1945:
World War II ends, a new house costs $4,000, and the first armadillo was spotted in Alabama. And since then we’ve asked: “Why did the chicken cross the road? To show the armadillo it can be done.” Today houses no longer cost $4,000 dollars, and armadillos still can’t cross the road. Since the first Alabama sighting 56 years ago in Mobile, the armadillo has spread throughout the state. And believe it or not, the creature synonymous with “road kill” is thriving. “When I came to Auburn 22 years ago we never saw them here,” says Dr. Jim Armstrong, a professor at Auburn University’s school of forestry and wildlife sciences. “Today Lee County is full of them, just like most of the state.” Everyone has seen an armadillo, usually upside down on the highway. It’s related to the anteater, with the head of a long-nosed pig and a rat-like tail, fully encased in armor. Basically, the armadillo is 12 to 20 pounds of four-footed ugly. But do we really know the animal? “People may not know the armadillo is a good swimmer,” says Armstrong. “It can also hold its breath up to 6 minutes and walk underwater on the bottom of a creek bed.” It can easily and safely walk underwaAlabama Living
ter, but not across a highway. Ironically their instinctive defense mechanism does them in. “When an armadillo is frightened it springs straight up, as high as 5 feet,” says Armstrong. “The leaping action is good for escaping a coyote’s jaws, but not an 18 wheeler’s bumper.” Other animals on a road may have a survival chance by simply not moving when a vehicle runs over it. If the creature is small enough the car passes over without contact. But before a speeding motorist can zip above an armadillo, the little guy panics, jumps straight up, and is hammered. As Dr. Armstrong notes, “In the animal kingdom, armadillos don’t win I.Q. contests.” But despite never ending battles with highway traffic, Dasypus novemcinctus is a survivor. The mother always births a litter of four babies, same sex, identical quadruplets. They grow up searching for food nonstop, primarily at night, but occasionally during daylight hours. Their natural lifespan is three to four years. There are 20 species of armadillo in the world. All live in Latin America except one, (ours) the nine-banded, which is so named for the nine bands of armor sections from head to backside. Its journey to your flowerbed started 3 million years ago. Migrating from what is now South America into North America
and from Texas to Alabama, the turtle gone horribly wrong sought a better life through grub worms. Armadillos eat invertebrates like earthworms, grubs, crickets and other underground critters, which they must dig for with shovel-like clawed paws. Unfortunately the means justifies the end, meaning in digging for food, your petunias are collateral damage. “Most people consider it to be a slow lumbering sloth like animal,” says Armstrong. “But it can run at a surprising clip. And I don’t advise this but if you ever catch one, hold it away from you by the tail. Its claws are razor sharp and can cut you to ribbons. It won’t use them as defensive weapons, but you can be injured as it kicks, trying to get away.” And supposedly it taste like pork. During the Great Depression, armadillos were called “Hoover Hogs,” served as a poor man’s ham and named for President Herbert Hoover. “I’ve eaten it before,” the professor notes, recalling his meal of “possum on the half shell.” “It was okay but didn’t make me want to gather road kill for dinner.” Armadillo can be barbecued or cooked very slowly in a slow cooker. But a warning before eating: Some studies suggest handling armadillos can cause leprosy. Bon Appetit. A MARCH 2012 33