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It is a Friday night at half past seven, but instead of going out or watching a film, I've caught a train to a town in Wiltshire to meet up with volunteers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals give up their evenings to protect the local toad population.

An Alarming Drop in Population

The Bufo bufo is growing more rare. A latest study led by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since the mid-1980s. Seeing a creature that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decrease is described as "worrying" by researchers. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "ought to live successfully in most of areas in Britain," so if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

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

The Threat from Roads

Though the study didn't examine the reasons for the drop, cars certainly plays a part. Estimates suggest that 20 tons of toads are crushed on UK roads every year – that is, hundreds of thousands. 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 longer than frogs allows they can travel further to reach them – often long distances. They usually stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for adult toads to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a mate around Valentine's day, but some move as far as April, waiting until it gets night and travelling through the night. During that time, toads start moving from wherever they have been overwintering "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who grew up in the area and has been working to save its toad population since he was a child, explains that "Their sole purpose: to go and have an orgy." If their route crosses a road, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would never happen – stopping a next generation of toads from being born.

Toad Patrols Across the United Kingdom

Seeing hundreds of dead toads on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the formation of rescue teams throughout the UK – hundreds of organizations are currently registered with a national initiative. These teams pick up toads and transport them over streets in containers, as well as counting the number of toads they find and advocating for other safety solutions, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers tend to operate during the breeding period, when toad crossings are frequent. However, this implies they can overlook groups of toadlets, which, having been spawn and then tadpoles, exit their ponds over an unpredictable schedule 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 harder to collect information on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their remains can be counted.

Year-Round Efforts

Unlike most patrols, one local team, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out throughout the year – not every night, but when weather are damp, or if a member has reported about a amphibian spotting in their messaging app. When I ask to join 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 volunteers willingly accept to walk up and down their route with me and see what we can find. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will find one," says the patrol manager, indicating her 14-year-old son and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a wire barrier to check under some logs.

Community Participation

The mother and son joined the patrol a while back. The youngster loves all things nature-related and has an goal to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to search for activities they could do together to help local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner explains – so when the group was looking for a fresh coordinator recently, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the group. A clip he created, imploring the local council to block a road through a nature reserve during migration season, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the council agreed to an "restricted access" rule between 5pm and 5am from February through to April. Most drivers respected and avoided the road.

Additional Species and Challenges

A few vehicles go by when I'm out on patrol and we find some casualties as a consequence – no toads, but three squashed newts. We see one living newt as well, and the youngster is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which dances in his hands. Yet in spite of the team's hardest attempts to show me 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 clarify that it's very difficult at this time of year.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

A message I receive 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 title: "No toads." However, in February and March, he informs me, the group plans to assist approximately 10,000 adult toads across the road.

Effectiveness and Challenges

How much of a difference can these organizations truly achieve? "The fact that volunteers are performing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is quite extraordinary," notes an researcher. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while toad patrols are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – not least because traffic is just one danger.

Additional Threats

The climate crisis has meant extended spells of dry weather, which create the wrong conditions for some of the animals 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 dormancy more frequently, disrupting the energy conservation vital to their life cycle. Loss of environment – particularly the loss of big water bodies – is another menace.

Experts are "often concerned 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 significant part in the food chain, eating pretty much any invertebrates or tiny organisms they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a number of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Enhancing conditions for toads – such as creating more ponds, conserving woodland and installing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a wide range of other species."

Cultural Significance

An additional motive to try to keep toads present is their "important cultural value," notes an expert. Legends and tales around toads go back {centuries|hundred