A baby sloth which was hand reared after her mother died has made her first appearance in time for International Sloth Day on Thursday, October 20.

Flash, the two toed sloth has been hand-reared by keepers at Drusillas Park in East Sussex for more than six months.

Flash arrived at the park in March but her mother died shortly after she was born. Since then, head keeper Mark Kenward and zoo keeper Gemma Romanis have been working around the clock, including night feeds which she needs every three hours.

They both have activity pens in their homes and are building a sloth gymnasium at the zoo, to encourage muscle development and increase activity.

Mark said: "It’s been tough but we couldn’t be happier with Flash’s progress. This is the first sloth baby born at the zoo so it has been a bit of a learning curve.”

“Sloths are nocturnal creatures, so we have had to adapt to become nocturnal keepers!"

Her diet is a combination of vegetables, leaf eater pellets, goat’s milk and water, with sweetcorn, chicory, fine beans and courgette currently her favourites.

"It is tiring but it is never tiresome and I consider it a real privilege to do what we do," he added..

Their goal is to teach Flash all she needs to know to be a fully functioning sloth and survive in sloth society.

International Sloth Day aims to increase conservation and awareness about sloths.

Drusillas Park is at Alfriston, East Sussex. For details go to drusillas.co.uk

You can also see sloths in Kent at Wingham Wildlife Park. For details go to winghamwildlifepark.co.uk