Brought into our RSPCA Wildlife Hospital, Fig the frog was in a bad way and her prospects of survival without surgery were grim.
Senior Wildlife Vet Nurse Breanna Pitt hopped at the chance to help Fig.
"Fig was brought in to us sporting a broken humerus, meaning her upper front arm was broken right in the middle, so it was in a perfect spot for us to put back together," said Breanna.
Following an intricate and successful surgical procedure, Fig the green tree frog was ready to return to her natural habitat, much to the delight of our RSPCA Wildlife team.
Although this was not Breanna’s first experience with an operation on a tree frog, she said Fig’s generous size helped our wildlife vets operate on her injuries.
Fig’s recovery process was a unique one due to the tiny pin which was inserted into her arm as part of the surgery, which is rarely used as part of any procedure on wildlife.
"We went in through the outside of the bone, pushed it all the way through and that essentially helps to line the bone back up so it can heal in its natural position," said Breanna.
After a month’s recovery and the pin being removed, Fig the frog was deemed ready to be released back into her natural habitat, with parklands at Fig Tree Pocket, Brisbane selected as her perfect release location.
On her release day, Fig could not wait any longer to return to her familiar surrounds as she leapt from Breanna’s hands before she had a chance to place her down by the lake.
Thankfully, the leap of faith went smoothly, and Breanna watched as Fig settled back into her old stomping ground, all thanks to our highly skilled and incredibly patient wildlife team.
Our RSPCA teams are rescuing 24,871 animals, just like Fig, every year in Queensland. To continue to save lives, we need to improve our capacity to care.
A new, purpose-built Wildlife Centre of Excellence will provide opportunities to better care of wildlife through better resourcing, technology and investment in research and education. Your support helps ensure our wildlife like Fig can get a second chance in the wild.
