The Toad Patrol

Here in Pennsylvania, the toads are making their way out of hibernation to the nearest body of water to mate. And since many have to cross roads to get there, there are legions of volunteers to help them.

Apparently there are toad patrols in other parts of the country, so we are not unique but you have to admit it takes a special person to rescue a toad. The toads make these pilgrimages at night, over a period of a few weeks in late March so volunteers spend their evenings guiding hopping critters by the light of their flashlights.

Things get a little hectic both in terms of noise and quantities of toads. According to science teacher Kathy Leber, who brought her students along to help shepherd the toads, "Their voices were an amazing cacophony of trill, grunts and croaks."

Amphibians need our protection not only to cross the road, but also to survive in their native wetlands, many of which have been fouled by pesticides and often eliminated entirely by shifting climate patterns. In addition, the thinning ozone layer can actually scorch their skin.

All of this toad protecting happened because of a Danish study in which researchers counted the number of toads that became literal road kill in one day. What they discovered was that an amphibian crossing the road had a one in three chance of being run over. In the U. S., researchers calculated that if more than 10% of the salamander population in any given location was smashed, the local population might suffer irrevocably.

Hence toad patrols which seem to have grown more and more popular here and elsewhere. Once at the water, the toads engage in a mating frenzy, leaving behind tens of thousands of fertilized eggs. And everyone knows what will happen when those eggs hatch, grow up and face their first winter hibernation.

They will need escorts to re-cross the road.

For real. This is no April fool