Can the UK's Common Toads Be Saved from Roads and Terrible Decline?

It's Friday night at 7:30, but instead of going out or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a town in the countryside to meet up with local helpers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals give up their nights to safeguard the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Decline in Numbers

The common toad is growing more rare. A recent research conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the UK toad population have almost halved since the mid-1980s. Observing a species that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decrease is labeled "worrying" by researchers. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "ought to live quite well in the majority of habitats in the UK," 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 cover the reasons for the decline, cars is a major factor. Estimates indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are killed on British roads every year – that is, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads favor big bodies of water. Their ability to remain away from water for longer than frogs means they can travel further to reach them – sometimes long distances. They tend to stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's common for adult toads to return to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Habits

Fittingly, the initial amphibians start their journey for a mate around February 14th, but some move as far as April, waiting until it gets night and travelling after sunset. During that time, toads start moving from where they have been hibernating "all pretty much at the same time."

A local helper, who was raised in the area and has been working to save its amphibians since he was a child, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their path crosses a street, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would never happen – stopping a new generation of toads from being born.

Rescue Groups Throughout the United Kingdom

Seeing many of dead toads on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the creation of toad patrols throughout the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a national initiative. These groups collect toads and transport them across roads in containers, as well as recording the quantity of toads they encounter and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as road closures and amphibian passages.

Patrols tend to operate during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this implies they can overlook groups of toadlets, which, having been eggs and then juveniles, leave their ponds over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their size – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by car traffic." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their carcasses can be counted.

Year-Round Work

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out throughout the year – not every night, but whenever conditions are warm and wet, or if someone has posted about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on patrol, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a arid period – but a few of the helpers gamely agree to patrol their area with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, that pair 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 glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some logs.

Family Involvement

The family duo became part of the patrol a while back. The youngster adores all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a conservationist, 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 small business owner explains – so when the team was looking for a fresh coordinator lately, she volunteered for the role.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the group. A video he made, urging the municipal authority to block a road through a protected area during migration season, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a year of lobbying, the council agreed to an "restricted access" restriction between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to spring. Most drivers duly avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

Several cars go by when I'm out on duty and we find some victims as a result – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We see one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which dances in his palms. Yet in spite of the team's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the local population has clearly settled down for the colder months. It seems that I wouldn't have had any more luck anywhere else in the country – all the rescue teams I reach out to clarify that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

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 check for toads in a noted location, thought to be the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the title: "No toads." However, in late winter, he tells me, the team plans to assist approximately ten thousand mature amphibians across the road.

Effectiveness and Challenges

What level of impact can these groups actually make? "The fact that people are performing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is quite extraordinary," notes an expert. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while rescue teams are able to reduce the drop, they cannot prevent it entirely – partly since traffic is just one danger.

Additional Threats

The global warming has resulted in longer periods of drought, which create the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads consume, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have led to an increase of blue-green algae, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to emerge from their hibernation more frequently, disrupting the energy conservation vital to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – especially the loss of big water bodies – is another menace.

Experts are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on biodiversity," but "There is a big value in just their presence." But toads do have an significant part in the ecosystem, eating pretty much any invertebrates or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Enhancing conditions for toads – ie creating more ponds, protecting forests and constructing amphibian passages – "benefits for a whole bunch of other species."

Cultural Significance

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