Unbreakable Toad Survive Jet Trip, Wash Machine, Cat Row

Story ByKoen BerghuisSub EditorJoseph GolderAgencyCEN

This is the indestructible toad that survived a flight from South Africa to Europe as a stowaway, a spin in a laundry machine and a cat attack has finally found a home in a zoo.

The African Red Toad (Schismaderma carens) secretly crawled into the hiking shoes of a German tourist visiting South Africa and ended up in the hiker’s luggage on board a flight back to Germany.

The unfortunate animal’s ordeal was not over after the long flight as the German tourist threw the contents of her luggage straight into the washing machine when she arrived back home in Dusseldorf, a city located in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Pictures Credit: CEN & CEN/Philipp Schroeder-Aquazoo

After somehow surviving the water, detergent and the 400 spins per minute of the washing machine, the toad’s odyssey continued as the hiker’s pet cat spotted the amphibious animal.

Luckily for the toad, the German woman spotted her cat’s prey in time and managed to rescue the animal.

She brought it to the Aquazoo, a natural science exhibition, aquarium, terrarium and insectarium in Dusseldorf.

Aquazoo spokesman Philipp Schroeder said: “We can hardly believe it ourselves that the animal has survived all of this unharmed.”

A veterinarian has checked the toad but found no injuries and deemed the animal to be in full health.

The toad was immediately put in quarantine as it is an invasive species in Europe, which is expected to take a few weeks.

It is unsure however if the toad, which the Aquazoo renamed ‘Simba’, will ever be visible for the public as the African Red Toad is not a special species.

However, the zoo promised it will keep taking care of Simba behind the scenes where the toad will get its own terrarium.