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It is a Friday evening at 7:30, but rather than heading to the pub or watching a film, I've caught a train to a town in the countryside to join local helpers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their nights to protect the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Decline in Numbers

The Bufo bufo is growing more rare. A recent study conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the British common toad numbers have dropped by half since 1985. Seeing a species that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decrease is labeled "concerning" by researchers. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "ought to live successfully in most of habitats in the UK," so if even they are struggling to persist, "it kind of suggests that things are not as they should be."

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

The Danger from Roads

Though the research didn't cover the causes for the decline, traffic is a major factor. Calculations suggest that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on British roads every year – that is, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which would probably be content to mate "with just a bucket of water," toads favor big bodies of water. Their ability to remain away from water for more time than frogs allows they can journey farther to reach them – sometimes long distances. They usually follow their ancestral migration routes – it's common for adult toads to go back to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Appropriately enough, the first toads begin their quest for a partner around Valentine's day, but some move as far as April, until it gets dark and moving through the night. During that time, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who was raised 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 mate." If their route happens to a street, they could be killed by traffic, and that breeding season would never happen – stopping a new generation of toads from being born.

Toad Patrols Across the United Kingdom

Seeing many of dead toads on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has resulted in the formation of rescue teams across the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a national initiative. These teams collect toads and transport them across roads in buckets, as well as counting the number of toads they encounter and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers tend to operate during the migration season, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this implies they can miss numbers of toadlets, which, having been eggs and then tadpoles, leave their ponds over an unpredictable schedule in the end of summer. Because of their size – just one or two centimetres wide – "they can get obliterated by car traffic." And as being run over "basically turns them into mush," it's harder to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their remains can be counted.

Annual Work

Unlike most patrols, one local team, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out year-round – not every night, but when conditions are damp, or if a member has reported about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I ask to join them on patrol, they concede it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a arid period – but several of the helpers willingly accept to walk up and down their area with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the group coordinator, pointing to her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. We've been out for two hours without a single toad sighting, and now they have climbed over a barbed wire fence to check under some wood.

Family Participation

The family duo became part of the patrol a while back. The teenager loves all things wildlife and has an goal to become a conservationist, 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 middle-aged entrepreneur explains – so when the team was looking for a fresh coordinator recently, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the organization. A clip he made, imploring the local council to close a road through a protected area during migration season, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a twelve months of campaigning, the council agreed to an "access-only" restriction between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. Most drivers respected and avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

Several cars go past when I'm out on duty and we find some victims as a result – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We see one living newt as well, and the youngster is particularly pleased to see a daddy longlegs, which dances in his palms. Yet despite the group's hardest attempts to let me see a toad, the local population has clearly settled down for the winter. It seems that I couldn't have found any better success anywhere else in the nation – all the patrol groups I reach out to clarify that it's very difficult at this season.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

One email I receive from another volunteer, who has kindly made the effort to check for toads in a famous site, considered the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, reaches me with the title: "None found." However, in late winter, he tells me, the team expects to help approximately 10,000 adult toads over the street.

Effectiveness and Limitations

What level of impact can these groups actually make? "The fact that people are performing this regularly on cold, damp and unpleasant evenings is remarkable," says 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 vehicles is not the only threat.

Additional Threats

The global warming has meant extended spells of drought, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads eat, such as worms and slugs, while warmer ponds have led to an rise of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Warmer cold seasons also lead toads to wake up from their dormancy more often, interfering with the resource preservation vital to their existence. Habitat destruction – particularly the disappearance of big water bodies – is an additional threat.

Researchers 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 important role in the ecosystem, consuming 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. Enhancing conditions for toads – ie building water habitats, protecting forests and installing amphibian passages – "we'll improve them for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Historical Importance

Another reason to try to keep toads around is their "historical significance," notes an specialist. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred