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The male frog Romeo. Robin Moore / Global Wildlife Conservation

In Bolivia, a male frog, who had been living alone for ten years, has finally found a shoe at his feet thanks to a dating site. A female of her species has just been discovered, while scientists feared extinction. A little hope for biodiversity in the Andean country.

At the Alcide d'Orbigny natural history museum in Cochabamba, there are crystals, meteorites and butterfly collections, but we find especially ... Romeo, a male aquatic frog from Sehuencas, discovered ten years ago in the heart of the Bolivian jungle and who lives since in an aquarium of the museum.

Romeo, the world's most unique frog

Very soon after his arrival, Romeo began to croak to call a female. Songs unfortunately remained unanswered, Romeo living alone in this large aquarium built for him. In a decade, no companion was found for him. " When the biologists discovered Roméo ten years ago, we already knew that the Sehuencas water frog, like many other amphibians in Bolivia, was in danger, but we had no idea we would find no other individual of his kind during all this time "explains Arturo Muñoz, founder of the Bolivian Amphibian Protection Initiative. Ten long years of loneliness for this frog, who, little by little, stopped singing. And if the age of Romeo is undetermined, according to specialists the frogs of Sehuencas live about 15 years. What worry scientists, and if Romeo died without being able to reproduce?

Arturo Muñoz from @BolivianAmphib @ResearchUGent with the charismatic #titicacawaterfrog # ACRS2017 pic.twitter.com/pHYTc0viWE

Amphibian Agent (@AgentAmphibian) June 25, 2017

A profile on Match.com

An idea was then launched, jointly by the Bolivian Amphibians Initiative, the Global Wildlife Conservation Biodiversity Conservation Association, and the Match.com Dating Site: create a profile on the Match.com site for Romeo, so to help him find a partner.

From his personal description, it reads: " I am not very demanding about the person I am looking for. I only want another Sehuencas frog, like me. If I do not find anyone it will be, simply, the end of my existence (just that). So if you are willing to help an old Romeo find his only Juliet, donate . Behind this announcement was actually a fundraiser. Because to find a frog of this species, one must first study the place of research (where the last frog of Sehuencas was seen) and then have to go into the jungle for several days, with equipment and tools. vehicles. Expeditions that are expensive, and in Bolivia (one of the richest biodiversity countries in the world), nature protection does not receive public funds. But thanks to a very successful media campaign by the NGO Global Wildlife, $ 25,000 has been raised. Successful bet for frog friends!

The female frog Juliet. Robin Moore / Global Wildlife Conservation

The orange belly of the Sehuencas frog

Thus, four expeditions were organized, led by the head of the museum's "amphibian" department, Teresa Camacho Badani. Mission accomplished: companions have been discovered for Romeo, Teresa says: " We were fed up, we had searched all day without result. We were soaked, tired, but still, we decided to search a last river before returning to the camp. Arriving in a pond, I see a frog flying off, which I believe to be a toad of Incachaca. I approach, I put my hand in the water - I expected to catch it, check that it was not a Sehuencas frog and let him go - and here I manage to capture him. I take my hand out of the water and what do I see? An orange belly! I caught a Sehuencas frog! The specimen discovered is a male, but in the following days two females are captured in the same area, including Juliet.

For the moment the female is in quarantine, in order to get used to the aquarium of the museum. It is also treated against possible bacteria that could affect Romeo. All the conditions must be met for the meeting to happen at best, because, although five individuals were discovered during the expeditions, the species remains in danger, because first of all a mushroom that decimates the amphibians since more than thirty years, but also because its natural habitat is degraded by the human presence (agriculture, deforestation).

A " blind " meeting will take place ... February 14, so that Cupid can fulfill his office!

► to (re) read : Threats across the Amazon

Romeo, the "#rana más solitaria del mundo", has a quote with Julieta • https://t.co/g7AwGjOLtC vía @IFLBiodiversity # inglés 🐸 ❤️🐸 pic.twitter.com/o2MiX6SFO9

Apuntes of #ciencia (@ApuntesCiencia) January 21, 2019