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

It is a Friday night at 7:30, but instead of 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 toad patrol. These committed people give up their nights to safeguard the local toad population.

An Alarming Decline in Numbers

The common toad is growing more rare. A latest study conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the UK toad population have almost halved since 1985. Seeing a species that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decline is described as "worrying" by researchers. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "should be able 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 reasons for the drop, cars certainly plays a part. Estimates indicate that 20 tons of toads are killed on British roads every year – in other words, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which might be content to mate "if you left out a small container," toads prefer large ponds. Their ability to remain away from water for more time than frogs allows they can travel further to find them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They usually follow their traditional paths – it's typical for mature amphibians to return to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Habits

Fittingly, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a partner around February 14th, but others travel as far as spring, until it gets night and travelling through the night. During that period, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

A local helper, who grew up in the area and has been working to save its toad population 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 mating period would be lost – stopping a next generation of toads from being born.

Toad Patrols Throughout the UK

Seeing many of toad carcasses on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the formation of toad patrols throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a national initiative. These teams collect toads and transport them over streets in containers, as well as recording the quantity of toads they encounter and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads 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 young toads, 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 vehicles." And as being run over "essentially crushes them," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are lost, their remains can be counted.

Year-Round Efforts

In contrast to many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out year-round – not nightly, but when conditions are damp, or if someone has posted about a toad sighting in their messaging app. 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 several of the volunteers gamely agree to patrol their route with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her 14-year-old son and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to check under some wood.

Community Participation

The family duo joined the group a while back. The teenager adores all things nature-related and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his parent started to search for things they could do together to protect local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged small business owner tells me – so when the team was looking for a new manager lately, she volunteered for the role.

The youth, too, has played an important role in the group. A video he made, imploring the local council to block a road through a nature reserve during breeding time, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the authority approved an "restricted access" restriction between evening and morning from late winter through to spring. Most drivers respected and avoided the road.

Additional Species and Difficulties

A few cars go by when I'm out on duty and we discover some victims as a consequence – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We see one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his palms. Yet despite the team's hardest attempts to let me see a toad, the native community has clearly settled down for the colder months. It appears that I couldn't have found any better success elsewhere in the nation – all the patrol groups I reach out to clarify that it's very difficult at this time of year.

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

One email I get from a different helper, who has generously made the effort to check for toads in a famous site, considered the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "No toads." However, in February and March, he tells me, the group expects to help around 10,000 mature amphibians across the road.

Impact and Limitations

What level of impact can these groups actually make? "The reality that volunteers are doing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable evenings is quite extraordinary," notes an expert. "This effort that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams are able to slow the decline, they cannot prevent it entirely – partly since traffic is not the only threat.

Other Dangers

The global warming has meant extended spells of drought, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have led to an increase of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to wake up from their hibernation more frequently, interfering with the energy conservation vital to their existence. Habitat destruction – particularly the loss of large ponds – is another menace.

Experts are "often concerned about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on wildlife," but "There is a big value in just their presence." But toads play an significant part in the ecosystem, eating almost any small creatures or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Enhancing conditions for toads – ie building water habitats, protecting forests and installing amphibian passages – "benefits for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Cultural Significance

Another reason to try to keep toads present is their "important cultural value," adds an expert. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred