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It's Friday night at 7:30, but rather than heading to the pub or watching a film, I've caught a train to a town in Wiltshire to meet up with volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These dedicated individuals give up their nights to safeguard the local toad population.

An Alarming Drop in Population

The Bufo bufo is growing more uncommon. A latest research conducted by an wildlife conservation group revealed that the British common toad numbers have almost halved since 1985. Seeing a species that has been a fixture of the UK landscape in decrease is labeled "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't require very specific conditions" and "ought to live successfully in most of areas in Britain," 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 Threat from Roads

Though the study didn't cover the reasons for the drop, traffic certainly plays a part. Calculations indicate that 20 tonnes of toads are crushed on UK roads annually – in other words, several hundred thousand. In contrast to frogs, which would probably be content to mate "with just a small container," toads favor big bodies of water. Their ability to stay out of water for more time than frogs means they can journey farther to find them – often long distances. They tend to follow their ancestral migration routes – it's common for mature amphibians to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Migration Patterns

Appropriately enough, the first toads start their journey for a partner around Valentine's day, but some move as late as April, until it gets dark and moving after sunset. During that period, toads start moving 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 "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their path 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 Across the United Kingdom

Finding hundreds of toad carcasses on local roads "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the creation of rescue teams throughout the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a countrywide program. These teams collect toads and transport them over streets in containers, as well as recording the number of toads they encounter and lobbying for other protection measures, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols usually work during the breeding period, when toad crossings are more regular. However, this implies they can miss numbers of young toads, which, having been eggs and then tadpoles, leave 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 car traffic." 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 carcasses can be counted.

Year-Round Work

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth season of operating, go out year-round – not every night, but whenever weather are damp, or if someone has reported about a toad sighting in their messaging app. When I request to accompany them on patrol, they admit it is "not a toady night" – winter dormancy has begun and it's been a arid period – but a few of the volunteers willingly accept to patrol their route with me and search for any toads. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, that pair will spot one," says the group coordinator, pointing to 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 barbed wire fence to inspect beneath some wood.

Family Participation

The family duo became part of the group a year and a half ago. The teenager loves all things wildlife and has an ambition to become a conservationist, so his mother started to search for things they could do jointly to help local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur explains – so when the team was seeking a new manager lately, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has played an important role in the group. A clip he made, 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 authority agreed to an "restricted access" restriction between evening and morning from February through to April. Most drivers duly avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Challenges

Several cars go by when I'm out on patrol and we discover some casualties as a result – no toads, but three squashed newts. We see one live amphibian as well, and the youngster is especially excited to see a harvestman, which moves in his hands. Yet despite the team's best efforts to let me see a toad, the local population has obviously gone dormant for the winter. It seems that I couldn't have found any better success elsewhere in the nation – all the patrol groups I contact explain that it's near-impossible at this season.

They project rescuing nearly 10,000 grown amphibians during migration

One email I get from a different helper, who has generously made the effort to check for toads in a famous site, thought to be the largest accurately monitored toad population in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the subject line: "None found." However, in February and March, he informs me, the team expects to help around ten thousand adult toads across the road.

Effectiveness and Challenges

What level of impact can these groups truly achieve? "The reality that people 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 cannot prevent it entirely – not least because traffic is just one danger.

Additional Threats

The global warming has resulted in longer periods of dry weather, which create the wrong conditions for some of the animals that toads consume, such as worms and slugs, while warmer ponds have caused an rise of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to emerge from their hibernation more often, interfering with the energy conservation crucial to their existence. Loss of environment – particularly the disappearance of large ponds – is another menace.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," but "It's important in just their presence." But toads do have an important role in the food chain, consuming almost any small creatures or small animals they can fit in their mouths and in turn feeding a variety of predators, such as hedgehogs and otters. Improving conditions for toads – such as creating more ponds, conserving woodland and installing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a wide range of additional wildlife."

Historical Significance

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