How to help Kommetjie’s Western Leopard Toads
Western Leopard Toads spend much of their lives in gardens around Kommetjie, with the annual migration to breeding ponds taking place when conditions are right.
At a recent KRRA heritage gathering, ToadNUTs founder Alison Faraday shared some of what residents can do to help protect them.
The toads need access to gardens, so residents can help by making it easier for them to move in and out of properties. They also need somewhere to hydrate during summer.
“Put in a pond,” Alison said. “Any kind of pond will work in many ways because they need to hydrate during summer.” Toads can also get into swimming pools, where they risk drowning. She recommends putting a rock on the top step of a pool so that a toad can climb out.
Residents with gardens should also take care when digging or turning over soil. “Make sure not to do the thing of turning the soil without checking what’s in the soil,” Alison said. “A toad could be in a burrow, having his or her aestivation (a state of animal dormancy characterised by inactivity and a lowered metabolic rate, entered in response to high temperatures and arid conditions) so just be aware of that.”
Dogs can also come into contact with toads. Alison said the toads have parotid glands that secrete a substance when they are threatened.
If a dog puts a toad in its mouth, she recommends scooping out the resulting froth and hosing the dog’s mouth out, while monitoring it.
If a dog has eaten part of a toad, however, she advises taking it straight to the vet.
Most importantly, residents should resist the temptation to move toads. “Toads are never lost. If there’s one on your property, it lives on your property. Leave it there,” Alison said.
One toad relocated 500 metres away returned to the same property within two weeks. Moving them can force them to undertake another migration, increasing their exposure to roads. “Roadkill is the likely outcome,” Alison said.
Western Leopard Toad facts
Toads generally begin migrating when it is warm, wet and around August, although the timing varies.
One tagged toad travelled 8km to reach a breeding pond.
Females can carry up to 20,000 eggs.
The oldest Western Leopard Toad recorded in captivity lived to 37 years.
Toads can absorb water through vessels on the inside of their thighs rather than drinking in the way humans do.
Unlike frogs, toads have extra vertebrae, allowing them to turn and look behind themselves.
Fish can eat their eggs, so ponds intended to support toads should not contain fish.
Western Leopard Toads remain endangered in the wild, with urbanisation and roads among the major threats.
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