IProgress is slow, but time passes quickly. It's meditative and strangely tiring. There is danger, exhilaration, and the awakening of powerful protective emotions. And on a good night, cold rain cascades down the back of your neck.
Welcome to the world of toads. There, endangered amphibians are rescued from dangerous roads during their annual nocturnal pilgrimage to their breeding grounds.
Charlcombe Toad Rescue, on the outskirts of Bath, is one of the busiest organisations, especially on a Thursday night with heavy rain.
Amphibians migrate en masse as soon as the weather is mild and rainy in early spring. As the road turns into a river in the hills above Bath, volunteers brandishing powerful torches lead the slow traffic down Charcombe Lane, catching sight of crawling toads, jumping frogs and twigs indistinguishable from the dark tarmac. I picked up a newt that looked like a statue.
“There's an indescribable feeling when you scoop up a small newt and put it in a bucket. I don't know if scientists can measure that feeling,” she said in February, when she set out to rescue endangered amphibians. says Mike Collins, a volunteer who leaves his warm home with his wife, Angela, on a rainy night in March.
“I think it’s actually quite emotional,” Angela said. “And the more you do it, the more emotional you become. You see a very weak creature just sitting there, pregnant and swollen with babies. They have no chance of getting to their breeding grounds. I want to give you.”
Thousands of amphibians are now being rescued thanks to 203 toad and frog conservation groups across the country. Last year, volunteers helped his 115,000 migratory amphibians safely cross roads.
Frogs and toads need all the help they can get. Toad numbers have fallen by 68% in the UK over the past 30 years. We know this because a fast-growing rescue group provides a valuable dataset counting all amphibians, both living and dead.
Setting out during rush hour, the first thing Charcombe's group finds is a toad crushed in the road. Last year, 10,000 casualties were reported nationwide.
More than 60 per cent of the frogs and toads crossing were crushed by cars before a toad rescue team was set up on Charcombe Lane. Now, thanks to volunteers, the fatality rate has dropped to 3%. Volunteers raise £1,500 each year to pay for the road, which is closed during the six-week migration season but remains busy with cars accessing local homes and residences. church.
The Charlcombe toad rescue is so popular that there is a waiting list of 50 volunteers to join to assist co-ordinator Helen Hobbs, who has overseen the rescue for 22 seasons. Under her guidance, volunteers have helped 45,000 amphibians cross roads since 2003. On her busiest night, 2,010 animals were rescued.
The area is particularly suitable for amphibians due to the Bath Spring, but populations are dependent on the protection of small private lakes where amphibians breed.
Sheila Gundry, operations manager for amphibian and reptile charity Froglife, is also volunteering for the rescue effort. “This population is managing to hold on because Helen does a great job and we have a lot of volunteers, but if you look at the data from other rescue organizations, that number is going down to zero,” she said.
Road transport is a major factor in national decline, but so are untidy gardens, overuse of horticultural chemicals such as slug bait, intensive farming, and loss of ponds and wetlands.
But rescuers have learned that every time a toad or frog crosses the road one way, dozens of smaller frogs and toads cross back in August and September, exploring the wide world beyond the pond. I am.
“We just love rescuing wildlife. It's very satisfying, especially on a rainy night like tonight,” Rory Hanrahan said. He has been running toad patrols 18 years ago with his daughter Sophie, who has had toads since she was nine years old.
“I spend quality time with my dad rescuing wild animals and getting some exercise,” she said. “It's good for your heart.”
Two hours later, soaked to the skin, Mike and Angela Collins rescued 25 frogs, 10 toads and five newts, counting three toads that were unfortunately not saved in time.
“It's amazing how tiring it can be to walk slowly for two hours with constant concentration,'' Angela said. “You completely lose all sense of time. It's really romantic, isn't it? You're in the dark, there's no technology, it's just you and your flashlight and the creatures.”