An eagle-eyed Tesco worker had the shock of her life when she discovered a live frog — hidden in a bunch of bananas.
The tree frog – usually native to the Dominican Republic and better known for hopping from tree to tree in the rainforest – was spotted inside a bag of bananas on Friday.
The worker immediately contacted the RSPCA whose staff advised to make tiny air holes in the plastic and add some water for moisture.
Staff then took the frog to an exotics rescue centre Reptilia which identified the critter as Republic tree frog and fittingly named him, Nana.
Tesco says its growers work hard to inspect packaged fruit carefully but this sort of thing can happen on very rare occasions.”
It most likely the case that the frog was hidden in the bananas as they were cut from the trees and was not seen until it was spotted by the shop worker in Blackburn, Lancs.
The frog is expected to make a full recovery despite being a little skinny following the 4,000-mile journey from the Caribbean to the local Tesco branch.
Animal collection officer (ACO) John Greaves said: “The little tree frog was confined inside a bag of bananas so we asked her to make some tiny air holes in the plastic and add some water for moisture and keep him confined until we could attend.
“The amphibian must have had quite the shock when he emerged in a Lancashire supermarket considering he’s used to more tropical climates usually.”
ACO Greaves collected the stowaway and took him to Reptilia – a specialist exotics rescue centre in Ossett, West Yorkshire.
“The staff there checked him over and identified him as a Dominican Republic tree frog,” ACO Greaves added.
“That means he’s definitely a long way from home – more than 4,200 miles in fact!
“He’s a little skinny following his ordeal but he should make a full recovery.”
Staff at Reptilia are currently taking care of the amphibian and said it will soon be up for adoption.
A spokesman for Reptilia said: “It’s a Dominican tree frog.
“It’s a bit underweight but it’s doing fine apart from that.
“It will be looking for adoption in about six weeks time.
“Since it is was found in a bunch of bananas we have we’ve decided to name it Nana’.”
A Tesco spokesman said: “As soon as our eagle-eyed colleague spotted our unfrogrettable friend, he hopped to it and contacted the RSPCA for help.
“We sell millions of bananas every week and our growers work hard to inspect our fruit carefully.
“However, given the freshness of our produce, this sort of thing can happen on very rare occasions.”
