Originally published at: http://boingboing.net/2017/04/03/a-southern-three-banded-armadi.html
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Never met an armadillo I didn’t like.
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Wow look at the front feet - are those nails/hooves? Good for digging?
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I wish I could do that.
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I’m happy now.
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Armadillo: A very flat slow moving animal that sleeps on the roads of Texas.
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The front and left hoove(?) seemed very different. I wonder if it had an injury?
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They eat ands and termites, so they use those huge front claws to dig into ant and termite nests. Oddly, despite their power-digging claws, they’re one of the unusual armadillos that doesn’t burrow but take over abandoned giant anteater burrows.
I think it’s just a matter of the angle, when it rotated the claws looked symmetric.
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Not everyone likes them, but I love them. They burrow and can dig up yards which doesn’t earn them much love, and there’s the fear of leprosy (which is very low unless you willingly come in contact with a dead one). Still they’re the rare critter that’ll eat fire ants, scorpions, and wasps, and outside of any calculus of cost/benefit analysis, they’re really fascinating. When the N. American and S. American landmasses finally were joined, they were among the weird animals that made the long trip up from S. America (along with hummingbirds, opossums, and porcupines) in the Great American Interchange.
I’ve spotted them a few times in the wild, usually when they were emerging from a burrow to scurry off somewhere, and always felt lucky to get to see one. Always feel sad to see them on the road.
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I like ‘em too. I’ve only seen one once – digging through my parents’ mulching in Florida. I haven’t seen them in Texas but I’m usually in urban areas of Austin.
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You can spot them in Zilker Park every once in a blue moon. There used to be a burrow near the front of the Botanical Gardens, not sure if they’re still there. They’re very shy and typically sleep during the day, so it’s really rare to see one out even if you know where to look.
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Aw.
Cute little fellow.
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First alien. Then…cute!
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They sing nicely too:
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‘Now attend to me,’ said Painted Jaguar, ‘because this is very
important. My mother said that when I meet a Hedgehog I am to
drop him into the water and then he will uncoil, and when I meet
a Tortoise I am to scoop him out of his shell with my paw. Now
which of you is Hedgehog and which is Tortoise? because, to save
my spots, I can’t tell.’
‘Are you sure of what your Mummy told you?’ said Stickly-Prickly
Hedgehog. ‘Are you quite sure? Perhaps she said that when you
uncoil a Tortoise you must shell him out of the water with a scoop,
and when you paw a Hedgehog you must drop him on the shell.’
‘Are you sure of what your Mummy told you?’ said Slow-and-Solid
Tortoise. ‘Are you quite sure? Perhaps she said that when you
water a Hedgehog you must drop him into your paw, and when you
meet a Tortoise you must shell him till he uncoils.’
‘I don’t think it was at all like that,’ said Painted Jaguar, but
he felt a little puzzled; ‘but, please, say it again more
distinctly.’
‘When you scoop water with your paw you uncoil it with a
Hedgehog,’ said Stickly-Prickly. ‘Remember that, because it’s
important.’
‘But,’ said the Tortoise, ‘when you paw your meat you drop it
into a Tortoise with a scoop. Why can’t you understand?’
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I have heard armadillos taste amazing, I also think one is eating the ants in my yard.
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I would steal this as a reaction gif for derailing efforts if it wasn’t me usually totally going off on a tangent.
Seriously: I approve. A lot.
Japanese TV, I presume?
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Indeed:
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