New armadillo 'bombshell' arrives at Drussilas Park to woo resident females

A new male armadillo has arrived at Drusillas Park in East Sussex, with staff hoping he'll make an impression on the resident females.

Tank has joined Patsy and Eddie, snuffling and scooting around the enclosure together.

It is hoped that eventually the trio will become a breeding group, meaning the park could welcome their first ever armadillo pups.

Two keepers from the zoo embarked on a 766 mile road trip to collect the new six banded armadillo male. He is so much larger than their resident females he’s quickly been given the name ‘Tank’ by the team.

The Park welcomed their resident armadillos, Patsy and Eddie, a little over a year ago and have spent quite a while finding the right mate to join them.

Keeper Amelia Jones said: "It’s always a tentative time introducing new animals to each other, but our girls are so confident that it didn’t phase them at all having a new friend… and we’ve definitely already seen some flirting going on so I think they don’t mind at all!

"We’ve got so used to Patsy and Eddie, who are still quite young ladies, that when I collected the new male from Northumberland Zoo, it was quite a surprise how much bigger he seemed. Some of the team started jokingly calling him The Tank, and it’s stuck!

"He’s a real sweetie though and seems a little calmer than our two boisterous girls so I think he’s going to be a good influence on them."

Six-banded armadillos are found in the wild across much of South America, in grasslands, rainforests, and plantations. Unlike some other armadillos, the six-banded cannot roll into a ball, and are diurnal so they are most active during the day.