These Common Toads were filmed on April 24th, rather late considering that toads emerge from hibernation around February/March and head straight to ancestral ponds to breed, following the same migration route each year. Males are smaller than females and many stop on the migration route waiting for the females to arrive so they can hitch a ride. Spawn is laid in strings and wrapped around plants.
I think to say they wait to hitch ride, though an amusing idea, is not right. The males are driven by their hormones to mate, and the urge to grip on the females back (amplexus) is about this, not being lazy.
ReplyDeleteOne male I moved the other night from the road mistook my fingers for a female and gripped on tight! Had to pull him off with my other hand. First time this has happened to me with 1000s of toads over the years.
They sometimes grip onto fish in ornamental ponds.