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It is Friday night at 7:30, but instead of going out or watching a film, I've taken a train to a market town in the countryside to meet up with volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their evenings to safeguard the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Decline in Numbers

The common toad is becoming increasingly uncommon. A latest study conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since 1985. Observing a species that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decrease is described as "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't need very particular environments" and "ought to live successfully in the majority of areas 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 research didn't examine the causes for the decline, traffic certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on UK roads every year – in other words, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be content to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads favor large ponds. Their capacity to remain away from water for longer than frogs allows they can travel further to reach them – often long distances. They tend to follow their traditional paths – it's typical for mature amphibians to return to their birth pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

Appropriately enough, the first toads begin their quest for a mate around Valentine's day, but some move as late as April, until it gets dark and moving after sunset. During that period, toads start moving 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 boy, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and have an orgy." If their path crosses a road, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would be lost – stopping a next generation of toads from being produced.

Rescue Groups Across the UK

Seeing many of toad carcasses on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the formation of rescue teams across the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a national initiative. These groups pick up toads and transport them across roads in buckets, as well as counting the number of toads they find and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers tend to operate during the migration season, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this implies they can overlook groups of toadlets, which, having been eggs and then tadpoles, leave 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 remains can be counted.

Annual Work

Unlike many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out year-round – not nightly, but when weather are damp, or if a member has posted about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. 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 arid period – but a few of the volunteers willingly accept to patrol their route with me and see what we can find. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her 14-year-old son and the longtime volunteer. After for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some wood.

Community Involvement

The mother and son joined the patrol a year and a half ago. The teenager adores all things nature-related and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his parent started to search for activities they could do together to help local wildlife. Now she loves it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur explains – 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, imploring the local council to close a street through a protected area during breeding time, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a year of campaigning, the council agreed to an "access-only" rule between 5pm and 5am from February through to April. Most drivers respected and avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

Several vehicles go by when I'm out on duty and we find some victims as a result – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one living newt as well, and the teenager is especially excited to see a daddy longlegs, which moves in his palms. Yet despite the group's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the native community has obviously gone dormant for the winter. It appears that I wouldn't have had any better success elsewhere in the nation – all the rescue teams I contact clarify that it's very difficult at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

One email I get from another volunteer, who has kindly made the effort to look for toads in a noted location, thought to be the biggest tracked toad group in the UK, reaches me with the title: "No toads." However, in February and March, he informs me, the group plans to assist approximately 10,000 adult toads over the street.

Impact and Challenges

How much of a difference can these organizations truly achieve? "The reality that people are doing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is remarkable," notes an researcher. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while toad patrols are able to slow the decline, they cannot prevent it entirely – not least because traffic is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The climate crisis has resulted in longer periods of drought, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the creatures that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while warmer ponds have caused an rise of blue-green algae, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to emerge from their dormancy more often, interfering with the resource preservation crucial to their existence. Habitat destruction – especially the loss of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," but "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads play an important role in the food chain, consuming almost any small creatures or small animals they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of predators, such as wildlife. Enhancing situations for toads – such as building water habitats, conserving woodland and installing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a whole bunch of other species."

Cultural Significance

Another reason to try to keep toads present is their "historical significance," notes an expert. Myths and folklore around toads go back {centuries|hundred