![]() ![]() Do Armadillos Roll Up in Balls?Īccording to the San Diego Zoo, the three-banded armadillo is the only armadillo species that can roll all the way into a ball. Despite their lazy nature and somewhat wimpy appearance, armadillos are quite strong, and they may surprise some attackers with their ability to fight back. If they are caught, they will thrash around and scratch like crazy to try and get loose. ![]() If they are surprised by a sudden noise or attack, they may jump up to 5 or 6 feet in the air before running.Ĭheck out this video of an armadillo jumping when startled by an air horn. Most of the time, armadillos just run away whenever they feel threatened. Their hard shells protect them from the top, so digging in this way can help defend their soft and vulnerable undersides. If there’s no time to get away, they may “shelter in place” by pressing themselves into the dirt, grabbing onto plant roots to stabilize themselves. They live in these burrows, so if they feel threatened they may escape the situation by running home. In order to keep themselves safe, they have several ways of warding off and escaping predators.Īrmadillos are expert diggers, and one of the ways they protect themselves is by burrowing into the ground. Yes, armadillos have their protective shells, but the shells are not indestructible. Overall, the existence of armadillos confirms the presence of a healthy ecosystem.Armadillos are unaggressive creatures that keep their heads down and try to avoid trouble but what happens when trouble comes to them? In so doing, armadillos keep the populations of these organisms under check. Armadillos feed on a wide array of invertebrates with the examples of insects, worms, and larvae. They, as a result, promote the survival of these animals. These animals are a source of food for organisms like snakes, humans, dogs, and jaguars. THE ROLE OF ARMADILLOS AS A PREDATOR AND PREYĪrmadillos have an instrumental role to play in the animal food chain as both prey and predators. Some people in Mexico, Central America and South America also eat armadillos, whose meat is sometimes used as a substitute for pork. But such predators as bobcats, cougars, wolves, bears, raccoons and even some of the larger hawks and other birds of prey will also attack and devour an armadillo. WHAT EAT ARMADILLOSĪn armadillo doesn’t wear that armored shell for nothing! A number of predators, or natural enemies, like to eat armadillos. A little bit of plant matter finds its way into the armadillo's diet, as well. They’re also known to eat small reptiles and amphibians and their eggs in colder weather. The bulk of their diet consists of insects like termites, beetles, grubs, cockroaches and scorpions, just to name a few. The nocturnal armadillo ventures out of its underground home to hunt for food in the early evenings after dusk. They have large, strong claws to dig and tear at decaying wood and ant nests, looking for tasty treats. They have tiny eyes and terrible eyesight, so they use their super sensitive nose to sniff out a meal instead. WHAT DO ARMADILLOS EAT?Īrmadillos are omnivores because they eat insects and some plants. The armor makes armadillos look slow and clumsy, but they can run at about 30 miles per hour! That is only slightly slower than a white-tailed deer! They are also good swimmers, can move along the bottoms of ponds and can hold their breath up to six minutes! They are experts at doing the dog paddle, too. Only two kinds of armadillos (both three-banded) can actually curl up into a ball, like a roly-poly, but they all rely on those overlapping bony plates to protect them, like armored tanks with legs and a tail. The bony bands that cover the armadillo's back are hard and bumpy, protecting it from predators. Some armadillo species can curl up under their coat of armor while others cannot. This is because of the bony plates that cover their head, neck, and back. The word 'armadillo' actually means 'little armored one' in Spanish. While armadillos are common sights in certain parts of North, Central, and South America, they remain objects of intense curiosity-and for good reason armadillos are covered with their own protective coat of armor. They look a bit like a cross between a polecat and an armored dinosaur. Armadillos are among the most distinctive-looking of all mammals. ![]()
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