Love is in the air for a lonely giant tortoise at Bristol Zoo who has just been presented with a new mate.

Biggie, aged 90, rubbed noses with 15-year-old Matilda after she was brought down from London Zoo.

Keepers now hope the pair will breed as part of the zoo's conservation programme.

Matilda is an Aldabran giant tortoise. At two-and-a-half stone (16kg) and little more than a foot (34cm) wide, she is tiny in comparison to Biggie's bulk.

He is a 27 stone (175kg), the same weight as an adult gorilla.

But conservationists hope their size and age difference won't stand in the way of romance, and that Biggie will breed for the first time since he arrived at the zoo in 1975.

Matilda is still young in tortoise years and has not bred before.

Biggie, however, is thought to be between 80 and 90-years-old, and is more than three feet long.

Despite his advancing years, he has plenty of breeding potential left in him, as giant tortoises can live to be more than 150 and can grow up to 40 stone (250kg).

Curator Tim Skelton said: "The arrival of Matilda is a great addition to our giant tortoise collection and it would be great if Biggie and Matilda breed in future."

Matilda joins the zoo's two other adult female giant tortoises, Twiggie and Helen, in competing for Biggie's affections.

Like Matilda, he was thought to be an Aldabra giant tortoise. But scientists now think he may be one of the few remaining Seychelles giant tortoises, a species close to extinction.

The zoo hopes to bring in another male giant tortoise in the future to increase competition.