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

It is Friday night at half past seven, but instead of going out or watching a film, I've caught a train to a town in Wiltshire to join local helpers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals give up their nights to protect the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Drop in Population

The Bufo bufo is growing more rare. A recent research led by an wildlife conservation group showed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since 1985. Observing a creature that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decline is described as "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "ought to live successfully in most of habitats in Britain," meaning if even they are struggling to persist, "it indicates 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 study didn't cover the causes for the decline, cars certainly plays a part. Calculations indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on UK roads every year – in other words, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which might be happy to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their ability to remain away from water for more time than frogs allows they can travel further to reach them – sometimes long distances. They tend to follow their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for adult toads to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians start their journey for a mate around February 14th, but some move as late as April, until it gets night and moving after sunset. During that period, toads start moving from wherever 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 boy, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their path crosses a road, they could all get run over, and that mating period would never happen – stopping a next generation of toads from being produced.

Rescue Groups Across the UK

Seeing hundreds of dead toads on local roads "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the creation of rescue teams across the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a countrywide program. These groups pick up toads and transport them across roads in containers, as well as recording the quantity of toads they find and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols usually work during the breeding period, when toad crossings are frequent. However, this implies they can overlook groups of toadlets, which, having existed as spawn and then juveniles, leave 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 run over "essentially crushes them," it's more difficult to collect information on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their carcasses can be tallied.

Annual Work

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out year-round – not nightly, but whenever conditions are warm and wet, or if someone 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 gamely agree to walk up and down their area with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, that pair will find one," says the patrol manager, indicating her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a wire barrier to check under some logs.

Family Involvement

The mother and son joined the patrol a year and a half ago. The youngster adores all things wildlife and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to look for activities they could do together to protect local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old 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 clip he created, urging the municipal authority to block a street through a nature reserve during breeding time, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a year of campaigning, the authority approved an "restricted access" restriction between 5pm and 5am from February through to April. Most drivers respected and avoided the route.

Additional Species and Challenges

A few vehicles go by when I'm out on patrol and we find some casualties as a consequence – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We see one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which dances in his palms. Yet in spite of the team's best efforts to let me see a toad, the local population has obviously gone dormant for the colder months. It appears that I couldn't have found any better success anywhere else in the country – all the rescue teams I reach out to clarify that it's very difficult at this season.

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

A message I get from another volunteer, who has generously taken the trouble to check for toads in a famous site, considered the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, reaches me with the subject line: "None found." However, in February and March, he informs me, the group expects to help approximately ten thousand mature amphibians over the street.

Impact and Challenges

What level of impact can these organizations truly achieve? "The reality that volunteers are performing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable evenings is quite extraordinary," notes an expert. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – not least because traffic is just one danger.

Additional Threats

The global warming has meant extended spells of drought, which cause the poor environment for some of the animals that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have caused an rise of blue-green algae, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to wake up from their hibernation more often, interfering with the resource preservation vital 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 biodiversity," but "There is a big value in just their presence." But toads play an important role in the food chain, consuming almost any invertebrates or small animals they can swallow and in turn sustaining a number of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Enhancing conditions for toads – ie building water habitats, protecting forests and installing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a whole bunch of other species."

Historical Importance

Another reason to work to preserve toads present is their "important cultural value," adds an specialist. Myths and folklore around toads date back {centuries|hundred