Happily 'otter' after for lonely bereaved animal from Cornwall
Harris and Pumpkin have found love in lockdown, after both recently losing their partners
An otter from Cornwall has found love in lockdown after losing his former partner.
Harris was moved from the Cornish Seal Sanctuary in Gweek up to the SEA LIFE centre in Scarborough, to meet a fellow widowed otter Pumpkin.
The team had answered an ad on otter dating site ‘Fishing for Love’ in the hope of finding her a new life partner in time for Christmas.
Pumpkin recently lost her elderly partner Eric and was finding life without him extremely lonely especially with the upcoming festive season.
The team say after searching the entire lonely-hearts section, and a few bad swipes later, they were delighted to stumble across Harris’ profile - and it looked like the team may have found Pumpkin a ‘significant otter’!
Harris, the Asian short clawed otter, who was residing at The Cornish Seal Sanctuary in Gweek, had also recently lost his partner Apricot who sadly passed away, leaving Harris alone for the first time in four years.
After exchanging a few WhatsApp messages and the odd picture or two it appeared that these two could make an ‘otterly’ amazing match, so the decision was made to move Harris from his Cornish home to SEA LIFE Scarborough which is located on the Yorkshire Coast.
The team say the introduction of Asian short-clawed otters can be nerve racking and difficult to get right. To ensure the best chance of a new pairing getting off on the right foot, it’s best to introduce a new male into a female’s territory so that the male more easily submits to the female on first meeting.
The animal care team say without wanting to rush into things too soon, the pair moved into rented accommodation where they got to know each other in private. However, SEA LIFE Scarborough are delighted to report that things are going swimmingly, and the pair have enjoyed a series of dates including a fairy lit dinner for two.
As the pairs’ love has continued to grow, they have now received the keys to their forever home where guests at SEA LIFE Scarborough can now meet the happy couple.
Harris will be continuing to keep in touch with his family at The Cornish Seal Sanctuary via WhatsApp.
Todd German, curator at SEA LIFE Scarborough said:
“After an extremely sad period for both Pumpkin and the Animal Care team here at Scarborough we are delighted to report that not only is Pumpkin happy once again, but Harris has settled in extremely well and has already become part of the SEA LIFE Scarborough family. We can’t wait for our guests to meet the happy couple when we reopen our doors on Wednesday 2nd December.”
Tamara Cooper, curator at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary said:
"We are absolutely delighted that Pumpkin and Harris are getting on so well and he has settled in so quickly. He is very much missed here at the Sanctuary but after everything Pumpkin and Harris have been through with losing their partners, it is the perfect fairytale ending for them to have found love again."
The SEA LIFE aquariums in Scarborough re-opens today (Wednesday 2nd December) with the same extensive safety measures in place as previously used; these include online only bookings, enhanced cleaning regimens, the wearing of PPE and social distancing.
Full details of the measures in place for each Sea Life site are available online and all plans have been carefully considered and reviewed in-line with the latest government guidelines.
Visit www.visitsealife.com for more information and to be kept up to date on the reopening measures and arrangements for each individual site.