AMOROUS condor Homer has brought a whole new meaning to safe sex after his beak proved too much of a passion killer.

Zoo staff were forced to take emergency measures after he started causing serious injuries to mating partner Marge by love-biting her with his razor-sharp beak.

Keepers at Flamingo Land zoo, near Malton, North Yorkshire, even had to separate the two giant birds of prey before hitting on a solution - dental gel.

The captive pair's keepers gently moulded the gel around Homer's beak - usually reserved for tearing flesh from carcasses - to create a buffer.

Zoo manager Andrew Melton said 40-year-old Homer's enthusiasm had been threatening the breeding programme in which the pair were involved.

He said: "We have just extended the aviary from 80ft to 160ft. I think Homer just got a bit too big for his boots because of the extra space and decided to start biting Marge.

"He became very over-protective of Marge and started grabbing hold of her.

"Unfortunately, every time he did that he sunk his beak into her. We were forced to divide them two or three times, and each time it would take Marge about a fortnight to recover from her injuries.

"It was breeding season and Marge was very keen, but she kept on being injured by Homer's beak. Every time she got back to normal and we put them back in the aviary together, he went and did it again."

The giant condors have been together for about seven years and have successfully produced eggs in the past.

But the eggs have never hatched, and staff were anxious for the pair to breed this year before they came across the unusual obstacle.

Mr Melton added: "It looks like a big lump of plasticine stuck on the end of Homer's beak, but it seems to be doing the trick. With any luck, we will hear the pitter-patter of tiny wings before too long, without causing further injury to poor Marge."