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In early spring in eastern Europe, common toads emerge from overwinter torpor and start migrating -- often in large numbers -- to breeding sites in ponds and lakes. Reproduction occurs in the water, but the big females are often intercepted by males long before the reach ponds. In one of these images, two males have grabbed a female (this is called amplexus) in hopes of fertilizing her eggs; sometimes a large ball of struggling males envelopes a female in a pool (below). I took these pictures near Bialowieza, in eastern Poland. |
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