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It's a Friday evening at half past seven, but rather than going out or watching a film, I've taken a train to a town in Wiltshire to join volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their nights to safeguard the local toad population.

A Worrying Drop in Numbers

The Bufo bufo is becoming increasingly rare. A recent study conducted by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the British common toad numbers have dropped by half since the mid-1980s. Seeing a species that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decrease is described as "worrying" by researchers. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "ought to live successfully in the majority of habitats in Britain," meaning if even they are struggling to persist, "it kind of suggests that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Threat from Traffic

Though the research didn't examine the reasons for the decline, cars is a major factor. Calculations indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on British roads every year – that is, hundreds of thousands. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be content to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads favor big bodies of water. Their capacity to stay out of water for more time than frogs means they can journey farther to find them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They usually stick to their traditional paths – it's typical for mature amphibians to return to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Fittingly, the initial amphibians start their journey for a mate around Valentine's day, but some move as late as April, waiting until it gets dark and moving through the night. During that time, toads begin migrating from where they have been overwintering "all pretty much at the same time."

One volunteer, who grew up in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a boy, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their route crosses a road, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would never happen – preventing a next generation of toads from being born.

Rescue Groups Throughout the United Kingdom

Finding hundreds of toad carcasses on local roads "resonates deeply with people," and has resulted in the formation of rescue teams throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are currently registered with a countrywide program. These groups collect toads and carry them over streets in containers, as well as counting the number of toads they encounter and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and amphibian passages.

Volunteers usually work during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are more regular. However, this means they can overlook groups of toadlets, which, having existed as eggs and then juveniles, exit 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 vehicles." And as being run over "essentially crushes them," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are lost, their remains can be counted.

Annual Efforts

In contrast to many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of functioning, go out throughout the year – not nightly, but when weather are damp, or if a member has reported about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I ask to join 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 helpers gamely agree to walk up and down their route with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will spot one," says the patrol manager, indicating her 14-year-old son and the longtime volunteer. After for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a wire barrier to inspect beneath some logs.

Community Participation

The mother and son joined the patrol a year and a half ago. The youngster loves all things nature-related and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to look for activities they could do together to protect native animals. Now she enjoys 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 teenager, too, has played an important role in the group. A video he made, imploring the local council to block a road through a nature reserve during breeding time, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the council approved an "restricted access" rule between 5pm and 5am from February through to spring. The majority of motorists duly avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

Several cars go by when I'm out on patrol and we discover some victims as a consequence – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is especially excited to see a daddy longlegs, which moves in his palms. Yet despite the group's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the local population has obviously gone dormant for the winter. It seems that I wouldn't have had any better success anywhere else in the country – all the rescue teams I contact clarify that it's very difficult at this season.

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

One email I get from another volunteer, who has kindly made the effort to look for toads in a famous site, considered the biggest tracked toad group in the UK, reaches me with the subject line: "None found." However, in February and March, he informs me, the team plans to assist approximately ten thousand mature amphibians over the street.

Effectiveness and Challenges

How much of a difference can these groups actually make? "The fact that volunteers are doing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is quite extraordinary," says an expert. "This effort that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – partly since vehicles is not the only threat.

Other Dangers

The global warming 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 rise of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also lead toads to wake up from their dormancy more frequently, disrupting the resource preservation crucial to their existence. Loss of environment – especially the loss of big water bodies – is another menace.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," but "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads play an significant part in the ecosystem, eating almost any invertebrates or tiny organisms they can fit in their mouths and in turn feeding a number of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving situations for toads – ie building water habitats, protecting forests and installing amphibian passages – "benefits for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Historical Significance

Another reason to work to preserve toads present is their "important cultural value," notes an expert. Myths and folklore around toads date back {centuries|hundred