Toad trip

It’s not only civilians who are caught in the crossfire in a war. Pets’ lives are also at risk. 

In the Ukraine war, soldiers would rescue cats and dogs left in the frontlines by bringing them to safer ground.  Troops from the 14th Separate Mechanized Brigade do the evacuation using a drone. 

A cat named Barsik and a dog called Zagybluk were put in special breathable pouches that were carefully tied to a drone, Nadiya Zamryga, the brigade’s press officer, told CNN over the phone.

The drone pilot then skillfully flew the animals for about 10 kilometers before landing in a “gentle” way, according to Zamryga.

Barsik was reunited with its owner, a recovering wounded soldier, while Zagybluk was left with other Ukrainian troops, CNN reported.

Meanwhile, more than 50 volunteers in hi-vis jackets and armed with torches and buckets walked slowly up and down an 800-meter stretch of Charlcombe Lane near Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom for six weeks, according to the BBC. 

Wearing latex-free, powder-free gloves, they pick up toads and transport them in buckets to drop-off points to help them reach their ancestral breeding lake in the valley below.

Helen Hobbs, patrol manager at the Charlcombe Toad Rescue Group, said their assistance lowered the number of amphibian casualties that had to cross the road, thus helping to stabilize their population. 

Aside from toads, the patrollers also helped frogs and newts to go safely to the same lake, a breeding migration that takes place four times a year.