Will Britain's Common Toads Be Saved from Traffic and Population Collapse?

It is a Friday evening at 7:30, but rather than going out or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a town in Wiltshire to join local helpers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals give up their evenings to protect the native amphibian community.

A Worrying Drop in Population

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly rare. A recent study conducted by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since 1985. Observing a creature that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decline is described as "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't need very particular environments" and "should be able to live quite well in the majority of areas in Britain," so if even they are struggling to persist, "it indicates that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

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

The Threat from Roads

Though the study didn't cover the causes for the decline, traffic is a major factor. Calculations suggest that 20 tons of toads are killed on UK roads annually – in other words, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads favor large ponds. Their capacity to stay out of water for more time than frogs allows they can travel further to find them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They tend to follow their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for adult toads 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, waiting until it gets dark and travelling through the night. During that time, toads begin migrating from where they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

One volunteer, who grew up in the region and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a boy, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their route crosses a road, they could all get run over, and that mating period would be lost – stopping a next generation of toads from being produced.

Rescue Groups Throughout the UK

Finding many of dead toads on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the formation of toad patrols across the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a countrywide program. These teams pick up toads and transport them over streets in containers, as well as recording the quantity of toads they find and lobbying for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols usually work during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are more regular. However, this implies they can miss groups of toadlets, which, having been eggs and then juveniles, leave their water habitats over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by car traffic." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's harder to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their remains can be tallied.

Annual Work

Unlike most patrols, one local team, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out year-round – not every night, but whenever conditions are damp, or if someone has reported about a amphibian spotting in their messaging app. When I ask to join them on duty, they admit it is "not ideal conditions" – toad hibernation season has begun 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, those two will find one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her 14-year-old son and the experienced member. After for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some logs.

Community Involvement

The family duo joined the group a year and a half ago. The youngster adores all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a conservationist, so his parent started to search for things they could do jointly to help native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old entrepreneur tells me – so when the group was seeking a fresh coordinator lately, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the group. A video he made, urging the municipal authority to block a road through a nature reserve during migration season, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the council approved an "access-only" rule between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

Several vehicles go past when I'm out on patrol and we discover some casualties as a consequence – 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 dances in his palms. Yet despite the group's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the native community has obviously gone dormant for the colder months. It appears that I wouldn't have had any more luck elsewhere in the nation – all the patrol groups I contact clarify that it's near-impossible at this season.

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

A message 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 group expects to help approximately 10,000 adult toads across the road.

Impact and Limitations

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 quite extraordinary," says an expert. "This effort that very much should be celebrated." However, while rescue teams are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – partly since traffic is not the only threat.

Other Dangers

The climate crisis has meant extended spells of drought, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the creatures that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have led to 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 energy conservation crucial to their life cycle. Habitat destruction – particularly the loss of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on wildlife," but "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads play an important role in the ecosystem, eating pretty much any invertebrates or tiny organisms they can swallow and in turn sustaining a number of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Improving conditions for toads – ie creating more ponds, conserving woodland and installing amphibian passages – "benefits for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Historical Importance

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