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

It is Friday evening at half past seven, but rather than heading to the pub or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a market town in Wiltshire to join local helpers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their nights to protect the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Decline in Population

The common toad is growing more uncommon. A recent research led by an wildlife conservation group showed that the UK toad population have almost halved since 1985. Observing a species that has been a stalwart of the UK landscape 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 areas in the UK," so if even they are struggling to persist, "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 Danger from Traffic

Though the study didn't cover the reasons for the decline, cars is a major factor. Calculations indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on British roads annually – in other words, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their ability to stay out of water for longer than frogs means they can travel further to reach them – often long distances. They usually stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for adult toads to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Fittingly, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a partner around Valentine's day, but others travel as far as April, until it gets night and travelling after sunset. During that period, toads start moving from wherever they have been hibernating "all pretty much at the same time."

A local helper, who was raised in the region and has been working to save its toad population since he was a child, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their path crosses a street, they could be killed by traffic, and that mating period would never happen – preventing a new generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Throughout the United Kingdom

Finding hundreds of toad carcasses on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the formation of toad patrols across the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a national initiative. These groups collect toads and transport them across roads in buckets, as well as recording the number of toads they encounter and advocating for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols usually work during the migration season, when amphibian movements are more regular. However, this means they can overlook groups of young toads, which, having existed as eggs and then juveniles, leave their ponds over an unpredictable schedule 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 get data on them. At least when adult toads are lost, their remains can be counted.

Year-Round Work

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out throughout the year – not nightly, but whenever conditions are damp, or if a member has reported about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I request to accompany them on patrol, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a dry day – but several of the helpers willingly accept to patrol their area with me and see what we can find. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the group coordinator, pointing to her teenage child and the experienced member. We've been out for 120 minutes without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to inspect beneath some wood.

Family Participation

The family duo joined the group a while back. The teenager adores all things wildlife and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to look for activities they could do jointly to protect native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the 41-year-old entrepreneur tells me – so when the team was seeking a new manager recently, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the group. A video he created, urging the municipal authority to block a street through a protected area during migration season, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the council agreed to an "restricted access" rule between evening and morning from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists duly avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

Several vehicles go by when I'm out on patrol and we discover some victims as a consequence – no toads, but three squashed newts. We spot one living newt as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a harvestman, which moves in his palms. Yet in spite of the team's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the local population has obviously gone dormant for the winter. It appears that I couldn't have found any better success elsewhere in the nation – all the rescue teams I contact clarify that it's very difficult at this time of year.

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

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, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "No toads." However, in late winter, he informs me, the team expects to help approximately ten thousand adult toads over the street.

Impact and Limitations

What level of impact can these groups truly achieve? "The reality that volunteers are performing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is quite extraordinary," says an expert. "This effort that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – not least because vehicles is not the only threat.

Other Dangers

The global warming has resulted in extended spells of dry weather, which create the wrong conditions for some of the creatures that toads eat, 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 dormancy more frequently, disrupting the energy conservation vital to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – especially the disappearance of big water bodies – is another menace.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," however "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads play an significant part in the ecosystem, eating almost any small creatures or tiny organisms they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a variety of birds and mammals, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving conditions for toads – ie creating more ponds, protecting forests and constructing amphibian passages – "we'll improve them for a wide range of other species."

Cultural Significance

Another reason to try to keep toads around is their "historical significance," adds an specialist. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred