JOHANNESBURG--They say cats have nine lives. Now a Chinese toad  has joined that club of clever survivors. South Africans are shocked at the endurance of a toad that got trapped in a cargo shipment from China to Cape Town, after jumping into a porcelain candlestick  that was made there. South African officials reportedly planned to put down the creature, fearing it would cause harm as an invasive species if it were let go in the wild. But the toad got a last-minute pardon. Mango Airlines, a South African airline, transported the toad on Friday to Johannesburg for delivery to an animal shelter, after officials decided to find a way to let the toad live. The two-hour flight was a breeze compared to the trip from China, a long way of many weeks and thousands of kilometers across the Indian Ocean. Airline spokesman Hein Kaiser said the toad got "first-class treatment", sitting in a transparent plastic container with escort Brett Glasby, an animal welfare inspector. There was even a ceremony, in which the toad's boarding pass was handed to Glasby. "He was the star of the show on the flight," Kaiser said of the amphibious  passenger. "I think every passenger stopped to have a look." On landing in Johannesburg, the toad was brought out of its container for a celebrity-style photo shoot. Observers said the brown toad seemed like a cool customer. It belongs to the Asian Toad species, which breeds during the monsoon  season. It is believed to have survived the trip from China by hardening its skin to prevent it from drying out, and also by slowing its breathing and heart rate--methods that help the species survive in times of drought. "We've had snakes in imported timber and scorpions  in fruit. We were called because the toad was right inside the candlestick, and we had to break it to get it out" Glasby, the inspector, toldThe Star, a South African newspaper. The toad was able to arrive in South Africa alive   _  .
because it formed hard skin to protect itself because it escaped all attacks and hunts because it used to stop its breath in winter because it was lucky to be given a chance