Attention car, truck and motorcyclist drivers: Due to the warmer weather, the first toads may already be on the roads in the coming days. According to the German Wildlife Foundation, as soon as the temperatures at night regularly no longer fall below five degrees and the weather is damp, the males become active – all at once.
“So it can happen that you suddenly see hundreds of toads in early spring, but not a single one the rest of the year,” said biologist Sophia Lansing of the Wildlife Foundation, according to a statement on Friday in Hamburg. The common toad is one of the first amphibians to leave their winter quarters at the end of February and start their spawning grounds. The females follow the males a little later.
Since the way into the water is often crossed by busy roads, the foundation advised to be even more careful on the road in the coming days and to watch out for toads and frogs on the road. “Because instead of hopping away in front of rolling cars, they usually stay seated or take a threatening position and puff themselves up. This behavior helps against predators such as snakes – but not against a car,” says biologist Lansing. The pressure wave from the approaching vehicle alone could destroy the animals’ organs and thus kill them.
With toad tunnels, amphibian fences and collection campaigns, animal rights activists try to protect the animals from dying on the road during the toad migration.
