Sunday 13 March 2011

Why did the toad cross the road?

To migrate to its ancestral breeding pond to mate.

I narrowly missed one as I saw it hop across the quiet country lane down which we were driving. Emerging from their winter hibernation sites, several were attempting to simultaneously cross the lane to reach, we assumed, a pond on the other side. It was like a "Krypton Factor" obstacle course avoiding them all. We decided to gently assist and encourage them to get quickly to the other side. In the end at least some were safe from the grisly end of being squished by cars. This is the first time I have ever witnessed a migratory toad crossing and indeed mating - one male was so keen, he was already hitched to the back of a female!

The charity Froglife are running a campaign called "Tuppence a Toad" to raise awareness and funds for their Toads on Roads project. Please go to their website to find out more: http://www.froglife.org/tuppence/index.htm

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