Participation

The mother and son joined the group a year and a half ago. The youngster loves all things wildlife and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his mother started to look for things they could do together to protect native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner explains – so when the group was looking for a new manager recently, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the group. A clip he made, urging the local council to block a street through a protected area during breeding time, swung the decision the team's way. After a year of campaigning, the council approved an "restricted access" restriction between evening and morning from late winter through to April. Most drivers duly avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

Several cars go past when I'm out on patrol and we find some victims as a consequence – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We see one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his hands. Yet in spite of the team's hardest attempts to let me see a toad, the native community has obviously gone dormant for the colder months. It seems that I couldn't have found any better success elsewhere in the nation – all the patrol groups I contact clarify that it's near-impossible at this season.

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

A message I receive from a different helper, who has kindly made the effort to look for toads in a noted location, considered the biggest tracked toad group in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "No toads." However, in late winter, he tells me, the team plans to assist approximately 10,000 adult toads over the street.

Effectiveness and Challenges

What level of impact can these organizations actually make? "The fact that people are performing this regularly on chilly, wet and miserable evenings is quite extraordinary," says an expert. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – not least because traffic is just one danger.

Other Dangers

The climate crisis has resulted in extended spells of dry weather, which cause the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have led to an increase of blue-green algae, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to emerge from their dormancy more frequently, interfering with the energy conservation crucial to their life cycle. Loss of environment – particularly the loss of big water bodies – is another menace.

Researchers are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," but "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads play an significant part in the ecosystem, eating pretty much any invertebrates or small animals they can fit in their mouths and in turn feeding a variety of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Enhancing situations for toads – such as building water habitats, conserving woodland and constructing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a wide range of other species."

Cultural Significance

Another reason to work to preserve toads around is their "historical significance," notes an specialist. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred