20 February 2009 | Author: O. Gaywood Media Optimiser

Toads on the Road campaign launched on Google Earth

The sight of the common toad in the UK is one that's becoming increasingly rare and, much like the 80s game Frogger, it's the task of crossing roads that is the biggest struggle. Thanks to a new Google Earth feature, their journeys may be made a little safer.

Froglife - a wildlife charity committed to the conservation of amphibians and reptiles - has been using Google Earth to highlight its 'Toads on the Road' campaign, by putting pictures of toads next to the UK's 700 most popular amphibian crossing points. Their hope is that with drivers more aware of the toads' intentions on particular stretches of the road, they will take more care and fewer green lives will be lost.

Like many members of the animal kingdom, toads like to live in one area before going back to their birthplace to breed.

John Heaser, toad warden for the Norfolk town of Little Melton, said: "The problem for toads is they are quite picky about where they breed. They spend most of the year miles away from where they are likely to breed; 80 per cent of them have to cross a road to get to their pond. They usually go back to where they were born because of instinct."

Not only will 'Toads on the Road' instruct motorists of busy toad crossings, but they will also be helpful to Froglife's toad patrollers - a group of people who visit the busy crossings and help toads across the road with the use of a bucket.

The common toad was listed as a threatened species in 2007 and Froglife is optimistic that this new campaign will help slow down the amphibian's demise. The charity also hopes that the government can work with Google Earth in the future to decide where to build new roads.

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