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It's Friday night at half past seven, but instead of going out or relaxing at home, I've caught a train to a market town in the countryside to join volunteers 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 latest 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 UK landscape in decrease is labeled "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't need very specific conditions" and "ought to live successfully in the majority of habitats in Britain," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that the ecosystem is unbalanced."

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

The Threat from Traffic

Though the research didn't cover the reasons for the decline, traffic is a major factor. Estimates suggest that 20 tons of toads are crushed on UK roads every year – that is, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which might be happy to mate "with just a small container," toads favor large ponds. Their capacity to remain away from water for longer than frogs allows they can journey farther to find them – often long distances. They usually stick to their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for mature amphibians to go back to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Patterns

Fittingly, the first toads begin their quest for a mate around Valentine's day, but some move as late as spring, waiting until it gets dark and travelling through the night. During that period, toads start moving from wherever they have been hibernating "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who grew up in the area and has been trying to protect its toad population since he was a boy, notes that "They've got just one focus: to go and have an orgy." If their route happens to a street, they could all get run over, and that mating period would be lost – preventing a next generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Across the UK

Seeing hundreds of toad carcasses on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has led to the formation of rescue teams across the UK – 274 groups are officially listed with a countrywide program. These teams pick up toads and carry them over streets in buckets, as well as recording the number of toads they find and lobbying for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols usually work during the migration season, when amphibian movements are more regular. However, this means they can miss groups of toadlets, which, having been spawn and then tadpoles, exit their water habitats over an unpredictable schedule in late summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they are destroyed by vehicles." And as being hit "basically turns them into mush," it's harder to collect information on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their remains can be tallied.

Year-Round Work

Unlike many groups, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of operating, go out year-round – not every night, but whenever weather are warm and wet, or if someone has posted about a amphibian spotting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on patrol, they concede it is "not ideal conditions" – winter dormancy has started and it's been a dry day – but a few of the volunteers gamely agree to walk up and down their area with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can find any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the patrol manager, pointing to her teenage child and the longtime volunteer. After for 120 minutes without a single toad sighting, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to check under some wood.

Family Involvement

The mother and son became part of the patrol a year and a half ago. The youngster adores all things wildlife and has an ambition to become a conservationist, so his mother started to search for activities they could do together to help native animals. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged entrepreneur explains – so when the group was looking for a fresh coordinator lately, she decided to step up.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the group. A clip he created, imploring the local council to close a road through a protected area during migration season, influenced the outcome the group's way. After a year of campaigning, the authority approved an "restricted access" rule between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists duly avoided the route.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

A few cars go past when I'm out on patrol and we find some casualties as a consequence – no amphibians, but three squashed newts. We see one live amphibian as well, and the teenager is especially excited to see a daddy longlegs, which moves in his hands. Yet in spite of the group's hardest attempts to show me a toad, the local population has obviously settled down 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 explain that it's near-impossible at this season.

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

One email I receive from another volunteer, who has generously taken the trouble to look for toads in a noted location, considered the largest accurately monitored toad group 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 approximately ten thousand adult toads over the street.

Effectiveness and Limitations

What level of impact can these organizations actually make? "The reality that volunteers are performing this consistently on chilly, wet and miserable evenings is remarkable," says an expert. "That's something that very much deserves recognition." However, while rescue teams are able to slow the decline, they can't stop it completely – partly since traffic is not the only threat.

Other Dangers

The global warming has resulted in longer periods of dry weather, which create the wrong conditions for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while higher water temperatures have led to an rise of toxic plants, which can be harmful to toads. Milder winters also cause toads to emerge from their dormancy more often, disrupting the energy conservation vital to their life cycle. Loss of environment – especially the loss of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Experts are "often concerned about overemphasizing practical benefits on wildlife," 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 small animals they can swallow and in turn sustaining a number of birds and mammals, 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."

Cultural Significance

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