Two elderly otters who were best friends and lived side-by-side for 15 years have both died of a heart attack within an hour of each other.
It’s thought the second heartbroken animal passed away from the stress of watching his mate die.
Daz and Chip – both male – lived and died at Naturelands Zoo in Nelson, New Zealand.
Zookeeper John Miller said the Asian otters, who were 19 and 16 years-old, had been best friends for 15 years.
It’s thought that having each other for company kept them alive beyond the normal otter life-span of 14 years.