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Have
you given any thoughts to toads lately? They may not be the first creature
that comes to mind when considering animal advocacy. Indeed, the mating
ritual of amphibians is not usually a concern because most toads manage to
travel from their wooded habitats to a body of water for mating all by
themselves and without human intervention.
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Occasionally
there are groups of toads that discover they need to cross dangerous roadways
to get to their mating grounds. Such is the case on the outskirts of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where every spring thousands of toads cross a rural
road near the Roxborough Reservoir.
In
2009, Lisa Levinson, a local resident discovered the plight of Philadelphia’s
toads and started a mission to help save them from traffic. When she
realized the moving leaves she spotted on the road were actually toads, she
stopped her car and tried to get traffic to slow down for the crossings. Sadly,
she noticed many of the toads had been run over by cars. Eventually a police
officer parked her vehicle and assisted Levinson with her mission.
Realizing
this job was going to last more than a day or two, Levinson set about making
plans for an ongoing project. She contacted local advocacy groups and the
Philadelphia Police 5th District to get permits allowing volunteers to shut
down traffic in order to help toads cross the road. That first year
Levinson reported they saved about 600 toads.
How Toads
Mate
Toads
are not fans of sunlight and they travel mostly at night and in damp, rainy
weather. In the spring, from about March through June, toads return to a water
source where the females lay eggs in shallow water and the males fertilize
them. After several weeks, the toadlets —which are the size of a human thumbnail—return
to the woods from which their parents came.
The
females are larger than the males and males can be seen hitching a ride on the
backs of the females. Like all animals, toads have their own unique place in
the ecosystem. The toad diet consists of worms; insects like crickets,
spiders and mosquitos; leaves and sometimes birds, mice and rats. Helping
to control the mosquito population makes toads necessary to keep around.
Read
more at Care2.
Toad
image via Shutterstock.
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