- Title: 'Frog ladders' help critters escape death-trap drains
- Date: 7th November 2018
- Summary: BALSALL COMMON, WARWICKSHIRE, ENGLAND, UK (RECENT - OCTOBER 2018) (REUTERS) COMMON FROG CLIMBING UP AMPHIBIAN LADDER TO GET OUT OF DRAIN VARIOUS OF FROG CLIMBING OUT OF DRAIN USING LADDER WIDE OF BEN WOODS (RIGHT) AND TIM JENKINS FROM WARWICKSHIRE AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILE TEAM LIFTING DRAIN COVER TO INSTALL AMPHIBIAN LADDER VIEW FROM ROAD SURFACE MOVING INTO AND DOWN THE DRAIN (SOUNDBITE) (English) TIM JENKINS, MEMBER OF WARWICKSHIRE AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILE TEAM, SAYING: "We're trying to install these amphibian ladders in areas adjacent to breeding pools, because obviously in the breeding season the amphibians are coming from quite a wide area, coming back to the breeding pools to breed and then hitting the road, getting across the roads, hitting the curb, along the curb and into the drains. And then that's it, end of story for them; game over. By installing the amphibian ladders it enables them to get back out of the drains and back to their breeding pools and doing what they should do and making more amphibians." MORE OF FROG CLIMBING UP LADDER IN DRAIN TO GET OUT JENKINS OPENING DRAIN COVER AND WOODS INSTALLING LADDER VIEW FROM INSIDE DRAIN AS LADDER IS INSTALLED MORE OF LADDER BEING INSTALLED AND DRAIN COVER BEING REPLACED (SOUNDBITE) (English) BEN WOODS, ECOLOGIST AND MEMBER OF WARWICKSHIRE AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILE TEAM, SAYING: "We were finding lots of frogs, toads and newts trapped in these gully pots. And these gully pots are fitted on all roads, and where they come close to a breeding population of amphibians we get them trying to cross the road and they'll get trapped in between the curbs and they'll fall down these grates and get stuck at the bottom. And it's a very effective pitfall trap." FROG IN WATER AT BOTTOM OF DRAIN VARIOUS OF FROG CLIMBING OUT OF WATER AND UP LADDER (SOUNDBITE) (English) BEN WOODS, ECOLOGIST AND MEMBER OF WARWICKSHIRE AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILE TEAM, SAYING: "On a stretch of road, one night we were doing by hand, we went over about 20 gully pots and we had a bucket full of toads. And there's a study in the Netherlands; they found roughly 800 animals in 520 drains. And they estimated about half-a-million animals die in drains in the Netherlands every year." WOODS AND JENKINS ADJUSTING LADDER IN ANOTHER DRAIN FROG ON LADDER (SOUNDBITE) (English) TIM JENKINS, MEMBER OF WARWICKSHIRE AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILE TEAM, SAYING: "They're an overlooked species and they have their role in the ecosystem. They're absolutely excellent for gardens because they eat lots of invertebrates - potential pests in your garden. One of the best things you can do is put in a pool in the garden specifically for wildlife, specifically for amphibians; you'll get loads of other wildlife coming in and that will help the population. They have the same problems as so many other species but because they're less mobile than the more iconic mammals and birds that people focus on, they're even more susceptible to habitat loss and habitat fragmentation, more urbanisation and housing builds and everything else. Mammals and birds can at least get out of the way but with amphibians and reptiles they tend to cop it a lot more." JENKINS REPLACING DRAIN COVER PAN OF CLOSE DRAIN
- Embargoed: 21st November 2018 10:33
- Keywords: conservation drains gully pots newts British Herpetological Society Warwickshire Amphibian & Reptile Team toads frogs salamanders amphibians
- Location: BALSALL COMMON, WARWICKSHIRE, ENGLAND, UK
- City: BALSALL COMMON, WARWICKSHIRE, ENGLAND, UK
- Country: United Kingdom
- Topics: Environment,Nature/Wildlife
- Reuters ID: LVA00195IBV4R
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: British conservationists are installing special 'ladders' in roadside drains to help give stricken amphibians an escape route from certain death.
For millennia, amphibians - a group that includes frogs, toads, salamanders and newts - have made the journey to and from breeding pools during the mating season. Unfortunately for them, humans built roads and motorways on their routes, making the passage to procreation fraught with danger. Many amphibians are tragically obliterated by vehicles as they attempt to cross roads, with an estimated 20 tonnes of toads killed on the UK's roads every year, according to British charity Froglife.
Other amphibians are equally unlucky; falling into gully pots that are designed to drain rain and ground water.
"That's it - end of story for them, game over," said Tim Jenkins from the Warwickshire Amphibian & Reptile Team (WART), adding that starvation or being washed into the sewage system is their likely fate.
"By installing the amphibian ladders it enables them to get back out of the drains and back to their breeding pools and doing what they should do and making more amphibians," Jenkins said.
Designed by the British Herpetological Society, the ladders are made from rust-resistant aluminium with a net-like mesh on one side to give creatures a foothold as they climb. Each ladder is adjustable in length with a curved top to hold it in place at the top of the gully pot, so no additional fixings or fastening are needed.
A 2012 report by Reptile, Amphibian & Fish Conservation Netherlands (RAVON) estimated that more than half a million small vertebrates like frogs, toads and newts end up trapped in gully pots in the Netherlands each year.
It's a similar story in the UK. "On a stretch of road, one night we were doing by hand, we went over about 20 gully pots and we had a bucket full of toads," said ecologist and WART member Ben Woods, who regularly rescues stricken amphibians from drains in the English county of Warwickshire.
"These gully pots are fitted on all roads, and they can come close to a breeding population of amphibians trying to cross the road and they'll get trapped in between the curbs and they'll fall down these grates and get stuck at the bottom. It's a very effective pitfall trap."
WART has installed a number of ladders into roadside gully pots around Warwickshire near to breeding pools and says they've seen recognised troublespots claiming far fewer amphibian prisoners. The group hopes their endeavours can inspire other conservation groups in the UK to help the oft-maligned critters.
"They're an overlooked species and they have their role in the ecosystem. They're absolutely excellent for gardens because they eat lots of invertebrates - potential pests in your garden," added Jenkins.
However, with each ladder costing £15 (19 USD), adding one to every drain in the country isn't viable. Herpetologists say identifying amphibian hotspots and installing ladders there could prove an effective way to minimise mortality and ensure future populations.
The Living Planet Report 2018 from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) reported an average worldwide decline of 60 percent between 1970 and 2014 of vertebrate species, including amphibians and reptiles, with habitat loss considered one of the driving factors. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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