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It is a Friday evening at 7:30, but instead of going out or watching a film, I've caught a train to a town in Wiltshire to meet up with local helpers from a amphibian rescue group. These committed people give up their nights to protect the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Drop in Numbers

The common toad is growing more uncommon. A latest study conducted by an amphibian and reptile charity showed that the UK toad population have dropped by half since 1985. Seeing a creature that has been a stalwart 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 Britain," meaning if even they are not managing to survive, "it indicates that things are not as they should be."

The UK toad population has almost halved since 1985

The Threat from Traffic

Though the study didn't cover the causes for the decline, traffic certainly plays a part. Estimates suggest that 20 tons of toads are killed on British roads annually – in other words, several hundred thousand. Unlike frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "if you left out a small container," toads prefer big bodies of water. Their ability to remain away from water for longer than frogs allows they can travel further to reach them – sometimes hundreds of metres. They usually follow their traditional paths – it's typical for mature amphibians to return to their natal pond to mate.

Breeding Habits

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians start their journey for a partner around February 14th, but some move as late as spring, waiting until it gets night 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 boy, notes that "Their sole purpose: to go and mate." If their path happens to a street, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would never happen – preventing a next generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Throughout the UK

Seeing many of toad carcasses on nearby streets "inherently strikes a chord with people," and has resulted in the formation of toad patrols 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 encounter and advocating for other protection measures, such as road closures and underground wildlife tunnels.

Volunteers usually work during the breeding period, when amphibian movements are more regular. However, this means they can overlook groups of young toads, which, having existed as eggs and then tadpoles, exit their water habitats over an irregular timetable in late summer. Because of their size – just one or two centimetres wide – "they are destroyed by car traffic." And as being hit "basically turns them into mush," it's more difficult to get data on them. At least when mature amphibians are killed, their remains can be tallied.

Year-Round Work

Unlike most patrols, a specific volunteer group, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out throughout the year – not every night, but when weather are damp, or if someone has posted about a toad sighting in their group chat. When I request to accompany them on patrol, they admit it is "not a toady night" – toad hibernation season has begun and it's been a dry day – but several of the volunteers willingly accept to patrol their area with me and see what we can find. "If anyone can locate any toads tonight, those two will find one," says the patrol manager, indicating her teenage child and the experienced member. We've been out for 120 minutes without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have scaled a barbed wire fence to check under some logs.

Family Involvement

The mother and son joined the patrol a while back. The youngster adores all things wildlife and has an goal to become a conservationist, so his parent started to look for things they could do together to protect native animals. Now she loves it as much as he does, the 41-year-old small business owner tells me – so when the team was looking for a fresh coordinator recently, she decided to step up.

The youth, too, has played an important role in the group. A video he made, imploring the municipal authority to close a street through a protected area during breeding time, swung the decision the team's way. After a year of lobbying, the council agreed to an "restricted access" restriction between 5pm and 5am from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists duly avoided the road.

Additional Species and Difficulties

Several cars go by when I'm out on duty and we find some casualties 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 harvestman, which dances in his palms. Yet in spite of the group's best efforts to show me a toad, the native community has clearly settled down for the winter. It appears that I wouldn't have had any better success anywhere else in the country – all the patrol groups I reach out to clarify that it's near-impossible at this time of year.

The group expects to help approximately 10,000 adult toads across the road

One email I get from another volunteer, who has generously made the effort to look for toads in a noted location, considered the largest accurately monitored toad group in the UK, arrives in my inbox with the title: "No toads." However, in February and March, he informs me, the group plans to assist around ten thousand adult toads across the road.

Impact and Challenges

How much of a difference can these groups actually make? "The reality that people are performing this consistently on cold, damp and unpleasant late nights is quite extraordinary," notes an expert. "That's something that very much should be celebrated." However, while toad patrols are able to reduce the drop, they can't stop it completely – partly since vehicles is not the only threat.

Other Dangers

The global warming has resulted in longer periods of dry weather, which cause the poor environment for some of the animals that toads eat, such as invertebrates, while warmer ponds have led to an rise of blue-green algae, which can be toxic to toads. Milder winters also lead toads to wake up from their hibernation more frequently, disrupting the energy conservation crucial to their existence. Habitat destruction – particularly the loss of large ponds – is an additional threat.

Experts are "always a bit worried about overemphasizing practical benefits on biodiversity," but "It's important in just having these animals around." But toads play an significant part in the ecosystem, eating almost any small creatures or small animals they can fit in their mouths and in turn sustaining a number of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Improving conditions for toads – ie building water habitats, protecting forests and constructing amphibian passages – "benefits for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Cultural Importance

Another reason to try to keep toads present is their "historical significance," adds an specialist. Myths and folklore around toads go back {centuries|hundred