A RARE crocodile from Dudley Zoo has moved to London in search of love as part of an international breeding programme.

Stani, a female African Dwarf Crocodile, will join fellow crocs at London Aquarium.

She will be paired with a male dwarf crocodile, who is being transferred to London from Twycross Zoo.

Weymouth Sealife Centre, which owns the London Aquarium, has organised the transfers in the hope of widening the gene pool and breeding more of the endangered species in captivity.

Stani was born at Bristol Zoo in 1997 and came to Dudley as a tiny hatchling but has never bred.

She is the largest of three African Dwarf Crocodile, living at the Castle Hill site and it is now hoped the remaining pair, Mica and Danzo, will also breed.

Zoo Curator Matt Lewis said: "The species is endangered in the wild, so this is part of important conservation work. The more zoos that keep and breed these animals, the better."

The African Dwarf Crocodile is classed as vulnerable in the wild, threatened by hunting and habitat loss due to deforestation.

It is the smallest crocodile species, growing on average to 5ft long