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It's a Friday night at half past seven, but instead of heading to the pub or watching a film, I've taken a train to a market town in Wiltshire to meet up with local helpers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their nights to protect the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Drop in Population

The common toad is becoming increasingly rare. A recent research led 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 stalwart 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 Britain," so if even they are not managing to survive, "it kind of suggests that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

Toad populations across the UK have declined by almost 50% since the 1980s

The Danger from Traffic

Though the research didn't examine the causes for the decline, traffic is a major factor. Calculations suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on British roads annually – in other words, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "with just a small container," toads favor big bodies of water. Their capacity to stay out of water for longer than frogs allows they can travel further to find them – often long distances. They tend to follow their ancestral migration routes – it's common for adult toads to return to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

Appropriately enough, the first toads begin their quest for a partner around February 14th, but others travel as late as spring, waiting until it gets dark and travelling through the night. During that time, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, 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 be killed by traffic, and that mating period would be lost – stopping a next generation of toads from being born.

Rescue Groups Across the UK

Finding many of toad carcasses on local roads "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the creation of rescue teams across the UK – hundreds of organizations 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 advocating for other protection measures, such as road closures and amphibian passages.

Patrols usually work during the migration season, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this means they can miss numbers of toadlets, which, having been spawn and then tadpoles, leave their ponds over an unpredictable schedule in late 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 harder to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are lost, their remains can be tallied.

Annual Work

In contrast to most patrols, one local team, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out throughout the year – not every night, but when weather are damp, or if a member has reported about a amphibian spotting in their messaging app. When I ask to join them on patrol, they admit it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a dry day – but several of the volunteers willingly accept 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, indicating her 14-year-old son and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to check under some wood.

Community Participation

The mother and son joined the patrol a while back. The teenager adores all things wildlife and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to search for activities they could do together to protect native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the middle-aged small business owner explains – so when the group was looking for a new manager recently, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the group. A clip he made, urging the local council to close a road through a nature reserve during breeding time, influenced the outcome the team's way. After a year of campaigning, the authority approved an "access-only" restriction between evening and morning from late winter through to April. Most drivers respected and avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

Several vehicles go by when I'm out on patrol and we find some victims as a result – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his palms. Yet in spite of the team's hardest attempts to let me see a toad, the native community has obviously gone dormant for the colder months. It appears that I wouldn't have had any more luck anywhere else in the nation – all the rescue teams I reach out to explain that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

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

One email I get from another volunteer, who has kindly taken the trouble to check for toads in a noted location, thought to be the largest accurately monitored toad population in the UK, reaches me with the title: "No toads." However, in February and March, he informs me, the team expects to help approximately ten thousand mature amphibians over the street.

Effectiveness and Limitations

How much of a difference can these groups truly achieve? "The reality that people are doing this regularly on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is remarkable," says an expert. "This effort that very much should be celebrated." However, while toad patrols are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – partly since 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 eat, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have caused an increase of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to wake up from their hibernation more often, disrupting the resource preservation vital to their life cycle. Loss of environment – particularly the disappearance of large ponds – is another menace.

Experts are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," however "There is a big value in just their presence." But toads do have an significant part in the food chain, eating pretty much any small creatures or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn feeding a variety of predators, such as wildlife. Enhancing conditions for toads – ie building water habitats, protecting forests and installing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Historical Significance

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