Frog believed to be last of its kind has finally found a mate

Researchers found five additional Sehuencas water frogs in Bolivia

A frog believed to be the last of its kind may have finally found a mate - after 10 years of searching.

Romeo, a Sehuencas water frog who goes by the nickname the world’s loneliest frog, was found in Bolivia 10 years ago, and has since spent his life at Bolivia’s Cochabamba Natural History Museum.

While in isolation, Romeo has called out for a mate, even trying dating profiles in the hopes of securing a suitable frog partner to no avail.

However, Romeo’s quest for love may not be futile after all - as researchers have found him a Juliet.

Juliet, who was found in the same Bolivian cloud forest as Romeo, is currently being treated for a potentially deadly fungus called chytridiomycosis while her fellow frog waits, according to the Global Wildlife Conservation, which is keeping people up to date on the frog love story.

And it turns out it isn’t just Romeo and Juliet - as four additional Sehuencas water frogs were found during the expedition.

The first frog was a male - which meant females weren’t far.

Since the discovery, all five frogs have been transported to the K’ayara Centre, the museum’s conservation centre, where they are acclimating to their new home.

Once Juliet is deemed safe for mating, she will be introduced to Romeo - with the hopes that they will begin to repopulate the endangered species, which had been decimated due to climate change, habitat destruction, pollution, disease, and trout.

According to Camacho Badani, who discovered the frogs along with a team of three others - 10 years after finding Romeo - the process was exhausting but worth it.

“The entire team was wet and tired, but we decided to look in one more stream before returning to the camp,” she recalled to the Global Wildlife Conservation of the journey to the Bolivian cloud forest. “We weren’t too hopeful… but we took a chance anyway and after 15 minutes of searching, about four metres away from the waterfall, I saw a frog jump into a pond formed by the cascade.”

And while it can be risky to bring animals into captivity, Chris Jordan of the Global Wildlife Conservation told BBC it is worth the risk to save the frogs.

“We have a real chance to save the Sehuencas water 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,” he said.