Will Britain's Common Toads Survive from Traffic and Terrible Decline?

It's Friday evening at 7:30, but instead of heading to the pub or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a market town in the countryside to join volunteers from a toad patrol. These committed people sacrifice their nights to protect the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Drop in Numbers

The common toad is growing more rare. A latest study led by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since the mid-1980s. Observing a species that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decrease is labeled "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "should be able to live quite well in the majority of areas in the UK," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Danger from Roads

Though the research didn't cover the reasons for the decline, cars certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tons of toads are crushed on UK roads annually – in other words, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which might be happy to mate "if you left out a small container," toads favor big bodies of water. Their capacity to stay out of water for longer than frogs means they can travel further to find them – sometimes long distances. They usually follow their traditional paths – it's typical for adult toads to return to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Appropriately enough, the first toads start their journey for a partner around Valentine's day, but some move as far as April, until it gets dark and travelling after sunset. During that time, toads begin migrating from wherever 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 child, notes that "They've got just one focus: to go and mate." If their path crosses a road, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would never happen – stopping a next generation of toads from being born.

Toad Patrols Throughout the UK

Finding many of toad carcasses on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has resulted in the creation of toad patrols throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a national initiative. These teams collect toads and transport them across roads in containers, as well as counting the number of toads they encounter and lobbying for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers tend to operate during the migration season, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this means they can overlook numbers of toadlets, which, having existed as spawn and then juveniles, leave their ponds over an unpredictable schedule in late summer. Because of their small stature – just one or two centimetres wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." 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 lost, their carcasses can be counted.

Annual Work

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out year-round – not every night, but whenever weather are damp, or if someone has posted about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on duty, they concede it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a arid period – but a few of the volunteers gamely agree to walk up and down their area with me and search for any toads. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the patrol manager, indicating her 14-year-old son and the longtime volunteer. After for two hours without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to inspect beneath some wood.

Community Participation

The family duo became part of the patrol a year and a half ago. The teenager loves all things wildlife and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to look for things they could do together to protect local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur explains – so when the group was looking for a new manager lately, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the group. A video he created, imploring the municipal authority to close a road through a nature reserve during breeding time, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the authority approved an "access-only" restriction between evening and morning from late winter through to spring. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

Several vehicles go past when I'm out on duty and we find some casualties 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 hands. Yet in spite of the team's best efforts to show me a toad, the native community has clearly gone dormant for the colder months. It seems that I couldn't have found any more luck anywhere else in the country – all the patrol groups I reach out to clarify that it's near-impossible at this season.

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

One email I get from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to check for toads in a noted location, thought to be the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, reaches me with the title: "None found." However, in February and March, he informs me, the team expects to help around 10,000 mature amphibians over the street.

Effectiveness and Challenges

How much of a difference can these groups truly achieve? "The reality that volunteers are performing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is quite extraordinary," notes an expert. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while rescue teams are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – not least because traffic is not the only threat.

Other Dangers

The climate crisis has meant longer periods of dry weather, which create the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have led to an rise of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to wake up from their hibernation more often, disrupting the resource preservation vital to their existence. Habitat destruction – especially the loss of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

Experts are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," but "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads do have an significant part in the ecosystem, consuming pretty much any invertebrates or small animals they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a variety of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Enhancing conditions for toads – ie creating more ponds, protecting forests and constructing amphibian passages – "we'll improve them for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Cultural Importance

Another reason to work to preserve toads present is their "important cultural value," notes an specialist. Legends and tales around toads go back {centuries|hundred