Can Britain's Toads Be Saved from Roads and Population Collapse?

It is a Friday evening at 7:30, but rather than heading to the pub or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a town in Wiltshire to meet up with volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their evenings to protect the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Decline in Numbers

The Bufo bufo is growing more rare. A recent research conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the UK toad population have almost halved since 1985. Observing a species that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decrease is described as "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "ought to live quite well in most of areas in Britain," so if even they are struggling to persist, "it kind of suggests that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

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

The Threat from Traffic

Though the research didn't examine the causes for the drop, cars is a major factor. Estimates indicate that 20 tons of toads are crushed on British roads every year – that is, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads favor big bodies of water. Their capacity to stay out of water for more time than frogs means they can journey farther to reach them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They tend to follow their ancestral migration routes – it's common for adult toads to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Breeding Habits

Appropriately enough, the first toads start their journey for a mate around Valentine's day, but some move as far as spring, waiting until it gets night and travelling through the night. During that period, toads begin migrating from where they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who grew up in the region and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a boy, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their route happens to a street, they could all get run over, and that mating period would be lost – stopping a new generation of toads from being born.

Rescue Groups Across the UK

Seeing hundreds of toad carcasses on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the creation of toad patrols throughout the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a countrywide program. These teams pick up toads and carry them over streets in buckets, as well as recording the quantity of toads they find and lobbying for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and amphibian passages.

Volunteers tend to operate during the migration season, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this implies they can miss groups of young toads, which, having been spawn and then tadpoles, leave their ponds over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by vehicles." And as being run over "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their remains can be counted.

Year-Round Efforts

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out throughout the year – not nightly, but when weather are warm and wet, or if someone has reported about a toad sighting in their group chat. When I request to accompany 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 volunteers gamely agree to walk up and down their route with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the patrol manager, indicating her teenage child and the experienced member. After for 120 minutes without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have climbed over a wire barrier to check under some logs.

Family Involvement

The family duo became part of the patrol a year and a half ago. The youngster adores all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to look for activities they could do jointly to protect native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur tells me – so when the team was seeking a new manager lately, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the organization. A video he created, urging the local council to close a street through a protected area during breeding time, swung the decision the group's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the authority approved an "restricted access" rule between evening and morning from late winter through to spring. Most drivers respected and avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

A few cars 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 teenager is especially excited to see a harvestman, which moves in his hands. Yet despite the group's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the local population has clearly gone dormant for the colder months. It appears that I couldn't have found any more luck elsewhere in the country – all the rescue teams I reach out to explain that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

The group expects to help approximately 10,000 adult toads across the road

A message I get from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to look for toads in a noted location, thought to be the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, reaches me with the subject line: "No toads." However, in late winter, he informs me, the group plans to assist approximately ten thousand mature amphibians over the street.

Effectiveness and Limitations

How much of a difference can these organizations actually make? "The fact that volunteers are performing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is remarkable," says an expert. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – partly since traffic is just one danger.

Additional Threats

The climate crisis has resulted in extended spells of drought, which create the poor environment for some of the animals that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while warmer ponds have caused an increase of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to wake up from their dormancy more frequently, interfering with the resource preservation vital to their existence. Habitat destruction – particularly the disappearance of large ponds – is another menace.

Experts are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," however "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads play an important role in the ecosystem, consuming almost any invertebrates or small animals they can swallow and in turn feeding a variety of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Enhancing situations for toads – ie building water habitats, conserving woodland and installing toad tunnels – "benefits for a wide range of additional wildlife."

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