Guests visiting Center Parcs are being urged to drive carefully as hundreds of toads begin their annual spring migration across woodland roads and paths.
The seasonal movement, which takes place each year from late February through March, sees toads return to the ponds where they were born in order to breed.
Sightings are traditionally high at Longleat Forest in Wiltshire, where established woodland habitats and freshwater ponds provide ideal conditions for amphibians.
More than 200 toads have already been counted in the lakes at Center Parcs Elveden Forest in Norfolk last week, with over 700 recorded there so far this year.
During the migration, large numbers of toads can cross roads at dusk, particularly on mild and damp evenings after rainfall. Temperatures above around 7C typically trigger the movement.
Center Parcs Conservation Rangers are monitoring activity and installing temporary signage to alert drivers when peak migration begins.
Across the UK, approximately 20 tonnes of toads are killed on roads each year, according to The Wildlife Trusts.
Even low traffic volumes can have a serious impact on local populations during peak migration nights.
Richard Watson, Ecology and Biodiversity Manager at Center Parcs, said: “This is one of the most important and vulnerable moments in the toad’s lifecycle.
“They are instinctively returning to the ponds where they were born, which is extraordinary and a real privilege to see this happening within our forests.
“However, it is also a time where we ask our guests to drive slowly, remain vigilant on woodland footpaths and roads, and report high levels of toad activity to village colleagues.”
