On 4th September 2003 members of the Zandvlei Trust helped Cape Nature Conservation to undertake the first census of the endangered Leopard Toad (Bufo pantherinus) in the Zandvlei catchment area. This is what happened.
Gathering of Census Takers
We gathered at the bottom of Rutter road in Lakeside at 6pm. Clifford Dorse and his team had organized some live specimens for those of us that were not sure what to look out for to become familiar with the leopard toad. We also listened to recordings of the toad's "snore" and learned what is known about the leopard toad.
Apparently the leopard toad breeds in early Spring for 3 weeks. It is during these 3 weeks that the mating call of the male toad can be heard (hence the common name of "August Toad". This year, due to unusually late rains, the breeding season started later, in September.
The plan is to conduct a census of this kind every year during the breeding season, so that we can detect whether the population of breeding toads is growing, surviving or declining. The method of counting is quite rough but will give an indication of what is happening over time - we spend one night in the areas where they might occur and count the number of snoring males.
Nobody in our group had ever done this before, so we had to feel our way along (literally and figuratively). Julie and I was part of the group that was to count along the North-Western bank of the Keyser and Westlake river confluence.
Many Toads on the Road
Our group comprised of Julie, myself, Una Hartley and our neighbour Rhian Meets. We started in Lake road and walked onto the wetlands in the road reserve. We didn't hear any toads then, but saw one sitting in the grass. Eager to start our count, we picked the toad up, gripping it behind its front legs. Apparently, male toads signal to other males that try to mount them by making a croaking noise (presumably to convince them to find a female to mount). Since the females do not make this noise when picked up, we used this as a test of sex of the many toads we found. The toad croaked, and so started our count.
We were disturbed to count many toads on the road itself - which is why we should have "Beware of Toads" signs on Lake road and some adjoining roads. In order to get to the start of the river-bank we were going to survey, we ended up walking along Main road for short distance. This road would spell certain death for toads, and we picked up a toad that was on its way to the road and just 5m away from his fate. We are happy to report that he took to the river when we released him out of harm's way later.
Snoring on the Job
Once we got away from the roads and traffic, into the natural area along the Keysers River, we finally heard what we had come here for. A group of between 5 and 15 toads floating on pond-weed in the river showed us how they woo their womenfolk. We stood in the dark mesmerised. From close-up the sound surrounds you. From a distance you might mistake it for motorboats or jetski's tearing up the Marina. But once you have heard it you will never forget.
Counting Toads
It was all we could do to count the toads by judging how many are making the noise. Una peeked into the water and managed to do a visual count to help us along. By the end of the evening we had counted 41 toads in all (of which two were females). It is easy to think that so many frogs in the small area that we covered means they are abundant - until you realise that these toads occur nowhere else and we walked into the heart of their small space. A quarter of our exploration was in the area that will be covered by the proposed road linking the M3 to the M5. The rest of the area will be affected by the presence, noise and pollution from the road. Let's hope we can save the frogs so that our children might enjoy the wonder of a snoring night out counting toads.