Common Toad: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Frogs and Toads · day 2 of 7

Five facts

1. In 2007, an underwater robot exploring Loch Ness in Scotland spotted a common toad walking on the lake bed, about 99 m down.
2. Toads go back to the same pond every year. Over 80% of males marked as youngsters returned to the pond where they hatched.
3. Rival males may settle an argument by croaking instead of fighting. A deeper croak tells others that the singer is bigger.
4. A female lays her eggs in long jelly strings, 3 to 4.5 m long, holding 1,500 to 6,000 eggs that tangle around pond plants.
5. At night a toad will try to gulp any small, dark thing that moves. In one test it snapped at a 1 cm scrap of black paper.

The quiz

1. Where was a common toad filmed by an underwater robot in 2007?

• In a sewer in Paris
• On the bed of Loch Ness (correct)
• Inside a sunken ship
• Under the ice of a glacier

It was walking on the lake bed of Loch Ness, about 99 m down.

2. Which pond do most male toads go back to?

• Any pond with the most insects
• The nearest pond to their winter hole
• A new pond each year
• The pond where they hatched (correct)

Over 80% of males marked as youngsters returned to the pond where they hatched.

3. What does a deeper croak tell other male toads?

• That the singer is bigger (correct)
• That rain is coming
• That the singer is younger
• That food is nearby

The pitch of the croak shows how big the toad's body is.

4. How does a common toad lay its eggs?

• One by one under stones
• In a foam nest on a leaf
• In long jelly strings (correct)
• In a pouch on its back

The eggs come in jelly strings 3 to 4.5 m long that tangle around plants.

5. In a test, what did a toad snap at as if it were food?

• A ripe strawberry
• A small moving scrap of black paper (correct)
• A bright light
• A large still stone

It tries to eat any small, dark, moving object at night.

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