<
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/charlcombe-lane-closed-toads-frogs-b2694972.html>
"A road will close for six weeks to allow thousands of amphibians safe passage
to their breeding grounds.
Charlcombe Lane, near Bath, will be shut until 25 March as the Charlcombe Toad
Rescue Group helps toads, frogs, and newts reach their ancestral breeding lake.
Each night at dusk, volunteers in high-visibility jackets will patrol the
half-mile stretch of road, equipped with torches and buckets. Their mission: to
safely escort over 3,000 amphibians across the busy road. The volunteers will
collectively dedicate over 600 hours to this crucial conservation effort.
To stop disturbance, the rescuers use latex-free, powder-free gloves to
carefully collect the toads, frogs, and newts, placing them in buckets for
transport to designated drop-off points near the lake. Last year, over 50
volunteers helped 3,225 amphibians make the crossing.
It was the second-best year for the number of amphibians recorded and the
busiest in 14 years.
Last year also saw the largest number of newts helped on record and it was the
best for toads since 2013.
The annual closure has taken place each spring since 2003 with the agreement of
Bath and North East Somerset Council.
It is only one of four road closures in the UK and it has played a vital role
in keeping the local population of amphibians stable during the last 20 years.
Before the closure of Charlcombe Lane the casualty rate was 62% while in 2024
it was 6%."
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/what-were-reading-near-extinct-mussels-seine-paris/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
