Can Britain's Common Toads Be Saved from Traffic and Terrible Decline?
It's Friday night at 7:30, but instead of going out or watching a film, I've caught a train to a market town in Wiltshire to join local helpers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals give up their evenings to protect the native amphibian community.
An Alarming Drop in Numbers
The Bufo bufo is growing more uncommon. A latest research led by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since the mid-1980s. Observing a creature that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decrease is described as "concerning" by experts. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "should be able to live successfully in the majority of areas in the UK," so 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 Danger from Traffic
Though the research didn't examine the causes for the decline, cars is a major factor. Calculations suggest that 20 tons of toads are killed on UK roads every year – that is, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which might be happy to mate "with just a small container," toads favor large ponds. Their ability to remain away from water for longer than frogs allows they can travel further to reach them – often long distances. They usually follow their traditional paths – it's typical for mature amphibians to go back to their natal pond to mate.
Breeding Habits
Appropriately enough, the first toads start their journey for a mate around February 14th, but others travel 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 overwintering "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 boy, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their path happens to a road, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would never happen – preventing a next generation of toads from being produced.
Toad Patrols Throughout the United Kingdom
Seeing many of dead toads on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has resulted in the formation of toad patrols throughout the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a national initiative. These teams collect toads and carry them across roads in buckets, as well as recording the quantity of toads they encounter and lobbying for other protection measures, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.
Patrols usually work during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this implies they can overlook numbers of toadlets, which, having been eggs and then tadpoles, exit their water habitats over an irregular timetable in late summer. Because of their size – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being hit "basically turns them into mush," it's harder to collect information on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their remains can be tallied.
Year-Round Efforts
In contrast to many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out year-round – not every night, but whenever weather are warm and wet, or if someone has posted about a toad sighting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on patrol, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a dry day – but a few of the helpers gamely agree to patrol their area with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will find one," says the group coordinator, pointing to her 14-year-old son and the experienced member. After for two hours without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to check under some wood.
Community Participation
The family duo became part of the group a while back. The teenager adores all things nature-related and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to look for activities they could do together to help local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner explains – so when the group was seeking a new manager lately, she decided to step up.
The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the group. A video he made, imploring the local council to close a street through a nature reserve during migration season, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a year of campaigning, the authority agreed to an "restricted access" rule between 5pm and 5am from February through to spring. Most drivers respected and avoided the road.
Other Wildlife and Challenges
Several vehicles go past when I'm out on patrol and we find some victims as a result – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We see one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is especially excited to see a harvestman, which moves in his palms. Yet despite the group's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the local population has obviously gone dormant for the colder months. It appears that I couldn't have found any more luck anywhere else in the country – all the patrol groups I contact 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 kindly taken the trouble to check for toads in a noted location, thought to be the biggest tracked toad group in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "No toads." However, in February and March, he tells me, the team plans to assist around 10,000 adult toads across the road.
Impact and Challenges
What level of impact can these organizations truly achieve? "The reality that volunteers are doing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is quite extraordinary," notes an researcher. "This effort that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – not least because traffic is not the only threat.
Other Dangers
The global warming has meant extended spells of drought, which create the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as worms and slugs, 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 often, disrupting the resource preservation vital to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – especially the disappearance of big water bodies – is another menace.
Experts are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," but "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads do have an important role in the food chain, consuming almost any small creatures or small animals they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a number of predators, such as wildlife. Enhancing situations for toads – ie building water habitats, conserving woodland and installing amphibian passages – "benefits for a whole bunch of other species."
Cultural Importance
An additional motive to try to keep toads present is their "historical significance," adds an expert. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred
