Think you're unlucky in love? Meet Romeo. The down-on-his-luck Sehuencas water frog (Telmatobius yuracare) was thought to be the last of his kind left in the world – a state of being that earned him the unenviable distinction of being "the world's loneliest frog".
But, no more! Romeo's luck has taken a turn for the better after a team of scientists captured not one but five Sehuencas water frogs loitering in a stream. These elusive amphibians were discovered during an expedition to one of Bolivia's remote cloud forests and are the first of their species to have been found in the wild in more than a decade.
This means that after 10 years stuck in involuntary isolation, Romeo will have the chance to meet Juliet, one of the two females caught on the excursion and the one thought to be the best age fit for Romeo. Let's just hope that after so long alone, the boy still has game.
The expedition was funded by money raised during a campaign with dating website Match last year, which saw the lonely frog given his very own online dating profile. His (heart-breaking) bio read:
Well, hi there. I'm Romeo. I'm a Sehuencas (pronounced "say-when-cuss") Water Frog and, not to start this off super heavy or anything, but I'm literally the last of my species. I know - intense stuff. But that's why I'm on here - in hopes of finding my perfect match so we can save our own kind (no pressure ;)).
Teresa Camacho Badani, chief of herpetology at the Museo de Historia Natural Alcide d'Orbigny, Bolivia, and leader of the expedition told BBC News she believes opposites attract – even if the couple in question are frogs.
"Romeo is really calm and relaxed and doesn't move a whole lot," she said. Adding that while he is healthy and has a good appetite, he can be a little shy and slow.
Juliet, on the other hand. "She's really energetic, she swims a lot and she eats a lot and sometimes she tries to escape."
Romeo and Juliet's home country, Bolivia, has the 10th largest amphibian diversity in the world but like the Sehuencas water frog, 22 percent of its amphibian species are facing extinction due to a deadly combination of pollution, disease, habitat loss, and climate change, as well as the introduction of non-native species. The once abundant water frog is now declining rapidly.
The captured frogs will be treated to make sure they are safe from chytridiomycosis, a toxic fungus affecting amphibians worldwide. After a successful breeding program, the ultimate goal is to return the frogs to the wild. Though this may take some time.
The numbers might not be on their side but other amphibian species, including the Mallorcan midwife toad in Spain and the Kihansi spray toad of Tanzania, have been bred and released back into the wild with a similarly low number of individuals.
We just have our fingers crossed that after his long stint as a bachelor, Romeo gets his happily ever after.
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