Will the UK's Common Toads Survive from Traffic and Population Collapse?

It is a Friday evening at half past seven, but rather than heading to the pub or watching a film, I've taken a train to a market town in Wiltshire to join volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals give up their evenings to protect the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Decline in Numbers

The common toad is growing more uncommon. A recent study conducted 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 British countryside in decline is described as "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "ought to live quite well in the majority of habitats in the UK," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it kind of suggests 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 reasons for the decline, cars certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on UK roads every year – that is, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "with just a small container," toads prefer large ponds. Their ability to stay out of water for more time than frogs allows they can journey farther to reach them – often long distances. They usually stick to their traditional paths – it's typical for adult toads to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Fittingly, the first toads begin their quest for a partner around Valentine's day, but others travel as late as April, waiting until it gets night and travelling after sunset. During that period, toads begin migrating from where they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a boy, notes that "They've got just one focus: to go and have an orgy." If their route happens to a street, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would never happen – preventing a new generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Across the UK

Finding hundreds of toad carcasses on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the formation of toad patrols across 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 encounter and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers tend to operate during the migration season, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this means they can overlook groups of toadlets, which, having existed as spawn and then tadpoles, exit their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by vehicles." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are lost, their carcasses can be counted.

Annual Work

In contrast to many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out year-round – not nightly, but whenever weather are damp, or if a member has reported about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I ask to join them on patrol, they admit it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a dry day – but several of the volunteers gamely agree to walk up and down their route with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the patrol manager, indicating her 14-year-old son and the experienced member. After for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a wire barrier to check under some wood.

Community Participation

The mother and son became part of the patrol a while back. The teenager loves all things nature-related and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his parent started to look for things they could do together to protect local wildlife. Now she loves it as much as he does, the 41-year-old entrepreneur tells me – so when the team was looking for a new manager lately, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the group. A clip he made, urging the local council to close a street through a protected area during breeding time, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the council agreed to an "access-only" restriction between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to spring. The majority of motorists duly avoided the road.

Additional Species and Challenges

Several vehicles go past when I'm out on patrol and we find some casualties as a result – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We see one living newt as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a daddy longlegs, which moves in his palms. Yet in spite of the group's best efforts to let me see a toad, the local population has obviously settled down for the colder months. It seems that I couldn't have found any more luck anywhere else in the country – all the rescue teams I contact explain that it's near-impossible at this season.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

A message I get from a different helper, who has kindly taken the trouble to look for toads in a noted location, considered the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, reaches me with the subject line: "No toads." However, in February and March, he tells me, the team expects to help around 10,000 adult toads across the road.

Effectiveness and Limitations

How much of a difference can these groups truly achieve? "The fact that volunteers are doing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is remarkable," notes an expert. "This effort that very much should be celebrated." However, while rescue teams are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – partly since vehicles is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The global warming has meant extended spells of drought, which cause the poor environment for some of the animals that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have led to an rise of blue-green algae, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to emerge from their hibernation more often, interfering with the resource preservation vital to their existence. Habitat destruction – especially the loss of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on wildlife," but "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads do have an significant part in the food chain, eating almost any invertebrates or small animals they can fit in their mouths and in turn feeding a number of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Enhancing conditions for toads – ie creating more ponds, conserving woodland and installing toad tunnels – "benefits for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Historical Significance

An additional motive to try to keep toads around is their "important cultural value," notes an expert. Myths and folklore around toads date back {centuries|hundred