When we first moved here I knew nothing about Armadillos. My education on these guys was the old westerns on TV.
I learned a lot about them on our first meeting out in the ACE Basin (not this one). Driving on a dirt path Ellen pointed one out ahead of us and I quickly bailed out of the car.
In my best sneaky walk I got up close, bent over, and pushed the button. A great shot actually. However at that point all hell broke loose.
I learned two things right there.
- Armadillos squeal
- Armadillos jump
I do too.
Armadillos can’t see or hear very well, and scare easily.
So, they’re basically pigs with an alligator’s armor and a bear’s claws 🙂
Actually a marsupial, mom with a pouch and all. Also…… always three babies, exact clones. Same DNA! Can’t hear, or see very well.
Funny story and fine shots 😊
Thanks. I can’t see an Armadillo without thinking about that. Ellen was in car enjoying the circus.
Unfortunately the jumping might work with alarming predators, but isn’t too helpful in the age of automobiles! Instead of staying low and letting a car pass over them, they jump and… splat! Hence all road-dillo bodies lining the medians all over the south every morning. Tough life.
And yet they survive. I think they are amazing little critters.
They are such strange creatures.
Absolutely 🤣🤣
One we saw at Pinckney wandered all around the tourists, getting within just a few feet at one point. Though I didn’t see any jumping; that would have been fun to capture.
There are times they wander among people and never know they are there. Not completely blind, or deaf, but very close.
I learned the hard way when I reached under my parked car to pet a small one – it jumped, smacking my knuckles against the undercarriage hard enough to draw blood.
That would be about right 🤣🤣🤣. Nine-banded Armadillos can carry leprosy. Not often, but in some places maybe 15% of them do. More likely to knock your tooth out though 😆😆😆