All About Armadillos - Page 2
Here is page two of our article all about that loveable ugly underdog, the armadillo.
Armadillos aren't cute, they aren't cuddly, and quite honestly they seem to be sort of the dim wit of the mammal family.
But if you spend any time in the north Florida woods, especially during the winter, you come across them all the time and after awhile you start to get hooked on their unique style of underdog charm.
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I spent one clear March afternoon, deep in the woods, doing a photo shoot with Andy Armadillo, the guy you see pictured on this page. After the shoot was over we sat around Andy's burrow munching on grubs and drinking Michelob beers.
During our chat Andy was insistent that I get on that Internet thing and, for crying out loud, learn something about armadillos.
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Like for instance, armadillos don't drink Michelob beer!
"We drink Coronas Phil, Corona beer, try to remember that you dim wit and bring the right beer next time."
Appropriately embarrassed I promised I would get up to speed on armadillos. Here's what I've learned.
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It seems there are a number of different types of armadillos, with interesting names like: nine banded armadillos, six banded armadillos, three banded armadillos, pink armadillos, hairy armadillos, and.... (drum roll please) GIANT armadillos.
An interesting true fact about the hairy armadillo is that it is such a deep sleeper that it won't awaken if you handle it while it's snoozing.
Which of course means that if you want to snuggle under the covers with a hairy armadillo in front of the TV with some popcorn, it's perfectly safe to do so. Isn't that great news!?
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Of course these are the common names for armadillos, not the proper scientific designations. But rather than correctly pronouncing "Genus Dasypus" in a dignified manner, isn't it more fun to pull another brew out of the cooler and then holler something like "WATCH OUT for that Six Banded Giant Pink Hairy Armadillo!!" ?
Of course it is.
The nine banded armadillos, like Andy, are the only ones who live in Florida. Nine banded armadillos are a foot or two long, and weigh 20 or so pounds at most. They are durable little guys who live 7 to 10 years.
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A nine banded armadillos spends his or her life in about a 10 acre area and may dig a dozen or more burrows on their territory.
During the summer they tend to snooze in their burrows during the heat of the day, and then come out at night to forage in the soil for grubs and insects. They have sticky fast tongues designed for efficiently slurping up bugs. Andy says that if you can offer him some bug flavored popcorn (and CORONA beer) while you watch Friends reruns together, he'd be happy to slurp that up too.
They are easier to see during the winter when they are more likely to emerge during the warmth of the day. This is convenient for armadillo watchers, because the winter is the sensible time for hiking the Florida woods.
The rest of the armadillo family lives in South America. And thank God for that.
Did you know that the Giant Armadillo in South America can grow up to 5 feet long including their tail, and weigh up to 100 pounds? Go ahead, try snuggling with that, I dare you.
Would you believe that an armadillo the size of a black bear roamed the southeastern United States about 2 million years ago? Yup, it's true.
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Armadillos In Florida
Nine banded armadillos just recently returned to Florida after a long vacation in South America.
Really, no kidding.
How long were they gone? About 5 to 10 thousand years! Can you imagine what their credit card bills must look like by now??
Actually, no one is sure why armadillos lived in America for millions of years and then disappeared for a couple thousand years.
Armadillos have a poor ability to adapt to cold, so one theory might be that changing weather patterns wiped them out.
What is understood is that armadillos began returning to the United States during the mid 1800's, and didn't make it all the way back to Florida until the 1970's.
These returning armadillos met up with the many descendants of a few armadillos that had apparently escaped from captivity in Cocoa Beach during the 1920's. No, that's not a set up for a quip, that's really what the experts say probably happened.
So, one amazing armadillo fact is that, as ancient as they look, Florida armadillos are very recent arrivals to the state, just like most of the rest of us.
Escaped convicts and tourists.
No wonder armadillos don't get no respect.
It's also interesting to learn how armadillos travel. No, armor plated armadillos don't fly, it's not that interesting.
You see, these little creatures can hold their breath for as long as six minutes. So when they encounter a water body they often just hold their breath and walk across the bottom of the pond or stream.
If the water body is too wide to walk under, they gulp air into their stomachs and intestines, make themselves lighter than water, and float across on the surface.
An authority no less than The Benevolent Order Of Armadillos states that after turning themselves into an inflatable raft "it takes the armadillo several hours to release all the excess air from it's body."
It's comforting to know that somewhere in the world top scientists are finally seriously studying the incredible phenomena of farting armadillos. Your tax dollars at work!
Not only that, you can finally (FINALLY!) peek in to the previously hidden secret burrow and learn all about the wild sex lives of armadillos on the next page!
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4
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All About Armadillos - Page 4
Here is page four of our article all about that loveable ugly underdog, the armadillo.
All About Armadillos - Page 3
Here is page three of our article all about that loveable ugly underdog, the armadillo.
All About Armadillos - Page 2
Here is page two of our article all about that loveable ugly underdog, the armadillo.
All About Armadillos - Page 1
Here is page one of our article all about that loveable ugly underdog, the armadillo.
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