Dubbed the “world’s loneliest frog” because scientists thought he was the last of his kind in the world, this Bolivian frog named Romeo has finally found a mate. Romeo, a Sehuencas water frog, has spent the last 10 years in isolation at an aquarium in Bolivia, but now scientists have discovered five more Sehuencas water frogs in a remote Bolivian cloud forest. The frogs, three males and two females, including Juliet, were captured in a stream, and scientists intend to breed and reintroduce them to the wild.
Photo: romeothefrog/Instagram
Romeo, the World’s Loneliest Frog, Finally Found a Mate
The five frogs discovered on the expedition are the first to be found in a decade. Teresa Camacho Badani, the expedition leader, told the BBC that while Romeo is really calm and relaxed and doesn’t move a whole lot… [Juliet] is really energetic, she swims a lot and she eats a lot and sometimes she tries to escape.”
Romeo was collected by researchers 10 years ago though he was not expected to spend the following 10 years alone. About a year ago he received widespread attention for his “search for a mate” and was even given a dating profile. Scientists hope that the capture of these five new frogs will stave off the extinction of the species.
Chris Jordan of Global Wildlife Conservation believes, “We have a real chance to save the Sehuencas frog — restoring a unique part of the diversity of life that is the foundation of Bolivia’s forests, and generating important information on how to restore similar species at grave risk of extinction.”
Once the new frogs are treated to protect against an infectious disease, Juliet will be introduced to Romeo in an effort to produce offspring. Right now, the meeting of Romeo and Juliet is the Sehuencas species’ only hope for survival. It’s too bad things would have never worked out between Romeo and George, the world’s loneliest snail, who sadly died earlier this month. 
H/T: BBC