ROSWELL, GA. – An international traveler recently came to the Chattahoochee Nature Center, in Roswell, Ga.. A Cope’s Gray Treefrog from Georgia went on a trip to Toronto, Canada, and back.

The treefrog was found by a truck driver from Sandersville, Georgia, near Milledgeville, who had crossed the border into Canada, arriving at Mississauga. The driver opened his truck to find the treefrog hopping about. He captured the wayward amphibian and turned it over to the Toronto Wildlife Centre, who identified it and sought a way to get it back home safely.

That’s where the Chattahoochee Nature Center comes in.

As a wildlife rehabilitation center specializing in amphibians (as well as raptor and reptiles), CNC was a perfect recipient of the tree frog. But being willing is one thing; actually transporting a little frog across state and national borders was tricky.

Kathryn Dudeck, CNC wildlife director, set about finding out how. For Dudeck, she had to get permission from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to bring the frog into the state.

“We have a good relationship with the DNR, so we were able to quickly get approval,” Dudeck said. She said she has never had an animal shipped internationally before. She worked with TWC to get the proper permits and papers approved to get the frog back home.

Three weeks after Dudeck received her approval, the Toronto Wildlife Centre informed her the frog was on its way back to Georgia, boarding a flight in New York for Atlanta, via a service just for animal transport, Reptile Express International. It took off June 18 and landed in Atlanta the next day, where he ended up at the Chattahoochee Nature Center.

Dudeck said the frog arrived safe and healthy after its travels and was returned home safely July 7.