A woman has spoken of her shock after finding an Egyptian gecko hidden in a punnet of strawberries she'd bought from Lidl.
Nikata Moran couldn't believe her eyes when she discovered the tiny creature, which measured just 2.5cm long, as she was getting the fruit out of her fridge.
The gecko had miraculously survived a 3,000 mile journey from Egypt to Nikata's home in Fallowfield, Manchester, by stowing away in the punnet.
The 29-year-old nurse had bought the strawberries from her local Lidl in Stanley Grove on her way back from work and had left them in the fridge for two hours before she got them out and noticed a "little head" on top of one of the pieces of fruit, LancsLive reports.
Recalling the bizarre discovery, Nikata said: “I got the strawberries out of the fridge and something move out of the corner of my eye and thought it was a spider or something.
"When I looked again I saw this tiny gecko, I couldn't believe it. It seemed very alert, so I managed to get it onto a spoon and pop it into a plastic container, where it moved very, very fast."
Despite its lengthy journey, the creature appeared uninjured apart from it missing a "little piece of tail" that should grow back.
Nikata added: "Apart from the little piece of tail, which I found in the punnet, it seemed uninjured, I just can't get over the journey it had, ending up in my kitchen!"
After safely putting the lizard in a plastic tub, Nikata then called the RSPCA for help.
The baby gecko was collected by one of the charity’s inspectors, Rachel Henderson, and taken to a veterinary centre where it was kept in overnight.
Rachel said: "When I was told I would be collecting a stowaway gecko I must admit I was expecting to be greeted with something slightly larger! When I opened the box I had to look twice to see where the lizard was.
“This little one was absolutely minute and I have no idea how something so tiny survived for such a long time in transit in a sealed up container, and we’d like to thank Nikata and the other organisations who helped us with this little lizard.
The next morning the tiny stowaway was then taken by the RSPCA to Reptilia Exotic Animal Rescue in Ossett, West Yorkshire.
A spokesperson for Reptilia said that accidental gecko imports are "very commonly seen" in reptile rescues.
They added: "We have a few of them with us at the moment that have come from various continents. They seem to adapt very well to captivity and are seen to thrive in bioactive settings.
"This little one has settled in well and will be ready to be rehomed once he has passed his quarantine period.”
