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Your message caught my interest, Jim, because I was just introduced to a Western Toad (Bufo boreas) by my grandson just two days ago. He found a toad at the edge of the lawn and ran for Grampy to come and see it. So we checked up on toads and discovered that it was Bufo boreas. We are located in Houston, B.C. (near Smithers) visiting. Sherman > How many people discovered this story and read far enough to see that > probably somebody, either the reporter? or the volunteers here?, were > really "screwed up" regarding which way the tiny toadlets should have > been wanting to disperse!!?? Of course, the breeding had been in the > marsh, and their destination after transpormation is the uplands > (forest?). > > Another no-no for me in this story is referring to the common name of > the species here as the "Western toad" -- since western is not a > proper noun, the correct name is either Western Toad or western toad, > but not as printed. How it is written in the story is like taking my > name and writing it as Jim wolford, which is getting increasingly > frequent in non-technical publications. No doubt this is important > only to me!? > > By the way, the full name of this toad species is Western Toad, Bufo > boreas -- also known as Boreal Toad or Northwestern Toad. It lives > in British Columbia and west-central Alberta. > > Cheers from Jim in Wolfville. > --------------------- > > Chronicle Herald, Monday, July 28, 2008 > > Volunteers hop to rescue of migrating Western toadlets > > By ELIANNA LEV The Canadian Press > Mon. Jul 28 - 4:31 AM > > CHILLIWACK, B.C. (CP) — On a recent morning, biologist Zoey Slater > woke up in tears. > > Her initiative to organize volunteers to help save hundreds of > thousands of tiny Western toadlets in the Ryder Lake area of > Chilliwack, had attracted about 150 people over 10 days. > > Although about 30,000 of the estimated 100,000 of the creatures had > been rescued in the area, thousands more were getting run over by > vehicles. And this broke Slater’s heart. > > "We’ve saved a small amount but it still makes a difference," she > said optimistically. > > The volunteers came armed with buckets and shovels, the kind found in > a children’s sandbox. They used the tools to scoop the dime-sized > toads, who were hopping in the wrong direction, and escorted the > critters across the road towards a swamp. > > When Slater had surveyed the area before a rescue mission one recent > Saturday morning, thousands of the tiny amphibians had been run over > by vehicles, resembling smooshed blueberries on the concrete. > > As a species, the toads are listed by the federal government as a > "special concern," or a species at risk, which is a lower ranking > than "endangered." > > The mass migration is a result of the adult toads returning to the > same breeding sites every year. The females lay up to 16,000 eggs, > which eventually turn to tadpoles. > > So, like a teenager who grew up in the country and wants to move to > the big city, the tadpoles grow to toadlets and are instinctually > drawn upland from the swamp to the forest. > > That’s where Slater and her army of volunteers came in. They turn > them back around and send them toward the wetlands. > > Along the stretch of roads where the toads travelled a sign was > erected that said "SLOW. People and toads on road." > > > > >
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