McClatchy Washington Bureau

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Pacific Chorus frogs have infiltrated Christmas trees being bought in the Anchorage area and state wildlife officials have ordered them killed on sight.

Reports of the amphibious invaders began surfacing in the past two weeks, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is urging residents to check their trees for "amphibious hitchhikers they may be unaware they purchased."

Lest there be any confusion about whether a frog in one's tree is indigenous, the department advised the frogs have gray, brown, rust, black or green coloration.

"These 'live ornaments' may seem like a bonus purchase, but they are outside their native range," Tammy Davis, Invasive Species Program Project Leader for Fish and Game, said in a written statement. "While we don't suspect they will become invasive, a greater concern is the risk to our native amphibians if they are carrying pathogens of concern."

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