IT’S a love story with a difference - a male and female from opposite sides of the track who have found each other and become one happy family.

In this case the partners in question are a wild Canadian Goose and a domestic gander, who met on a farm near Harome.

Farmer Andrew Dzierzek, who has kept geese for more than 20 years, said it was he first time he had know a wild bird to mate with a domestic one.

“The Canadian Goose was orphaned and I brought it to the farm to look after.

“However, although she is free to fly off, she has always come back to the farm. I never thought anything of it but she has stayed around and paired up with one of the domestic ganders and as a result they now have six healthy goslings. I’ve never know anything like it.”

Andrew said the goose had been very protective of her new brood when sat on the nest.

“I went round the corner to get something and forgot she was there and she flew at me and grabbed me by the neck. I left her alone after that,” he said.

Andrew said all his geese were free-range but as they mate for life it looks like the new mum would be staying on the farm.

“She takes the goslings on the pond and walks around with them, they are a proper happy family,” he said.

“It’s nice to see and I think I will be keeping this family as I am curious to see how they grow up and turn out.

“To be honest they’ve been more successful than any of my domestic geese as I have three or four breeding pairs and none of them have been successful so far this year.”