Rescue operation underway to save country's only native toad from dried up Kerry ponds

The natterjack toad is highly endangered due to changes in farming practice and climate change

The natterjack which is only naturally found in Kerry is a boom-and-bust species, breeding prolifically one year and not at all the next.

A rescue operation is underway in west Kerry to save Ireland’s only native toad, the natterjack, as the ponds dry up in soaring temperatures.

The season started well for the natterjacks, in the Castlegregory and Castlemaine harbour area, with lots of ponds full of water. Spawning and tadpole formation — erratic last year after the dry spring — went well.

"This protracted dry spell, however, is causing many breeding sites to dry up early," Dr Ferdia Marnell of the National Parks and Wildlife Service said. A dune fire in the Maherees was adding to worries on Tuesday.

The natterjack which is only naturally found in Kerry is a boom-and-bust species, breeding prolifically one year and not at all the next. It is also highly endangered due to changes in farming practice. Climate change with unstable weather patterns is also adversely affecting the toad.

Last year, conservation rangers with the National Parks and Wildlife Service collected tadpoles for a toadlet captive breeding programme at the Dingle Aquarium and Fota Wildlife Park. Last July, thousands of toads reared in captivity for the first time were released back into the wild.

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB

Some tadpoles were collected in May of this year also and are already metamorphosing while others have metamorphosed naturally. 

Around 1,000 toadlets now ‘with legs under them’ in Dingle Oceanworld Aquarium are ready to be released back into the ponds, dune pools and farmer-dug ponds in Inch, Cromane, and along the Maharees, Kevin Flannery director of Dingle Oceanworld said.

‘But it’s too warm and too dry. We can’t leave them go right now,’ Mr Flannery said. He is waiting for the weather to turn on Friday and for rain to fall to release them.

Conservation rangers are now collecting the remaining tadpoles and bringing them to the aquarium. But already there are fears a number of ponds will have dried up with the hotter-than-normal temperatures in recent days. "Once the ponds dry out, the tadpoles die," Mr Flannery said.

The toads are among around 10 species unique to Kerry, he added, and it is now a race against time to rescue most of this year’s crop.

Mr Flannery believes the toad, with its distinctive yellow stripe, also found on the Iberian peninsula, came into Kerry on ships bringing wine and brandy as part of the connection spanning thousands of years between south and west Kerry and Spain. A second school of thought says the toad has been here since the end of the last ice age 11,000 years ago.

A number of farmers in west Kerry are part of an agri scheme to dig ponds and ovesee habitats to help protect the toad and ensure its survival. 

Fish distress

In recent days, Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has been asking the public to report any sightings of fish in distress, or that have died during the current hot spell. The IFI is concerned about potential mortalities due to reduced oxygen levels in lakes, rivers and streams at this time.

Commenting on the issue, Barry Fox, Head of Operations at IFI said: “During this sunny and dry weather, air and water temperatures are approaching dangerous and potentially lethal levels for salmonids in parts of the country. The risk to fish mortality may be unavoidable due to low oxygen levels and ‘thermal stress'. 

“Once the water temperature exceeds the 20 degrees Celsius threshold during daylight, fish species such as salmon and trout will suffer thermal stress."