One day last week on my way out of the house I saw two little armadillos on our lawn, but as soon as they noticed me, they scurried off to the bushes, and I didn't even get a picture.
But I knew they were around, so I was more ready the next time we saw them, just a few days ago.
Armed with my long lens for keeping a safe distance I zoomed in and kept clicking. At some point they noticed us, but must have realized we weren't going to bother them, so they kept digging for grubs and worms.
At first we thought there were only two of them, but a third one appeared, too. Adult armadillos grow to be about a size of a cat. These were definitely young ones.
They were so neat to watch. And of course we had to google Florida armadillos, and found out some extraordinary things.
Mama Armadillo gives birth to identical armadillos every time. Boom.
They are almost blind, but have a very keen sense of smell.
When threatened, not only can they roll into a tight ball, but they can jump straight up into air four or five feet. Yikes!
They are not native to Florida, but can be found almost anywhere, and they can be quite the pests, digging up the lawn.
Armadillos can carry - are you ready for this - leprosy....!!!!!! Yes, I had no idea. Pretty horrible. As much as we enjoyed watching our little visitors, they can go away now.
To read more, click here.
Another Life In Florida experience!
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Meillä oli taas erikoisia vierailijoita pihassa!! Vyötiäisiä. Täältä voi lukea lisää. Niin mielenkiintoista kun olikin seurata heitä, vyötiäiset levittävät lepraa, eli spitaalitautia. Riski on pieni, etenkin jos emme käsittele (tai kokkaa/syö! heh), eli en ole kovin huolissani, mutta saisivat kyllä löytää uuden asuinalueen, varsinkin kun sain nämä kuvat otettua, heh heh. Mielenkiintoista oli oppia, että vyötiäisemo saa aina neloset! Me ei nähty neljättä, eikä mammaa, ehkäpä he olivat viettämässä laatuaikaa kahdestaan ;-)
Elämää Floridassa!
When I was a little girl, my dad found an armadillo on the highway near our farm. He brought it home to show us. I can remember being amazed by it's armor. None of us had ever seen one because they " only lived in the south." My daddy said. Now, they find them several times a summer on the farm and yes, they do damage🙁 But I am still so amazed by God's creativity!
ReplyDeleteSo cute <3 Except for the leprosy part.
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