Can the UK's Toads Survive from Traffic and Terrible Decline?

It is Friday night at half past seven, but rather than going out or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a market town in the countryside to join local helpers from a toad patrol. These committed people give up their nights to safeguard the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Drop in Population

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly uncommon. A recent study conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since the mid-1980s. Observing a species that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decrease is labeled "concerning" by experts. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "ought to live successfully in the majority of areas in Britain," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Danger from Roads

Though the study didn't cover the reasons for the drop, traffic certainly plays a part. Estimates suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on British roads annually – that is, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads favor big bodies of water. Their ability to stay out of water for more time than frogs allows they can travel further to find them – often hundreds of metres. They tend to follow their traditional paths – it's typical for mature amphibians to return to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

Fittingly, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a mate around February 14th, but some move as late as April, until it gets dark and moving through the night. During that period, toads start moving from wherever they have been overwintering "almost simultaneously."

One volunteer, who grew up in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a boy, explains that "They've got just one focus: to go and mate." If their route crosses a road, they could all get run over, and that mating period would never happen – stopping a new generation of toads from being born.

Toad Patrols Throughout the UK

Seeing many of dead toads on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the formation of toad patrols across the UK – hundreds of organizations are currently registered with a countrywide program. These teams pick up toads and transport them across roads in buckets, as well as counting the number of toads they encounter and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers tend to operate during the breeding period, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this means they can overlook groups of toadlets, which, having existed as eggs and then tadpoles, exit their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in late summer. Because of their size – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by vehicles." And as being hit "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when adult toads are lost, their remains can be tallied.

Annual Efforts

Unlike many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out throughout the year – not every night, but whenever conditions are warm and wet, or if a member has reported about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on duty, they concede it is "not a toady night" – toad hibernation season has started and it's been a dry day – but a few of the helpers willingly accept to patrol their area with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will find one," says the patrol manager, indicating her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to check under some logs.

Community Participation

The mother and son joined the patrol a year and a half ago. The teenager loves all things wildlife and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to look for activities they could do together to protect native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur tells me – so when the group was looking for a fresh coordinator lately, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the organization. A clip he made, urging the local council to close a street through a protected area during migration season, swung the decision the group's way. After a year of campaigning, the authority approved an "access-only" restriction between 5pm and 5am from February through to April. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the route.

Additional Species and Difficulties

A few vehicles go past when I'm out on duty and we find some casualties as a result – no amphibians, but several crushed salamanders. We see one living newt as well, and the teenager is especially excited to see a harvestman, which moves in his palms. Yet despite the group's hardest attempts to let me see a toad, the local population has clearly gone dormant for the winter. It seems that I wouldn't have had any more luck anywhere else in the country – all the patrol groups I contact explain that it's near-impossible at this season.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

One email I get from a different helper, who has generously taken the trouble to look for toads in a famous site, considered the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the title: "No toads." However, in February and March, he tells me, the group expects to help approximately ten thousand mature amphibians across the road.

Impact and Limitations

What level of impact can these groups truly achieve? "The reality that volunteers are doing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is remarkable," says an expert. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – partly since traffic is just one danger.

Other Dangers

The global warming has meant extended spells of drought, which create the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have led to an increase of blue-green algae, which can be harmful to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to wake up from their dormancy more often, interfering with the resource preservation vital to their existence. Habitat destruction – particularly the disappearance of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

Experts are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," however "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads play an important role in the food chain, eating pretty much any small creatures or small animals they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a number of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Enhancing conditions for toads – such as creating more ponds, conserving woodland and constructing amphibian passages – "benefits for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Historical Significance

An additional motive to work to preserve toads around is their "historical significance," adds an expert. Myths and folklore around toads go back {centuries|hundred