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It's a Friday evening at half past seven, but rather than heading to the pub or watching a film, I've taken a train to a town in Wiltshire to join volunteers from a amphibian rescue group. These committed people sacrifice their evenings to protect the native amphibian community.

An Alarming Decline in Numbers

The common toad is becoming increasingly uncommon. A recent research conducted by an wildlife conservation group 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 decline is labeled "worrying" by experts. Toads "don't require very particular environments" and "should be able to live successfully in the majority 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 Traffic

Though the research didn't examine the causes for the drop, traffic certainly plays a part. Calculations suggest that 20 tons of toads are crushed on UK roads annually – that is, hundreds of thousands. Unlike frogs, which would probably be happy to mate "if you left out 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 hundreds of metres. They tend to follow their ancestral migration routes – it's typical for adult toads to return to their birth pond to mate.

Breeding Habits

Appropriately enough, the initial amphibians start their journey for a mate around Valentine's day, but others travel as far as spring, until it gets dark and moving after sunset. During that period, toads start moving from where they have been overwintering "almost simultaneously."

A local helper, who was raised in the area and has been trying to protect its amphibians since he was a boy, explains that "They've got just one focus: to go and have an orgy." If their path happens to a street, they could all get run over, and that breeding season would never happen – stopping a new generation of toads from being produced.

Toad Patrols Across the UK

Seeing many of dead toads on nearby streets "resonates deeply with people," and has resulted in the formation of rescue teams throughout the UK – 274 groups are currently registered with a countrywide program. These groups pick up toads and carry them over streets in containers, as well as counting the number of toads they find and lobbying for other protection measures, such as blocked roads and underground wildlife tunnels.

Patrols tend to operate 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 juveniles, exit their ponds over an irregular timetable in the end of summer. Because of their small stature – just a couple of cm wide – "they can get obliterated by vehicles." And as being run over "essentially crushes them," it's harder to collect information on them. At least when adult toads are killed, their remains can be tallied.

Annual Work

Unlike many groups, one local team, who are in their eighth year of functioning, go out throughout the year – not nightly, but whenever weather are damp, or if someone has posted about a toad sighting in their group chat. When I ask to join them on patrol, they admit it is "not ideal conditions" – toad hibernation season has begun and it's been a arid period – but several of the helpers gamely agree to patrol their route with me and search for any toads. "Should anyone can find any toads tonight, that pair will find one," says the patrol manager, indicating her 14-year-old son and the experienced member. We've been out for two hours without a glimpse of any amphibians, and now they have climbed over a wire barrier to inspect beneath some wood.

Community Involvement

The mother and son joined the group a year and a half ago. The youngster loves all things nature-related and has an ambition to become a environmentalist, so his mother started to look for activities they could do jointly to protect local wildlife. Now she enjoys it as much as he does, the middle-aged small business owner tells me – so when the team was looking for a fresh coordinator lately, she volunteered for the role.

The teenager, too, has been instrumental in the organization. A video he made, urging the municipal authority to block a road through a nature reserve during breeding time, swung the decision the team's way. After a twelve months of lobbying, the council agreed to an "access-only" rule between evening and morning from late winter through to April. The majority of motorists respected and avoided the road.

Other Wildlife and Difficulties

A few cars go by when I'm out on duty and we discover some victims as a result – no toads, but three squashed newts. We spot one living newt as well, and the teenager is particularly pleased to see a harvestman, which moves in his hands. Yet despite the team's best efforts to show me a toad, the native community has obviously settled down for the winter. 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

A message I get from a different helper, who has generously made the effort to check for toads in a noted location, thought to be the largest accurately monitored toad population in the UK, reaches me with the subject line: "No toads." However, in February and March, he informs me, the team expects to help approximately 10,000 mature amphibians over the street.

Effectiveness and Challenges

How much of a difference can these organizations actually make? "The fact that volunteers are doing this regularly on chilly, wet and miserable evenings is remarkable," says an researcher. "This effort 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 climate crisis has resulted in longer periods of drought, which cause the wrong conditions for some of the creatures that toads eat, such as worms and slugs, while higher water temperatures have caused an increase of toxic plants, which can be toxic to toads. Warmer cold seasons also cause toads to wake up from their dormancy more often, disrupting the energy conservation crucial to their existence. Loss of environment – particularly the loss of big water bodies – is another menace.

Researchers are "always a bit worried about putting too much of a utilitarian spin on wildlife," however "There is a big value in just having these animals around." But toads do have an important role in the ecosystem, consuming almost any small creatures or small animals they can swallow and in turn feeding a number of birds and mammals, such as wildlife. Enhancing conditions for toads – ie building water habitats, conserving woodland and constructing toad tunnels – "we'll improve them for a whole bunch of additional wildlife."

Historical Importance

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