Ladders to help frogs escape deathtrap drains are being set up in London

LONDON: A small group of British conservationists are installing mesh- covered ladders in roadside drains to save trapped amphibians from certain death. The Warwickshire Amphibian and Reptile Team—the memorably acronymed WART—hopes that by placing 20 of the rust-resistant aluminum ladders down drains near known breeding pools in England’s West Midlands, they can boost the dwindling amphibian population. “The amphibians are coming to breed and then hitting the road, getting across the roads, hitting the curb, along the curb and into the drains. And then that’s it—end of story for them, game over,” said Tim Jenkins, a ladder fitter at WART. “By installing the amphibian ladders, it enables them to get back out of the drains and back to their breeding pools and doing what they should do and making more amphibians.”