Other events in Baltic States

A crew of volunteers saved 2211 toads, 167 frogs and seven newts on April 23 from ending up as roadkill, the Estonian Nature Fund reports.

The onset of spring temperatures have signaled to many toads and frogs that it is time to return to lay eggs, even if this involves crossing a busy road, writes LETA.

Eventually, thousands of frogs will be saved this spring from getting smashed by cars during the peak of the migrating season.

The amphibians are out in the dusk, as are the volunteers, who are clad in yellow jerseys. The action is part of a two-year campaign organized by the Estonian Fund for Nature and also emphasizing driver education. In four places, the volunteers will erect temporary frog fences and gently deposit the amphibians into buckets and take them safely across the roads to allow them to continue to spawning sites.

Migration paths, which intersect with traffic-heavy highways, will be most actively used when the temperature gap between day and night levels out.

"Our ultimate goal is for road builders to account with the frogs in the future. Helping the frogs across the road is the best we can do at the moment," said Tanel Laan, project leader for the Estonian Fund for Nature.