South Devon College says bon voyage to Trevor the African Bullfrog

Students and staff from the Animal Care Unit at South Devon College have said goodbye and good luck to a rising superstar of the amphibian world.

Trevor, an African Bullfrog, who is the size of a dinner plate, has lived at the college since 2018. He was spotted by Chester Zoo on social media posts and scouted to be the main attraction in its brand-new Africa exhibit.

“I was contacted directly by the team leader of amphibians who had seen our posts on Instagram of Trevor as they were looking for an adult bullfrog so he’s perfect for this exhibit,” explained Dr Katy Upton, Lecturer in Animal Care and Science.

“Creating industry links is important for us as a small animal collection but also great to demonstrate to students how Zoos source animals without collecting them from the wild.

“In the future we hope to apply for our own Zoo licence which would make moves like this more common as Zoos regularly transport animals between collections for display or breeding purposes.”

African bullfrogs are the second largest frogs in the world and can live for up to 40 years in captivity. Trevor, named by students after Neville Longbottom’s Toad in Harry Potter is 12 years old and was bred by a private collector in Devon.

Loved by all the students Trevor was an integral part of their learning.

“He helped students learn about handling, husbandry and health checks. This is an integral part of the students learning so they can care for exotic animal species,” said Dr Upton.

“This is built into the modules we teach at both Level 2 and Level 3 Animal Management where they undertake more specialised subjects such as exotics animal care, Zoological collections and Aquatics animal care.”

Trevor, who weighs 1.5kg eats twice a week on a variety of bugs such as crickets, locusts and the occasional dead mouse.

“He will be missed by everyone,” said Dr Upton.” However, he will now be enjoyed by so many more people on a daily basis and hopefully will help people to connect with the natural environment and the incredible animals that live within it.”