Can 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 market town in Wiltshire to join local helpers from a toad patrol. These committed people sacrifice their nights to protect the local toad population.

A Worrying Drop in Numbers

The Bufo bufo is growing more rare. A latest research led by an wildlife conservation group showed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since the mid-1980s. Seeing a species that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decline is labeled "concerning" by experts. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "should be able to live quite well in most of areas in Britain," so if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

Since 1985, Britain's toad numbers have nearly been cut in half

The Danger from Roads

Though the study didn't cover the causes for the drop, traffic certainly plays a part. Calculations indicate that 20 tons of toads are killed on UK roads every year – in other words, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which might be happy to mate "with just a small container," toads prefer large ponds. Their ability to remain away from water for more time than frogs means they can travel further to reach them – often hundreds of metres. They usually follow their ancestral migration routes – it's common for mature amphibians to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

Fittingly, the first toads begin their quest for a partner around Valentine's day, but some move as far as spring, until it gets dark and travelling through the night. During that time, toads start moving from wherever they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

A local helper, who grew up in the region and has been working to save its amphibians since he was a boy, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and have an orgy." If their path happens to a street, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would be lost – stopping a next generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Throughout the United Kingdom

Seeing many of dead toads on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the formation of rescue teams throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are currently registered with a countrywide program. These groups pick up toads and transport them across roads in containers, as well as counting the number 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 overlook groups of young toads, which, having been eggs and then tadpoles, exit their water habitats over an irregular timetable in late summer. Because of their small stature – just one or two centimetres wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being hit "essentially crushes them," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their remains can be counted.

Annual Work

Unlike most patrols, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out throughout the year – not nightly, but when conditions are warm and wet, or if a member has reported about a amphibian spotting in their messaging app. When I request to accompany them on duty, they concede it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a arid period – but several of the volunteers gamely agree to walk up and down their route with me and search for any toads. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, that pair will find one," says the group coordinator, indicating her 14-year-old son and the experienced member. After for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to check under some wood.

Community Participation

The mother and son joined the patrol a year and a half ago. The teenager adores all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to search for activities they could do together to help 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 new manager lately, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has been instrumental in the group. A video he created, urging the local council to close a road through a protected area during breeding time, swung the decision the group's way. After a year of campaigning, the council approved an "restricted access" rule between evening and morning from late winter through to April. Most drivers respected and avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

A few vehicles go by when I'm out on duty and we discover some casualties as a result – no toads, 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 hands. Yet in spite of the group's best efforts to let me see a toad, the native community has obviously settled down for the colder months. It seems that I wouldn't have had any more luck elsewhere in the nation – all the patrol groups I reach out to clarify that it's near-impossible at this season.

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

A message I receive from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort 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 late winter, he informs me, the team expects to help approximately 10,000 adult toads across the road.

Impact and Limitations

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

Additional Threats

The climate crisis has meant extended spells of dry weather, which create the poor environment for some of the animals that toads eat, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have caused an increase of toxic plants, 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 crucial to their life cycle. Loss of environment – particularly the disappearance of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

Experts are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," but "It's important in just their presence." But toads play an important role in the ecosystem, eating pretty much any invertebrates or small animals they can swallow and in turn sustaining a number of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving conditions for toads – such as creating more ponds, conserving woodland and constructing amphibian passages – "benefits for a wide range of other species."

Cultural Significance

Another reason to work to preserve toads present is their "historical significance," notes an specialist. Myths and folklore around toads date back {centuries|hundred