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It's a Friday evening at half past seven, but instead of going out or relaxing at home, I've taken a train to a town in Wiltshire to join volunteers from a toad patrol. These dedicated individuals sacrifice their nights to safeguard the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Decline in Population

The common toad is growing more uncommon. A latest study led by an amphibian and reptile charity revealed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since the mid-1980s. Seeing a species that has been a fixture of the British countryside in decline is labeled "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "ought to live quite well in most of areas in Britain," meaning if even they are struggling to persist, "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 Traffic

Though the study didn't examine the causes for the drop, traffic certainly plays a part. Calculations indicate that 20 tons of toads are killed on British roads annually – in other words, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which might be happy to mate "if you left out a bucket of water," toads favor large ponds. Their ability to remain away from water for more time than frogs allows they can travel further to reach them – sometimes long distances. They usually stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for adult toads to return to their birth pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians begin their quest for a partner around February 14th, but others travel as far as spring, until it gets dark and moving after sunset. During that period, toads begin migrating from wherever they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who was raised in the region and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a child, notes that "They've got just one focus: to go and have an orgy." If their path crosses a road, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would be lost – preventing a new generation of toads from being born.

Toad Patrols Across the UK

Finding hundreds of dead toads on local roads "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has led to the creation of rescue teams across the UK – hundreds of organizations are officially listed with a national initiative. These teams collect toads and transport them across roads in containers, as well as counting the quantity of toads they find and lobbying for other safety solutions, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols tend to operate during the migration season, when amphibian movements are frequent. However, this implies they can overlook numbers of toadlets, which, having existed as spawn 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 vehicles." And as being run over "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to collect information on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their remains can be tallied.

Annual Efforts

Unlike many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth year 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 patrol, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – toad hibernation season has started 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. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the group coordinator, 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 scaled a wire barrier to check under some logs.

Community Involvement

The mother and son became part of the group a year and a half ago. The youngster adores all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his parent started to look for activities they could do together to help local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged small business owner tells me – so when the team was seeking a new manager recently, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has played an important role in the organization. A video he made, imploring the local council to block a street through a nature reserve during breeding time, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a year of lobbying, the council approved an "access-only" rule between 5pm and 5am from February through to April. Most drivers duly avoided the route.

Additional Species and Difficulties

A few vehicles go past when I'm out on patrol and we find some casualties as a consequence – no toads, but several crushed salamanders. We spot one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a harvestman, which dances in his hands. Yet despite the team's best efforts to show me a toad, the local population has obviously gone dormant for the colder months. It appears that I couldn't have found any better success anywhere else in the country – all the rescue teams I reach out to clarify that it's very difficult at this season.

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

One email I receive from another volunteer, who has kindly made the effort to check for toads in a famous site, considered the biggest tracked toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "None found." However, in late winter, he tells me, the team plans to assist around ten thousand mature amphibians over the street.

Impact and Limitations

How much of a difference can these organizations actually make? "The fact that people are performing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable late nights is remarkable," says an researcher. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – not least because traffic is just one danger.

Other Dangers

The global warming has resulted in longer periods of drought, which create the poor environment for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as worms and slugs, while warmer ponds have caused an increase of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to emerge from their dormancy more often, disrupting the resource preservation vital to their existence. Loss of environment – particularly the disappearance 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 their presence." But toads play an significant part in the food chain, eating almost any small creatures or tiny organisms they can fit in their mouths and in turn feeding a variety of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Enhancing conditions for toads – such as building water habitats, protecting forests and installing amphibian passages – "we'll improve them for a wide range of other species."

Cultural Importance

An additional motive to work to preserve toads around is their "important cultural value," notes an specialist. Legends and tales around toads date back {centuries|hundred