Pat here again to provide Pat answers to all of your questions from toad rage to the DaVinci Toad!
A Richard Feder in White Flint, New Jersey writes:
Dear Pat: my friend, Romeo, is the loneliest frog in the entire world, according to news reports. He so much wants to find his Juliet. What’s your advice? P.S. Enclosed is his photo.
Dear Richard: Based on his photo, Romeo does seem to have been looking for his Juliet for quite a while. I am familiar with news reports about Romeo — that for 10 years, as the world’s last known Sehuencas water frog, he’s been living alone in captivity in A Bolivian museum. Furthermore, repeated expeditions by biologists into the nation’s cloud forests, the only place the amphibians exist, had turned up no new specimens. To make matters worse, the once-plentiful Romeos had been all but wiped out by a killer fungus, widespread habitat loss and an invasive trout that dines on frog eggs.
Even Romeo seemed to have given up on ever finding Julie. Researchers last heard the frog perform his mating call at the end of 2017. After that, he couldn’t stop crying. Scientists were so desperate that they set up a dating profile for Romeo, to raise money for expeditions to search for more frogs.
Well, GOOD NEWS! Just one month ago, scientists announced a discovery to end this Shakespearean ecological tragedy. Five more Sehuencas frogs were found near a Bolivian waterfall — two males, two females and one that’s too young to tell yet. A female that researchers named Juliet is of mating age.
Right now, Juliet is living with the other new frogs in their own tank so the scientists can make sure they don’t have any diseases, but after that, she and Romeo will go on a toad-ally romantic first date. Scientists hope that opposites attract and that the gentlemanly Romeo and the energetic Juliet will have a good date and soon be raising tadpoles.
ROMEO: She speaks. Oh, speak again bright angel.
What advice do I have for romantics like Romeo? First, don’t jump to the wrong conclusions. Sometimes you have to wait for true love. But then when you see it, don’t wait — HOP ON! Thank you for your question. Keep them coming!
Pat would like to give a big Spark and Spitfire shout-out to her friend, Kelly, who directed me to Romeo’s sad story when I published my inaugural column a month ago. I did additional research, but would have never known about Romeo without Kelly. Thank you, dear friend!
Like Kelly, please send me your questions and/or topics for which you need Pat answers or perspectives.
What a delightful, heartwarming post. I love the pictures and got a howling laugh when I saw the gal in the frog costume. Kudos to Pat for her great advice on love. (I forgot – is Pat a guy or a gal?) xoxoxo
Pat says that you are very welcome, Merrie Lee. She also wants to know if you clicked on the hyperlinks for Romeo’s “mating call,” “crying,” and “dating profile,” because they are quite revealing.
RE: Pat’s gender — she is female, but bi-curious. She wants to double her chances for a date on Saturday nights.
I must admit Romeo & Juliet are a good pairing. They are equal in appearance. Neither is leaping out of their league.
I wish them much success in their dating adventures.