Meet the Christmas Day baby delighting zookeepers in Kent

Father Christmas wasn't the only one making deliveries on December 25th.

The Hemsley Conservation Centre in Fairseat, Kent, welcomed a very rare and unusual-looking baby porcupine on Christmas Day.

The new 'porcupette' was born at 4.40pm just as the zoo's keepers were finishing their shift.

Looking completely different to the adults, the babies are born bright orange andcovered in hair. Their quills completely cover their body by around 3 weeks of age.

The centre is one of only two UK zoos to hold the species and the only one to have mixed sexes and a breeding group.

A spokesman for the centre said that not much was known about the species, either in the wild or in captivity; "The research we are carrying out is key to underpinning a better understanding of this species and others like them.

"The birth of this porcupine is vital to ensuring the genetic diversity of this species in captivity, enhancing our understanding of them and to act as ambassadors for an ever-increasing threatened native habitat."

The baby is currently on show with its mother, father and older sister that was also born at the HCC.