A British family has been stunned to discover a tiny tree frog in a bag of bananas that had been imported from the Dominican Republic. When Iain Holloway from Tamworth, Staffordshire and his family received their home delivery from a local supermarket giant- Sainsbury's, they found the amphibian sealed inside a bag of Fair Trade bananas.
"We then all stood in the kitchen looking at each other wondering what to do," Mr Holloway told BBC.
The family immediately called the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) for the rescue of the frog.
While waiting for the RSPCA, Mr Holloway's 12-year-old son did a bit of online research and from the markings, identified the 1.5-inch amphibian as a Hispaniolan common tree frog from the Dominican Republic, the same area where bananas originated.
According to the RSPCA, the frog had survived a 4,300-mile (6,920-kilometer) trek in fine shape.
"It was a complete surprise to see this little creature in our kitchen so far from home and we've all had a bit of a chuckle about it since," said Mr Holloway.
The firm made an apology and stated that such incidents were extremely unusual and that protocols were in place to prevent them from occurring. It also claimed that it was looking into the situation with its supplier. BBC further reported.
Jonny Wood, the charity's animal rescue officer, rescued the frog on September 24, the day after the family discovered it and said it was "bright and alert and has since been feeding well". The rare amphibian is now in the care of the RSPCA.
"The family did exactly the right thing by not touching the amphibian, given the uncertainty about what sort of frog we were dealing with. These frogs are not dangerous or poisonous, but very common in the Dominican Republic, "Mr Wood added.
This is not the first time Mr Wood has been summoned to assist a foreign visitor.
Osteopilus dominicensis, commonly known as the Hispaniolan Common Treefrog, is a species of amphibian in the hylid frog family. They live in the Neotropics. This species of frog reproduce sexually and depend on saltation to travel around.
