The frog was flown from Mount Isa, Queensland to Cairns free of charge.
A White's treefrog (also known as the green treefrog) in Australia got a second chance at life after being run over by a lawn mower in Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. The woman who ran the frog over contacted family members to help her contact the Cairns Frog Hospital, on the east coast of Australia.
The hospital agreed to see the frog, but there were a few hoops to go through as the hospital was two hours away by plane, according to ABC News Australia.
"The only thing that we could do to help this lady in Mount Isa was to get the frog to Cairns," Deborah Pergolotti, president of the Cairns Frog Hospital told ABC News Australia. "That started a big bureaucratic process of finding out which airlines now had the contract to service Mount Isa and Cairns, contacting them, and then they had to contact their animal handling people."
Deborah Pergolotti
This White's treefrog was run over by a lawnmower. It survived and its wounds were treated.
Those attending to the frog persevered and were able to get the frog to the hospital for treatment.
However, the amphibian was not out of the woods yet.
"The person who found the frog had accidentally ran over it with their lawn mower, which means the frog was out during the daylight hours in the middle of the day, indicating that it was unwell," Pergolotti told ABC News Australia. In addition, the gash on the frog’s back started to get infected, so it was put on several treatments to minimize bacterial infection.
The frog’s wound has since healed, though it has damage to one of its eyes. Pergolotti said that despite this, the frog catches its food well and has gained weight, which is a positive sign for the little guy. He is expected to return home next week.
Pergolotti’s Cairns Frog Hospital is pretty much the only facility that tends to sick and wounded frogs in the northern half of Queensland. She told ABC News Australia that most folks don’t know that frogs can be rescued.
"Most of the public still doesn't realize that frogs are not necessarily included in your typical wildlife rescue repertoire," she said.
"It's still one of the animals that have not really made it above that line — there's almost a glass ceiling."
