Cape town’s endangered western leopard toads face deadly road crossings during breeding season

Western leopard toads in South Africa’s Cape Town region are fighting for survival as urban development forces them into increasingly dangerous situations. Listed as endangered since 2016, these amphibians once thrived across the Cape Peninsula and surrounding areas including Kleinmond, Betty’s Bay, and the Agulhas Plain. However, two decades of rapid urban expansion have dramatically shrunk their natural habitat.

The crisis intensifies each year during breeding season from late July to September, when toads must journey from their terrestrial homes to ponds for mating and egg-laying. In today’s urbanized landscape, this ancient migration route now crosses busy roads—often with fatal consequences. “Roads and toads are not a great combination,” explains Andrew Turner, scientific manager for CapeNature, the government body overseeing Western Cape conservation. “A lot of people don’t see them, or are traveling too fast to avoid them, and then you end up with squished toads.”

While the pace of habitat destruction has slowed as developable land becomes scarce, Turner warns that losses continue. The remaining toad populations face mounting pressure as their breeding grounds become increasingly isolated by infrastructure. This fragmentation makes it nearly impossible for the species to maintain healthy population numbers, creating an urgent conservation challenge for one of South Africa’s most vulnerable amphibians. The situation highlights the broader conflict between urban growth and wildlife preservation in one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.