Common toad is barely larger than a 50-cent piece, perfectly camouflaged and fearless: these days, small common toads are leaving their waters.

It takes two to four months for a tadpole to hatch from an egg and develop into a fully formed, still very small toad.

Common toad "hoppers" - "Now begins their most dangerous phase of life." 

With a bold leap, common toad make their way from a water plant or a gravel bed to the shore – hence their nickname "jumperlings." "Now their most dangerous phase of life begins: Because they are so small and nimble, the tiny toads are often trampled in the grass or on paths, or crushed by bicycle and car tires," says Jenifer Calvi of the German Wildlife Foundation.

Although the common toad is still considered "not endangered," its population is declining across Germany. The reasons for this include the fragmentation of their habitats by roads or development, deaths in traffic accidents, and pesticides in gardens and green spaces. The effects of climate change are also making themselves felt: droughts and dried-up waterways hit the amphibians hard.

The young toads benefit from private gardens as a refuge

The young common  toad benefit from private gardens as refuges. Anyone who wants to offer them a place can achieve a lot with simple means: piles of dead wood, leaves, or brushwood, moist shelters under stones, in cracks in walls, or in root hollows offer them protection – from the heat during the day and from predators such as martens, cats, or birds of prey at night.

Another important thing: no chemicals in the garden! Insecticides destroy the food source on which the young feed.

Slug pellets are also taboo – because these mollusks are on the common toad menu; they absorb the poison through their prey. As hunters, common toads also eat woodlice, beetles, spiders, flies, millipedes, and larvae – including numerous garden pests.

It is therefore worthwhile to create good living conditions for the youngsters. Toads can live up to 15 years in the wild. Ideally, they produce more offspring from their fourth or fifth year. Common toad prefer to lay their eggs in the same body of water from which they hopped ashore – if they had optimal conditions there as young toads.

Jenifer Calvi
Press Officer
German Wildlife Foundation
Lucy-Borchardt-Straße 2
20457 Hamburg
Phone +49 40 970 78 69-14
Fax +49 40 970 78 69-99
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
www.DeutscheWildtierStiftung.de

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