The first time I saw an armadillo was in Texas. They reminded me of the opossum, in that they are a fairly harmless and nocturnal animal. While Texans might disagree with the fairly harmless as they are burrowing animals that can create holes and uneven ground that can harm livestock.
To me, all I saw was a curious creature that I had never seen in the wild before. They are apparently roaming further from their South American origins. With no natural predators in the states, armadillos are even being seen in South Carolina and Florida.
The armadillo drawing shows a Tatusia novemcincta, a nine-banded armadillo. He is one of the “long-nosed” armadillos. Their habitat extends from the United States all the way down to Argentina. They eat plants, insects, small reptiles and bird eggs.
Like the opossum, armadillos have poor eyesight and have more to fear from motorized vehicles than natural predators. Armadillos also tend to jump into the air when frightened which further reduces their likelihood to survive these encounters.
This vintage armadillo drawing was included in the 1910 Encyclopedia Britannica.
This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.
