Can the UK's Toads Be Saved from Traffic and Population Collapse?

It is a Friday evening at 7:30, but instead of going out or relaxing at home, 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 nights to safeguard the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Drop in Population

The common toad is becoming increasingly uncommon. A recent study led by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since 1985. Observing a species that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decrease is described as "worrying" by researchers. Toads "don't need very particular environments" and "should be able to live successfully in the majority of areas in Britain," meaning if even they are struggling to persist, "it indicates that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

Toad populations across the UK have declined by almost 50% since the 1980s

The Threat from Traffic

Though the study didn't cover the causes for the decline, cars is a major factor. Estimates suggest that 20 tons of toads are crushed on UK roads every year – in other words, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "if you left out a small container," toads favor big bodies of water. Their ability to remain away from water for longer than frogs means they can travel further to find them – sometimes long distances. They usually stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's common for mature amphibians to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Fittingly, the first toads start their journey for a partner around February 14th, but others travel as far as April, until it gets dark and moving after sunset. During that time, toads start moving from where they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, who was raised in the region and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a boy, notes that "They've got just one focus: 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.

Rescue Groups Throughout the United Kingdom

Seeing many of dead toads on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the formation of toad patrols across the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a national initiative. These groups collect toads and carry them over streets in containers, as well as recording the number of toads they encounter and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as road closures and amphibian passages.

Patrols usually work during the migration season, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this implies they can miss numbers of young toads, which, having existed as spawn and then tadpoles, exit their ponds over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – 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 collect information on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their carcasses can be counted.

Annual Work

In contrast to most patrols, one local team, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out year-round – not nightly, but when conditions are damp, 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 a toady night" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a dry day – but a few of the helpers willingly accept to walk up and down their area with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can locate any toads tonight, that pair 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 single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some logs.

Family Participation

The mother and son joined the patrol a while back. The youngster loves all things nature-related and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his mother started to look for activities they could do jointly to help native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old entrepreneur explains – so when the team was looking for a fresh coordinator recently, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the group. A video he made, urging the local council to block a street through a nature reserve during migration season, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the authority agreed to an "access-only" rule between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to spring. Most drivers respected and avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

A few vehicles go past when I'm out on patrol and we discover some casualties as a consequence – no toads, but three squashed newts. We spot one living newt as well, and the youngster is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which moves in his palms. Yet in spite of the team's best efforts to let me see a toad, the local population has clearly gone dormant for the winter. It seems that I couldn't have found any better success elsewhere in the nation – all the patrol groups I reach out to explain that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

A message I receive from another volunteer, who has kindly taken the trouble to check for toads in a famous site, thought to be the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, reaches me with the title: "No toads." However, in late winter, he tells me, the group plans to assist approximately 10,000 adult toads across the road.

Effectiveness and Challenges

How much of a difference can these groups actually make? "The reality that people are performing this regularly on chilly, wet and miserable evenings is remarkable," says an expert. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – not least because traffic is just one danger.

Other Dangers

The global warming has meant extended spells of dry weather, which cause the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have caused an rise of blue-green algae, which can be harmful to toads. Warmer cold seasons also lead toads to wake up from their dormancy more often, disrupting the resource preservation crucial to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – particularly the loss of big water bodies – is another menace.

Experts are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," however "There is a big value in just their presence." But toads play an important role in the ecosystem, consuming pretty much any small creatures or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn feeding a variety of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving situations for toads – ie building water habitats, conserving woodland and constructing amphibian passages – "benefits for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Historical Significance

An additional motive to work to preserve toads present is their "historical significance," notes an specialist. Myths and folklore around toads date back {centuries|hundred