Tough skinned frog a cut above lawnmower

A green tree frog in Australia has been given a second chance after it underwent life-saving emergency surgery when it was run over by a lawnmower in a Territory backyard. Ark Animal Hospital vet Stephen Cutter said the blades of the mower sliced the skin off the frog's back.

He said she would have died if she was not brought in to the veterinary clinic. "It was a pretty horrific injury," he said.



"It basically took the top layer of the skin off and did some internal injuries. But from day one she fought to live. It's very lucky to be alive."

Dr Cutter said they had to anaesthetise the frog - which they nicknamed Victoria after Victa lawnmowers - and after cleaning out the wound, stitched it up. He said the 30-minute operation was "difficult".



"Frogs are very delicate and sensitive to chemicals and toxins," he said. "The obvious one is Dettol - it is good for cleaning human wounds but for a frog or cane toad it kills them. So we had to be really careful when using any products on her, especially when cleaning out the wound. Frogs have reasonably loose skin so we just pulled it together and sewed it up."

Dr Cutter said it is not the first time he had operated on a frog. "I have a soft spot for frogs and have operated on quite a lot of them," he said. He said Victoria "looks great" after a month of recovery and is ready for release at Nina's Ark on the outskirts of Litchfield National Park near Batchelor, about 100km south of Darwin.