AN Asian Short Clawed Otter has proved to be the perfect partner for new arrival at Cornish Seal Sanctuary, a male Otter named Harris.

Apricot moved to the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in 2015 after having a fall out with her sister at Birmingham SEALIFE centre.

The Cornish Seal Sanctuary provided a new home for Apricot and the team began searching for a companion to move in with Apricot.

Five-year-old Harris, who was born at the Welsh Mountain Zoo, was unfortunately ousted by his family and the zoo was searching for a new home for him. It was decided that the Sanctuary would be a perfect new place for Harris to live and he came to the Sanctuary in March 2016.

Apricot was given a hormone implant prior to the pair being introduced to prevent breeding, and during this time Harris was put in isolation. The team built an enclosure inside the Otter enclosure to keep Harris and Apricot separate but also be able to get to know each other.

‘At first Apricot was a bit angry! But we noticed over the following days she started to calm down and they began feeding together’ Said Tamara Cooper, Curator at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary.

With Otter introductions, as the female is dominant, the male must submit to the female and fortunately when the pair were properly introduced Harris did submit to Apricot.

‘Harris and Apricot were introduced today, and within five minutes they mated. They have spent the last couple of hours together with Apricot showing Harris around the enclosure and she even shared her food with him!’ said Tamara.

Harris has settled in very well at the Sanctuary and has proven to be the perfect companion for Apricot.