The annual toad migration has started again. As soon as it gets dark in Amsterdam, thousands of toads, salamanders and frogs go in search of water to reproduce. An often short but life-threatening journey full of obstacles. “They all run into the curb here or they get run over.”
“So we couldn’t save them in time.” Urban ecologist Koen Wonders points with his flashlight to a flattened path on the Flevoparkweg in East. The crossing is perilous every year. “The amphibians hibernate on dry land here on the Zeeburgerdijk between the leaves, under a stone or a dead piece of wood. In the spring it gets warmer and then they wake up after a hibernation of sometimes a few months. Then they come here and crawl across the road towards the water to reproduce.”
“We walk past here in the evening and transfer them to the water”
If the animals manage to avoid all traffic, they will run into the next obstacle once on the other side. The curb. Not a problem for the frogs, but toads and small newts hardly get over it. And that’s why Koen helps them cross the road. “We walk past here in the evening and we transfer them to the water. In the autumn, the migration is the other way around.”
Koen is helped by his neighbor Kaya (11), who has a landing net with him. “You have to pay attention to the small newts that walk along the sidewalk here. And toads that walk in the middle of the road. Because they sometimes get hit by a car. So we prevent that. You don’t see small brown frogs that often, but those so we’ll help.” Kaya hasn’t said it yet when he spots a small brown frog under a car. And helps the critter safely to the other side and into the water in his net.
The later it gets, the more amphibians appear. Urban ecologist Koen picks up a small newt. “You can see that this is a male because he has a bright red belly and a swollen cloaca.” Kaya has no idea what a cloaca is. “That’s the male reproductive organ,” Koen explains. This way Kaya also learns something in between saving lives.
After an hour Kaya and Koen have already safely brought dozens of toads, salamanders and a single frog to the other side. Koen hopes that people will do the same in other places in the city where amphibians appear en masse, such as in the Vondelpark or in the Riekerhaven.
Koen also hopes that one day there will be a solution for the high curbs that the toads and salamanders keep running into. “We should consult with our traffic people. The curbs naturally have the function of keeping pedestrians safe on the sidewalk. So that a car doesn’t just go up. But I would like to develop a nature-inclusive curb with them.”
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