Watch out for toads in the road, conservationists

INLSA

TAKE ME TO YOUR FEEDER: Brazzo the cat eyes a Leopard Toad in Lakeside. The toads breeding season has started. Photo: Michael Walker

Bhekimpilo Dungeni

BY NIGHT Hanniki Pieterse is a dedicated toad-catcher, and a good one at that.

Introduced to the Leopard Toad conservation campaign by her daughter Minette Pieterse, who studies nature conservation, Pieterse has been helping with patrols, and is going strong after five years.

“Yesterday I was up until midnight. We do regular patrols in different areas, and in my area, I drive up and down roads, pick up the frogs and put them on the side in the direction they are facing, out of danger,” said Pieterse, a member of the Western Leopard Toad Conservation Committee.

Leopard Toads, an endangered species endemic to Cape Town, are out in full swing as their breeding season has begun.

According to the committee, these toads live in Cape Town and the Agulhas Plain.

Leaping out of their habitats after dark, and at times in the early hours of the morning, these graciously spotted amphibians migrate to breeding ponds at this time of the year.

“Every year, around this time the males start moving to the ponds, later followed by the females.

“They have started moving in areas around Tokai, Constantia and around Noordhoek. The problem is they usually move at night, and it is really difficult to spot them on the roads, so they usually get run over by cars,” she said.

“Yesterday, during one of my patrols, I witnessed one driver drive over five toads at once, while I was trying to pick up some and put them on the other side. People drive fast, and they hardly spot them.

“Another problem, we cannot carry the toads in our cars because it’s against the law. So, all we can do is save them on the scene and help as many as possible,” Pieterse said.

ToadNUTS (Noordhoek Unpaid Toad Savers) founding member Alison Faraday said there had been a lot of movement of the toads since last week, but the numbers shot up on Monday.

“Movement has been sporadic, but it really peaked this week. We have spotted a total of 719 toads so far, around areas like Noordhoek, Clovelly, Sun Valley and Fish Hoek. Unfortunately, 36 percent of them were already dead,” she said.

She urged motorists to exercise caution, and to allow patrollers to help save these toads on the roads. Silvermine and Main roads in Noordhoek have been noted as some of the busiest roads, at the same time they have high numbers of Leopard Toads.

bhekimpilo.dungeni@inl.co.za