A banana shipment to Bedfordshire came with an extra passenger, a tree frog from the Caribbean.
The stowaway, which is native to the island of Hispaniola in the West Indies, was found trapped in the fruit’s plastic wrapping by workers at a ripening facility in Luton, about 6,839 kilometres from its home.
Chris Newman, director of the Hadlow College-based National Centre for Reptile Welfare, said it had likely spent several weeks in the refrigerated hold of a boat, causing it to sleep for much of the trip.
“Last year, we had 365 cases like this, so it’s not uncommon at all,” he said.
Newman added: “These creatures regularly come over in fresh produce, particularly bananas.
“They cling on to a bunch and go through the whole washing process, battening down the hatches until they’re bagged up and shipped off.
“And the bags are breathable and kept cool, so the frogs just go into a sleep state until they receive a rude awakening at the other end.”
He said the latest arrival, an adult male measuring about 8 centimetres, has since been fostered by a National Centre for Reptile Welfare contact and will spend the rest of its three to four year lifespan in a terrarium surrounded by logs and vegetation.
However, Newman said other accidental arrivals in the UK had been far less appealing.
“In 2025, we had a Brazilian Wandering Spider spotted at a supermarket in Orpington, along with a Desert Cobra which secreted itself in the suitcase of someone returning Saudi Arabia,” he said.
“Honestly, you’d be amazed how many scary examples like that we’ve had.”
He said the National Centre for Reptile Welfare will launch a campaign later this year urging the public to check their luggage before heading home from abroad.
Read more from BBC News.
