AN exotic frog has been discovered in a bunch of bananas after making a 8,000-kilometer journey from Colombia to south Wales.

Asda supermarket staff found the creature at the chain’s branch in Murray Street, Llanelli, last week.

It is thought the frog survived the long journey into a cooler climate without food or drink by slowing down its metabolism, as amphibians are able to do.

Colombia is the U.K.’s biggest supplier of bananas, with hundreds of thousands of tons making the journey each year.

The frog, named Asda in honor of his rescuers, has now been transferred to specialist animal center Silent World To You in Haverfordwest.

Staff at the center, where the animal will live in a humid environment, believe he is a banana tree frog.

However, they added it can be difficult to identify frog species.

RSPCA inspector Gemma Cooper praised the Asda store staff for keeping the amphibian safe.

She said: “We’re so grateful to the members of the Asda team who contacted us.

“One team member spotted the frog, while another confined the frog and took him home. This quick thinking helped keep this frog safe.

“Frogs and other amphibians are so good at shutting down their bodies when they need to. It seems highly likely that’s exactly what this frog did to survive this long journey without food.

“Thankfully, the frog’s remarkable journey has a happy ending — with the little chap now safe and well at a specialist facility in Pembrokeshire.”

Ginny Spenceley, from Silent World To You, said it was not uncommon for frogs or spiders to “hitch a ride” in fruit deliveries which are no longer sprayed or treated.

The center has put in a special order of crickets for the frog.

Spenceley said: “Fortunately, he’s doing really well and, funnily enough, got very comfortable in a banana skin as we helped settle him into his new, less familiar surroundings.

“Asda the frog is very small — with a body about the size of my thumb, but longer back legs. Of course, we don’t know if it is a baby or an adult.”

(SD-Agencies)