Groundhog's Day February 2nd - a time to appreciate the giant member of the squirrel family also known as a Woodchuck. Here is an extreme closeup of these adept tree climbers with voracious appetites. Note the extremely large long claws for digging burrows and the large Beaver-like teeth. They spend a lot of time digging and eating and are quite cute in their own way.
Close-up of a large Florida Armadillo hunting for insects. I find them cute, especially their ears! Backyard Armadillos are always nocturnal - this one was along a canal bank in the afternoon and so focused on hunting in the grass that it didn't notice me standing right above it with the camera until it almost bumped into me - they have really poor eyesight.
Approximately 20 species of armadillo exist, but the nine-banded is the only one found in the United States. The term “armadillo” means “little armored one,” and refers to the presence of bony, armor-like plates covering their body. Despite their name, nine-banded armadillos can have 7 to 11 bands on their armor. There is a common misconception that nine-banded armadillos can roll up into spherical balls. In reality, only two species of armadillo (both three-banded) roll up completely.
Size: Nine-banded armadillos are about 2.5 feet long from the nose to the tip of the tail and weigh an average of 12 pounds.
Diet: They are generalist feeders and use their sense of smell to track down almost 500 different foods, most of which are insects and invertebrates such as beetles, cockroaches, wasps, yellow jackets, fire ants, scorpions, spiders, snails, and white grubs. A lesser part of the diet is comprised of small reptiles and amphibians and mammal, reptile, and bird eggs. Less than 10 percent of the diet is from fruit, seeds, fungi, and other plant matter.
Typical Lifespan: Nine-banded armadillos typically live from 7 to 20 years in the wild. One captive armadillo lived 23 years.
Habitat: They prefer warm, wet climates and live in forested or grassland habitats. Small streams are no obstacle for these amazing animals! The nine-banded can hold its breath for up to six minutes and can swim or “walk” along the bottom of rivers. Their abandoned burrows are utilized by other animals, such as pine snakes, rabbits, opossums, mink, cotton rats, striped skunks, burrowing owls, and eastern indigo snakes.
Range: Nine-banded armadillos are found in the southeastern United States, but their range has been expanding continually northward for over one hundred years. A few have even been spotted as far north as Illinois and Nebraska! Armadillos have not yet reached the full extent of their possible range, which one study has predicted may reach as far north as Massachusetts. Climate warming caused by increasing carbon in the atmosphere will further expand their potential range.
Life History and Reproduction: Nine-banded armadillos almost always give birth to four identical quadruplets. At birth, the carapace of the offspring has not yet hardened and the unprotected young are extremely vulnerable to predation.
Armor helps to protect armadillos from predators such as pumas, black bears, and alligators. Nine-banded armadillos are nocturnal, and spend their waking time burrowing or feeding. They often have a bad reputation due to the fact that they are the only animal other than humans that can contract leprosy, but cases of humans getting leprosy by handling armadillos are extremely rare.
Fun Fact:
Armadillos have long been a source of food for humans. The nine-banded was nicknamed “Hoover hog” and “poor man’s pork” by people who blamed President Hoover for the Great Depression.
Conservation Status: Increasing. Humans have killed off most of their natural predators, and roadways have offered them easier means of travel to new habitats. Nine-banded armadillos have a tendency to jump straight up into the air when they are startled. This often leads to their demise on highways. They are small enough that cars can pass right over them, but they leap up and hit the undercarriage of vehicles. They are also poisoned, shot, or captured by people that consider them lawn and agricultural pests. Some are eaten or used for the curio trade.
A Speedy Vole, Unique Mouse or the elusive Pygmy Shrew?
Fast little mammal likes bird seed and is about 3" long total from nose to tail
Visiting the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina I was feeding birds by laying some seed on a flat rock. While watching the birds from a distance I caught a glimpse of this diminutive critter as a blur picking up exactly one piece of bird seed at a time from the rock and jumping back into a hole. It was too fast to note any details so I set up a camera trap and let it run for 15 minutes and caught the little thing going back and forth 4 times. Even with the video slowed to 1/8 normal speed it's a blur. I though mole at first and still don't know for sure what it is. There is a great information sheet on the three species of moles east of the Rockies from NC State. A screen grab shows it is definitely not mole-like - no big webbed front feet, in fact the feet are kind of dainty - it's apparently omnivorous and too small - about 3" form nose to tail. It is closer to a mouse in size , but doesn't exactly look like any mouse I know and is pretty small for a Vole. Its hole was about the size of a quarter and it does not tunnel extensively, rather there is a lair under very heavy leaf litter on the edge of landscape fabric held by the large stone at 3,600 feet elevation. Probably a odd coincidence that I put bird seed right next to its house. You would think it would be easy to ID - What is it? Have any thoughts pass them on. Cute little thing though - and incredibly fast and athletic - I love the way it dives into the hole as a blur even in slow motion. Late breaking thought - I didn't consider shrew as it seemed way too small for a shrew without an extremely pronounced snout, but I just found out there is a thing called an "American Pygmy Shrew" known to live in these parts and this little thing shares some of the characteristics - notably the size and feet and a less pronounced pointed nose compared to the typical shrew. The thing is just to darn fast - I'll have to go through the video frame by frame.
