‘The water was so murky, it was impossible to take pictures,’ Christophe explains. He finally set up his shot where a fountain overflowed into a series of pools ‘beautiful with algae’. Angling his camera downwards he captured the moment a toad rose up ‘like a creature from the abyss,’ its copper-coloured eyes glinting.
In early spring common toads are on the move in Sarthe, migrating along traditional routes from their overwintering sites among logs and under leaves in the forest to their breeding ponds. The males often start moving first, waiting in the pond for females to arrive or loitering close by for those passing.
France
Christophe specialises in the wildlife, flora and landscape of Europe. Initially a researcher in ecology, he is now primarily a wildlife photojournalist. He uses the medium to tell the stories of species and habitats, and to raise awareness of the preservation of biodiversity.
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