Frog that travelled more than 4,000 miles among animals rescued in 2022

A frog that travelled more than 4,000 miles on a bunch of bananas and a hedgehog extracted from a drainpipe with barbecue tongs were among animals rescued from the trickiest situations in 2022.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has shared some of the most “weird and wonderful” incidents the charity’s officers were called to across the year.

Among the first to be rescued in 2022 was Nacho, a six-month-old seal pup who appeared next to a riverbank by the Old Lock & Weir Inn in Keynsham, Bristol, on 2 January.

“The River Avon runs from the coast all the way along through Keynsham where the pub is situated at the water’s edge, so it’s likely he found his way there swimming upstream from the coast,” said the RSPCA wildlife supervisor Paul Oaten.

Two days later, on 4 January, a fellow seal pup was found on a cliff in Weybourne, Norfolk, 50ft from the beach, next to a brick wartime pillbox.

“I was quite surprised to find this seal so far up – he must have just taken a wrong turn and then followed the coastal path before ending up on the cliff edge,” said Amy Pellegrini, of the RSPCA, who took the pup down to a safe spot on the nearby beach.

A recurring theme in RSPCA rescues in 2022 was foxes getting their head stuck, including a vixen that became trapped in a watering can in Colchester, Essex, in February.

In the same month, a fox found with a large tin of dog food in Barking, London, proved to be a warning on “how dangerous litter can be”, according to the RSPCA inspector Dale Grant.

Customers eating at a McDonald’s in Bognor Regis, West Sussex, found a 5ft-long boa constrictor slithering through the fast food restaurant in July. The non-venomous snake was passed on to staff, who placed it in a box before it was collected by the RSPCA’s Hannah Nixon.

In August, RSPCA rescuers used barbecue tongs to pull a hedgehog free from an open drain in Hull, East Yorkshire.

“It was great teamwork … it involved a little bit of gentle persuasion and the use of some BBQ tongs to carefully ease him out of the drain,” said Gary Cotton, who checked the hedgehog with fellow rescuer Laura Barber before releasing him back into the wild.

The RSPCA was called in September after a Hispaniolan common tree frog made a 4,300-mile journey from the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean to the UK on a bunch of bananas.

“We were unpacking the shopping in the kitchen and my wife turned to me and said ‘look there’s a frog in the bananas’ and I said ‘sorry, there’s a what in the bananas?’,” said Iain Holloway from Tamworth, Staffordshire. Rescuer Jonny Wood said the frog was in good condition despite its long journey.

The RSPCA inspectorate commissioner, Dermot Murphy, said: “With our teams out rescuing animals from danger and suffering 365 days a year, we are often their only hope.

“It’s an honour to be able to lend a hand to animals in desperate need and we hope people enjoy seeing some of the weird and wonderful places animals have found themselves in need of our help.”