White Post Farm, near Farnsfield, Nottinghamshire, welcomes two armadillo pups
A popular farm park has welcomed a pair of cute, but not so cuddly, baby armadillos.
In June, White Post Farm’s six-banded armadillo Delilah gave birth to two babies — known as pups.
These armoured animals are born with a soft, leather-like shell, which hardens up over the first few weeks.
After that they begin learning burrowing behaviour, which will allow they to create safe homes, to escape from predators.
In the wild, these inquisitive critters typically spend around six weeks with their mothers before heading out on their own.
At the farm, they are still transitioning from their mother’s milk to more solid foods and are growing more curious by the day.
Now, after having time to develop in private, the public are able to see them for the first time.
Exotics keeper Gemma Dyson has worked on the farm for over 26 years and previously cared for the more traditional animals before transitioning over to exotics a few years ago.
“Armadillos are quite hard to breed in captivity,” she said. “It’s difficult to tell if they are pregnant or not.
“The main indication that they might be carrying is little changes in their habits, they might stay inside of their burrows a little more than usual.
“The gestation period is about 60 to 64 days — but it's just a waiting game, and you might not even know until you find the babies.”
She added: “I used to work with the fluffies, like the rabbits and the guineas pigs, but when the job came up to work with the exotics I jumped at the chance.
“We’re basically guaranteed lambs and kids every years, but these [armadillos] offer something quite nice and different.
“So this is very exciting because everyone loves a baby — they look so weird and wonderful.
“I’m still learning all the time and I love coming to work. I just think they are ace, but I’m probably a little biased.”
The pair of new-borns will grow to around five or six kilograms, but are currently still too young to accurately sex.
Their keepers hope to be able to determine their genders soon so that they can be named — and are asking the public for suggestions.
There is more cause for celebration as the pup’s grandad, Ahmed, will celebrate his 18th birthday later this month on August 25.
Currently they are living with their mum, but one day they will be sent to other zoos around the country.
White Post Farm also had some recent additions to their goat family, with a few more kids running about.
The attraction in Farnsfield is open seven days a week, from 10am to 5pm, and throughout the summer holidays are running a series of special events and workshops.