STAFF in the Exmoor Zoological Park have been mourning the loss of their last surviving New Guinea singing dog.

Kota had been in palliative care for the past two years and with the loss of his partner Belle just four weeks earlier, his health rapidly deteriorated.

Both were nearly 15 years old and their post mortems revealed they had multiple problems all related to their age.

New Guinea singing dogs have been shown to be the original ancestors of all domestic dogs in the Asia region.

Living wild in the remote mountains of New Guinea they have adapted to their environment over 20,000 years free from contact with people.

Their DNA has proven them to be the ancestors of the Australian dingo.

Co-partner of the zoo, Danny Reynolds, said: “Both Belle and Kota have been phenomenal ambassadors for the zoo and have had a huge following and will leave a large hole in many hearts, especially their keepers.

“Currently, we are talking to the Singing Dog Conservation Society in the USA but there are only six females capable of breeding in the USA at the moment, of which there is only one mature, and no litters are planned until this summer.

“Exmoor Zoo cannot definitively say if Belle and Kota will be replaced but we are trying to maintain a UK presence for this vitally important ancestral dog in the UK.”

The Exmoor Zoo singing dogs were the only one in Europe for more than eight years, but now one of their sons is exhibited with his partner at Zoo Zlín, in Lesna, Czech Republic.

Exmoor Zoological Park is a charity which specialises in the conservation of rare species and actively co-operates in national and international breeding programmes for many of the world’s rarest birds and animals.