TWO of Scotland's polar bears have fallen for each other in a love story to melt even the coldest heart.
Captive bears Victoria and Arktos hit it off after being introduced by keepers at Highland Wildlife Park.
Sparks flew between the pair from their first encounter, with "lots of head bobbing, bouncing and vocalisations" between their adjacent enclosures.
The pair were so keen they slept on the fence line and repeatedly tried to touch.
Their first proper date took place on Saturday [March 19] when Arktos went to live temporarily in Victoria's enclosure.
Keepers say they have been very affectionate since then, sleeping side by side, following each other around and resting their heads on each other.
Such behaviour would be seen between pairs in the wild and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland (RZSS) now hopes to hear the pitter patter of tiny paws following the first successful breeding of the endangered species in the UK for 25 years.
Head carnivore keeper Vickie Larkin said: "Their introduction couldn’t have gone any better.
"Both polar bears have really warmed to each other and all the signs are really positive.
"From the first moment they met, Arktos has been really gentle with Victoria and their bond has been immediate.
“Polar bear breeding is inherently complex as the species are induced ovulators, meaning that the female only releases an egg after initial mating occurs.
"They also practice delayed implantation, where the egg doesn’t implant into the uterine wall until some months later.
"If successful, Victoria will not fall pregnant until August to September time. Other key stages are her entering the birthing den in October to November and potentially giving birth in December to January.
"Any cubs would then not come out of the birthing den until March to April 2017."
RZSS chief executive Chris West added: "We have a duty to help protect the future of this magnificent species and our polar bears benefit from the largest enclosures in the world and expert husbandry that is second to none.
"Climate change is predicted to cause further sea-ice losses and horrifying statistics estimate that the global population of polar bears could decline by over 30 per cent in just three generations.
"Any cubs born to Victoria will help to populate a healthy ex-situ 'ark' of polar bears to give conservationists as many future options as possible.
"As we always say, in an ideal world, conservation would happen primarily in the wild but, when issues exist in the wild, the next best thing is a combined in-situ and ex-situ approach that has the goal of one day restoring or augmenting wild populations."
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