Happy Dillo Day
Posted: June 22, 2022 Filed under: Gardening | Tags: armadillos, backkyard critters, Gulf Coast gardening, nature photography 28 Comments
I was taking my morning walk through the wooded area in my backyard and came across this young armadillo searching for grubs.
The armadillo did not have any issues posing for photos. Armadillos are nocturnal, but I have seen youngsters out in the daytime before. They can weigh up to 14 pounds and are 15 to 23 inches long, about the size of a small dog with very short legs.
Before long two siblings appeared. I believe their burrow is under a shrub in my front yard. I read that the mothers always have four babies, but the two times I’ve seen juveniles there have only been three.
After searching my yard, it was time to check the bug situation in the neighbor’s yard.
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Woah! Are they aggressive at all?
They will usually run off if they see you and only come out at night, except the youngsters that are learning about the world.
Such prehistoric-looking animals! What fun to host a whole family of them. 🙂
There is a story that God used all the left-over animal parts to make them.
So cute.
Oh, how lovely! Are they peaceful creatures? And do they eat garden pests?
They eat grubs, but have to dig them up with their snouts, which is bad if they are doing it in the flower beds. They will defend themselves, if they feel they are in danger. Armadillos can spread leprosy if a person is touching them.
Sounds like the equivalent here is badgers, which can uproot half the garden in a night! Fortunately I have never seen any near here.
Fortunately there are only a couple hundred cases of leprosy in the USA each year and most of those cases are contracted from travel outside the country!
I think it would be very rare to get it from an armadillo.
I get a kick out of the armadilloes, until they start digging really big holes! The greyhounds usually run them off but never catch them.
So far they are only digging in the leaf litter.
They’re so weird and so cute. Nice little critter to see on your walk!
They are such a different animal. The new neighbor from CA are hoping to see one.
Armadillos seem to be moving northward because I’ve heard reports of them here in North Carolina. Interesting-looking creatures.
Yes, they are moving. They arrived here about 1890.
OH MY! What the heck?! I would move FAR AWAY!
They were so busy looking for food that I was ignored.
They’re so cute! This reminds me of Rick Bragg’s essay on armadillos….he feels sorry for them because it seems their chief talent is getting run over on the roads.
Unfortunately, that is where we see most of them. I compare them to our groundhogs up north that have the same fate.
It’s true that they have four babies.That’s one reason they’re used in labs — they’re genetically identical. Their prehistoric precursor, the Glyptodon, looked like our armadillos, but they were the size of a VW beetle. It’s thought that people used the shells for shelter.
The fourth one could have been somewhere else. I can’t imagine them being so big.
It seems incredibly exotic to me, to see a creature like that in one’s garden. I think they are very cute.
I’m from a part of the country that didn’t have armadillos and I am fascinated by them.
Can’t say I’m a lover of armadillos,they are flea bags.😳 our dog has killed several and when I hull them out to the woods,often they are crawling with the nasty biting insects.
Gee whiz, girl! I had to look twice. I could have sworn you wrote “dildo”! Lawks.
Oh no! This is a family blog. 🙂 I have photos of animals “in love” and I don’t even post those.
Haha.