Toads and their spawning season
You probably know the time of the toad migration from spring. As early as March, when the first warm days herald spring, the animals start to wander. Your spawning season begins. They make their way to nearby bodies of water. Often it is the water in which the animals themselves saw the light of day.
This hike kills many toads. When roads cross paths, you are often run over by vehicles. Animal rights activists then set up small fences and collect the animals in buckets to bring them safely across the streets. Tunnels also help when the road crosses a well-traveled toad path.
Spawning season - piggyback to the water
- The spawning season of the amphibians begins as early as March. Then the animals go on their journey in large numbers and look for lakes, rivers, small ponds or ponds. It can also be your garden pond. It is typical of the toad migration that the animals migrate en masse.
- The most common and largest toad in Germany is the common toad (Bufo bufo). The males make the migration easy for themselves, provided they can find a female to cling to. Then they can be carried piggyback on the backs of the females to the spawning waters. It happens that several males cling to a single female. Then you can watch a real ball of toads.
- Spawning will then take place in the water. The spawn is wrapped around plants in cords. The well-known tadpoles hatch out of the eggs, which initially breathe through their gills and also resemble small fish. Only later, when the limbs have formed, do the young toads go on land again, still tiny. This also always happens en masse, just like the tadpoles swim around in a swarm. This behavior protects the young animals from their numerous predators.
Toads are protected
- Unfortunately, the toads are losing more and more habitat due to intensive agriculture. Small bodies of water are polluted by garbage or polluted by pesticides and other toxins. In addition, countless animals die on our streets during spawning time. Therefore, all toad species are strictly protected in Germany.
- Even if you find the warty animals ugly, you must not disturb a toad in their habitat, and certainly not drive them away or kill them. And "animal lovers" are not allowed to catch them or keep them in captivity. If a toad has found its way into your garden pond, see it as a compliment to your garden. Then you have created a natural space that is worth living in for the wild animals.
- Toads in the garden also do you a great service. They especially like to eat Snails and other small animals. Worms, be crazy, Woodlice and much more fall victim to them. Let the toads go undisturbed, especially during spawning time. They are an important link in the ecological balance of our nature.
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