Giant Armadillo

True Wild Life | Giant Armadillo | The giant armadillo is the largest of all armadillos and found in South America, east of the Andes, from northwestern Venezuela to northeastern Argentina. Adults grow as long as 35 inches and can weigh over 70 lb. The necks and backs of armadillos are covered with flexible carapaces (shells) consisting of 14 to 17 moveable bands of horn and bone. Their heads are also covered with a similar oval shield. The head, tail and lower edges of the giant armadillo are nearly white, and the rest of the body is dark brown. Underneath the carapace, its naked body appears wrinkly and pinkish in color. It has powerful claws with a very large central claw similar to the claw of the giant anteater. Giant armadillos are very fast on the ground and can sometimes balance themselves on their hind legs and tails, with their forefeet off the ground.

Giant armadillos prefer to live in burrows near water in grassland, brushland, woodland, and forests where termite mounds are present. It is believed that they are very good swimmers. They are active mainly at night and prefer to sleep in the daytime. They are very powerful and quick diggers enabling them to find insects and escape predators by hiding in the ground. Preferred diet is ants and termites, but they will also eat other insects, worms, spiders, larvae, snakes, and carrion. Giant armadillos can consume entire termite mound populations once discovered. Little is known about the mating behavior of this species. Other armadillo species are known to pair up during mating season and share a burrow. Females give birth to one to two young after a gestation period of 120 days. The young armadillos are born with tough leathery skin to protect them from dangerous predators.

Giant armadillos have suffered from loss of habitat due to agricultural development and human settlement, and they are also overhunted by humans for food. Some are killed by farmers because they are thought to damage crops. This species was listed as endangered in 1976, and the continued study of the species and its habitat is necessary to plan additional conservation efforts.

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Pink Fairy Armadillo

True Wild Life | Pink Fairy Armadillo | The pink fairy armadillo (Chlamyphorus truncatus) which is also known as the Pichiciego is the smallest species of armadillo known. This particular species of armadillo generally ranges between 90-115 mm in length, excluding its tail, and will weigh less than a pound. Similarly, this is the only species of armadillo that has its dorsal shell almost completely separate from its body.

This unique animal resides in the dry grasslands and sandy plains of central Argentina. This sandy environment works well for the pink fairy armadillo since they are excellent diggers. In fact, they have the ability to completely bury themselves in a matter of seconds if threatened. The pink fairy armadillo uses their digging abilities to burrow in areas beside large ant colonies. Ants provide a constant food source for this species of armadillo. As well, they may also forage on worms, snails and plant matter but ants are their number one choice.

This armadillo tends to live a solitary life in which it stays protected underground only to come out and feed at night. Although, they are solitary it is believed that the pink fairy armadillo is polygamous when it comes to mating. Usually the female will give birth to one young, whose shell will not become completely hardened until it is fully grown.

The pink fairy armadillo will spend most of its time underground similar to a mole. The large front claws allow them to effortlessly move the sand. In fact they move underground as if they were swimming through the water. The aerodynamics of the armadillo as well as the shielded head makes this type of movement possible. Unfortunately, due to habitat destruction, the population of the pink fairy armadillo is decreasing and they have been listed as Threatened since 1970.

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Armadillo

True Wild Life | Armadillo | The armadillo is native to both North America and South America, although only one species of Armadillo is found in the United States. The average armadillo measures around 75cm in length, including the tail but the giant armadillo can grow to more than 1.5m long and the miniature pink fairy armadillo (the smallest armadillo species) only gets to around 10cm in length. There are around 20 species of armadillo still existent on the American continent with the nine-banded armadillo being the only species found outside of the South American tropics. The armadillo has a hard outer shell and can curl up into a ball leaving no soft body parts exposed to danger (a bit like a woodlouse). The armadillo also has long claws which the armadillo uses for digging burrows and hunting for insects in the earth. Despite the armadillo\'s odd shape, most armadillos can also reach a top speed of nearly 30 mph so can easily outrun most jungle predators. The primary predators of the armadillo are bears, wolves, wildcats and cougars.

The armadillo has very poor vision which makes the armadillo somewhat vulnerable in its jungle environment. The armadillo\'s armour is formed by plates of bone covered in relatively small overlapping scales. The scales of the armadillo are known as scutes and these scutes are made up of bone with a covering of horn. The armadillo has additional armour that covers the top of its head, the upper parts of the armadillo\s limbs and the armadillo's tail. The underside of the armadillo has no armour, and is simply covered with soft skin and fur, hence it's strategy of curling into a ball leaving only the armoured plates exposed.

The armadillo is generally an insectivore meaning that the diet of the armadillo is primarily comprised of insects. Armadillos also snack on other things including worms, spiders, snakes and frogs although the exact diet of the armadillo is very much dependent on the area which it inhabits.

Female armadillos give birth to around four young which are born after a gestation period of three to four months. After birth, the baby armadillos remain in the burrow for a few months, only feeding on their mothers milk. They then begin to forage with the mother, eventually leaving after six months to a year. Some species of armadillo are known to reproduce every year so a single female armadillo can produce up to 56 young over the course of her life.

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