Emiko made the journey by plane to meet her new beau, Harley, in a bid to become Taronga Western Plains Zoo’s first successful breeding pair.

With age and serious cuteness on her side, six-year-old Emiko from Nagoya in Japan was introduced to Harley, the zoo’s resident male otter, two months ago.

Emiko was a little wary of her new mate at first but things have mellowed thanks largely to special fishy treats to help break the ice.

Pilchards, prawns and crayfish were on the menu today and they seemed to do the trick.

“Harley is being the perfect gentleman allowing Emiko to feed before he eats and ensuring he is by her side when she tries new experiences like yabbies and enrichment items,” zookeeper Kelly Taylor said.

“At first Emiko was having trouble eating live yabbies because of their very large claws and she was struggling to subdue the yabby, but with a little coaching from Harley she has now got the hang of it.”

Emiko is approaching her prime reproductive period so keeper Taylor has her fingers crossed that this Valentine’s Day will be beginning of a successful breeding partnership.

It’s hoped there will be a litter of baby otters within the next six months.

“We haven’t seen them mating yet but there are subtle signals like he’s following her around so who knows what they will get up to in their little den box down the back,” she said.

The zoo has been unsuccessful in breeding this species of otter for six years.

“The last female otter was dominant in character and she was a lot older than Emiko...we are hoping Emiko and Harley get together and make babies for us,” Ms Taylor said.

“Love seems to be in the water.”

The oriental small clawed otter, also known as Asian small clawed otter, is the smallest otter species in the world, weighing less than 5kg.

This otter is distinctive for its forepaws as the claws do not extend above the fleshy end pads of its toes and fingers, helping it to feed on crustaceans.