Texas Armadillo

[paigew]

Our states official mammal the nine banded armadillo.

I went out my front door to water a plant and I heard a ton of leaves rustling. I investigated further and GASPED when i saw FOUR baby armadillos!! I filmed them with my phone for a minute and then ran inside to get my camera. After 30 minutes of watching them they were getting so close, I had to continuously back up from them as they were about 3 inches away! I was excited about the possibility of photographing them more in the future but they seemed to have moved on and I've not seen them again. Enjoy

 

[jeffashman]

Wonderful set! It's always nice when those opportunities present themselves.

 

[21limited]

That is an animal I’ve never seen, even in a zoo.

 

[Digger...]

I went out my front door to water a plant and I heard a ton of leaves rustling.

A great surprise hey... you should've given 1 a scratch behind there ear.

 

[jeffashman]

A great surprise hey... you should've given 1 a scratch behind there ear.

Meh, they're vectors for leprosy, so best admired at a distance.

 

[cgw]

Cute. Maybe an offshoot of mid-century joke taxidermy but full-size ones got made into purses--Weird...
Always liked Jim Hightower's comment on Texas politics--the only thing in the middle of the road are yellow lines and dead armadillos.

 

[Jeff15]

You are lucky to have these creatures in your locality, good shots ..

 

[smoke665]

You may think they're cute, but I hate them with a passion. We live in the middle of the woods, every year it's a battle to keep them from destroying our yard. Tried trapping, and shooting, with limited success, spraying the yard with insecticide to kill any grubs, seems to be the best way to keep them out as that must be their favorite food source.

As Jeff mentioned above - From multiple sources, they can carry the bacteria that causes leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease. In fact, they are the only non-human animal known to naturally harbor Mycobacterium leprae, the bacteria responsible for leprosy. While it's a rare disease in the US, armadillos are considered a reservoir for this bacteria.

 

[Jeff15]

Sorry to hear this smoke ... I had no idea...

 

[paigew]

They don't always carry the bacteria they are just able to and the risk of transmission is low. And also I'm not sure what type of yard you have but we opt for native landscaping around our house in the "woods/hill county" and we don't have a problem. We just sort of let nature do her thing. I'm sorry they are destroying your yard . I remember when I was younger my mom getting frustrated they messed up her beds but I just feel like ...they were here first?

 

[Digger...]

Meh, they're vectors for leprosy, so best admired at a distance.

Bugger I never knew this, im 1 IQ point smarter today now Mr.

 

[otherprof]

Our states official mammal the nine banded armadillo.

I went out my front door to water a plant and I heard a ton of leaves rustling. I investigated further and GASPED when i saw FOUR baby armadillos!! I filmed them with my phone for a minute and then ran inside to get my camera. After 30 minutes of watching them they were getting so close, I had to continuously back up from them as they were about 3 inches away! I was excited about the possibility of photographing them more in the future but they seemed to have moved on and I've not seen them again. Enjoy
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Great set! Love the mom and babe.

 

[cgw]

They don't always carry the bacteria they are just able to and the risk of transmission is low. And also I'm not sure what type of yard you have but we opt for native landscaping around our house in the "woods/hill county" and we don't have a problem. We just sort of let nature do her thing. I'm sorry they are destroying your yard . I remember when I was younger my mom getting frustrated they messed up her beds but I just feel like ...they were here first?

Up here it's skunks foraging for early breakfast at 2-3am when they trigger motion-sensor lights deep in the backyard. Poor things are seriously-shortsighted and hunt with their noses. Kinda cute when they shepherd offspring around near dawn. Not so fond of raccoons--known in Toronto as "trash pandas."

 

[paigew]

Up here it's skunks foraging for early breakfast at 2-3am when they trigger motion-sensor lights deep in the backyard. Poor things are seriously-shortsighted and hunt with their noses. Kinda cute when they shepherd offspring around near dawn. Not so fond of raccoons--known in Toronto as "trash pandas."

Its super hard to keep chickens here because of predators but we managed to keep ours safe for four years. I went out one morning (about a week before egg prices went up, go figure) and the electronic door was ripped right off its frame and all 8 chickens were gone. I am almost certain it was raccoons

 

[cgw]

Its super hard to keep chickens here because of predators but we managed to keep ours safe for four years. I went out one morning (about a week before egg prices went up, go figure) and the electronic door was ripped right off its frame and all 8 chickens were gone. I am almost certain it was raccoons

Plugged quite a few coyotes that raided chicken coups on friends' places around Carefree, AZ years ago. Sharpened my aim, kept the layers safe but didn't amuse the coyotes much.