A water frog dubbed Romeo by scientists has been calling for a mate from his museum home in Bolivia for about a decade now. The problem is that Romeo may well be the last frog of his species, explains Quartz. Researchers, however, haven't completely ruled out hope of finding a female Sehuencas water frog, which is the reason for an unusual fundraiser by the Global Wildlife Conservation, the Bolivian Amphibian Initiative, and ... Match.com, reports CNN. Yes, Romeo now has a profile on the dating site, the real goal of which is to raise $15,000 by Valentine's Day to fund expeditions to far-flung regions where the frogs once roamed. Match.com is matching any donations that come in.
"When biologists collected Romeo 10 years ago, we knew the Sehuencas water frog, like other amphibians in Bolivia, was in trouble, but we had no idea we wouldn't be able to find a single other individual in all this time," says one of the conservationists on the project. Typically, the frogs live up to 15 years, meaning researchers have another five years, max, to find a female. The first line of Romeo's online profile: "Not to start this off super heavy or anything, but I'm literally the last of my species." (An effort to save the endangered vaquitas ended badly.)
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