A routine grocery shop turned into something straight out of a nature documentary after a couple discovered a live frog tucked inside a sealed bag of lettuce from a supermarket in Western Australia.

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New Zealanders Laura Jones and Billie Le Pine were left stunned when their flatmate walked into their Esperance share house carrying what looked like a completely ordinary salad purchase — except it came with an unexpected passenger.

Esperance, located around 700 kilometres south-east of Perth, is hardly the place you’d expect to uncover a stowaway amphibian inside your groceries, which only made the moment even more bizarre for the household.

Speaking to ABC Perth, Ms Jones explained how casually the whole thing unfolded.

“Our flatmates came home, and he’s the most casual Australian ever, and he’s like, ‘Bro, I’ve got a lettuce, like a frog in my lettuce,'” Ms Jones said. “It was just out of the ordinary for Kiwis.”

The tiny green frog was still alive when it was discovered, sitting inside the sealed plastic packaging among the leaves. A video later shared online showed the animal pressed against the inside of the bag, instantly sending social media users into disbelief.

Mr Le Pine said the frog appeared to have survived an impressively long journey.

“It’s quite a decent-sized frog for a big adventure,” he said.

“It would have probably come from east. Most of our vegetables come from eastern Australia to Esperance.

“The bag of lettuce does have holes in it to keep the produce fresh, so he had a snack and some air on his way over.”

Rather than panic, the group decided to carefully release the frog back into the wild.

The amphibian — quickly nicknamed Greg — was taken outside after the bag was opened and released near a local dam not far from the house.

“We got him some fresh air, and then he released it with the lettuce,” Ms Jones said.

“We live close to a dam … [he] had a little swim around with his lettuce … and away he hopped.”

For Mr Le Pine, it was easily one of the strangest things he had ever experienced while unpacking groceries.

“That was the most random thing I’ve ever encountered while opening a bag of lettuce,” he said.

“I’m just glad Greg is back in his natural habitat.”

Following the unusual discovery, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development reminded the public that any insects, animals or plants found inside food packaging — especially products transported interstate or internationally — should be reported.

Meanwhile, Woolworths confirmed it had launched an investigation into how the frog ended up inside the packaged lettuce.

In a statement, the supermarket giant said it was working with suppliers “as a priority” while stressing the incident appeared to be isolated.

“Woolworths takes product quality and food safety very seriously,” the statement read. “We work with a number of lettuce growers in WA and across Australia. Our suppliers have rigorous processes to maintain product quality.

“For heads of lettuce, this involves washing and a number of quality checks, which include checking for foreign materials, before they are packaged and sent to our stores.”

As strange as the discovery sounded, experts say it is far from unheard of.

Dr Jodi Rowley from the Australian Museum Research Institute explained that frogs are known to travel vast distances by accidentally hitching rides in produce shipments across Australia.

“In Australia, frogs are known to hitchhike bananas, and other produce down from Queensland into the sort of southern states,” Dr Rowley said.

She also pointed out that the frog’s survival could actually be viewed as a positive sign about the conditions the lettuce was grown in, suggesting it likely came from a healthy farming environment.

The Woolworths incident is also not the first time shoppers have found unexpected creatures inside packaged supermarket salads. Back in 2016, another viral video showed a large spider discovered inside a pre-packaged Italian salad mix.

This time though, Greg the frog managed to survive the journey — and judging by the internet’s reaction, he may have become Australia’s most famous lettuce passenger overnight.

Featured image credit: YouTube/ABC News (Australia)/ABC: News Breakfast/Laura Jones (screenshot)