Drusillas Park welcomes new sloth Halina

Zookeepers welcomed the arrival of Halina, a new sloth who travelled to the Sussex zoo from Berlin.

Sophocles was the lone sloth at the enclosure but is now said to have fallen head over heels in love with Halina.

However, before they met face to face the two began bonding in a very unusual way - by swapping poo between enclosures.

Zoo animal manager, Mark Kenward, explained: “Exchanging poo with a prospective room-mate or partner might seem like an odd idea to a human, but not to a sloth.

"Swapping stools actually helps the sloths get to know each other and get used to each other.

Zookeepers welcomed the arrival of Halina, a new sloth who travelled to the Sussex zoo from Berlin

"Smell is an incredibly important sense for animals. Poo in particular provides a little parcel of information about the animal who left it.

"It’s a bit like a postage stamp as to who has been around.

“This sort of olfactory enrichment gives the impression of another sloth being in the area, and prepares each of them for an encounter.

"We call this a soft introduction. They learn enough about the other to be comfortable meeting face to face.”

Once the poo swap had run its course, the two sloths were placed next to each other with a mesh divider separating them.

Able not just to smell but to see, hear and nearly touch their new neighbour, Sophocles and Halina started to get used to each other.

Now they are fully settled and are living together in a shared enclosure with Drusillas' Rodriguez fruit bats and golden lion tamarins.