Giant beetle seeks female company

The giant elephant beetle perched on a stump of wood

A zoo in Cambridgeshire is looking for a companion for a giant beetle found in a shipment of fruit from the Caribbean.

Linton Zoo received the beetle in a sandwich box with the remains of fruit and leaves from a pest control company.

A male elephant beetle, the size of a hamster, was found in fruit from Costa Rica. Normally at home in rainforests, it was discovered in London.

Linton Zoo near Cambridge identified it as a fully grown male because of its four centimetre horn.

Kim Simmons from the zoo is now trying to track down a female beetle to share its tank in a new insect house.

She said: "The beetle has been feeding ravenously since it arrived and is already putting on weight.

"It's a very lucky and tough insect having survived the journey to Britain and the pesticides designed to prevent unwanted creatures entering the country.

"It is munching his way through bananas, mangoes and other fruit and seems to be settling down in its tank.

"Zoos try to find a mate for animals that come their way as a matter of policy and that's what we want to do for this giant beetle."