A NEW armadillo has arrived at a zoo in the hope of welcoming new offspring.

Two experienced keepers from Drusillas Zoo near Alfriston embarked on a 766-mile road trip to collect the new six-banded armadillo male from Northumberland Zoo, named Tank as he is much larger than the resident females, Patsy and Eddie.

Initial introductions went brilliantly, with the trio happily snuffling and scooting around the enclosure together and even all sharing food from one bowl.

The park hopes that the trio will eventually become a breeding group, with hopes of welcoming the zoo's first-ever armadillo pups.

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, 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 most active during the day.

Drusillas has never had a breeding group of armadillos, so the team are excited about the prospect of a new species that could be born at the zoo.

Tank, Patsy and Eddie will be taking part in one-to-one close encounters with zoo visitors, which involve a 30 to 40-minute feeding session with an experienced keeper.