Armadillo predators
They’re referred to as ‘gravediggers’ in some regions and dialects. There are also all kinds of rumours about armadillos being especially abundant, or especially plump and healthy, in or near cemeteries.
And it isn’t surprising that this habit in armadillos has led to various concerns and superstitions: the idea that armadillos might excavate graves and consume the recently deceased is present in several areas, most famously in the Paraguayan Chaco. Redford (1985) and Smith (2007) noted that some armadillo species – normally considered desirable objects for the pot – aren’t eaten by people in some regions because their necrophagous habits make them undesirable. That’s great, but the fact remains that carcass consumption isn’t seen as a particularly endearing trait by humans.
Captive Six-banded armadillos have killed large rats, though “they are inefficient predators” which “tear apart a carcass by standing on it and ripping off pieces held in their jaws” (Smith & Redford 1990, p. Some species also use their tough exterior as a weapon: Chaetophractus species are reported to use the edge of the shell to kill snakes ( Nowak 1999) which are then eaten. Several species are well known for their predatory tendencies, their diet including a list of small vertebrates – frogs, lizards, snakes, rodents and small marsupials – which they kill with their teeth and large, pointed claws. It’s generally expected of ‘insectivorous’ animals that the adaptations which make them insectivorous are easily co-opted for predation on small vertebrates, and such it is with armadillos. After all, they have long, slender noses, a lightly built lower jaw, small teeth, a long, slender tongue, and are known to eat large quantities of ants and termites. The farmer who owned the land said that three dead calves, with their entrails hanging out, had previously been discovered at the same location.Īmong the most familiar of armadillos are the long-nosed Dasypus species, a group often characterised as insectivores. The footage first circulated in June 2019 and was taken in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The calf is not very happy about this and is attempting, unsuccessfully, to get back to its feet. In this case, the armadillo is raking at the cow’s belly with its forelimbs, and perhaps biting it too. If you move in the same social media circles that I do (god help you), you might have seen the very exciting and interesting video clip which shows a Six-banded or Yellow armadillo Euphractus sexcinctus attacking, killing and dragging off a lamb (as in: a baby domestic sheep Ovis aries).Ī second clip, circulated by some youtubers in connection with the one featuring the lamb, shows an armadillo (also a Six-banded armadillo? I’m not sure) attacking a calf (as in, a baby domestic cow Bos taurus) with what looks like predatory intent. I’m a huge fan of armadillos: they’re among my favourite mammals and, while I’ve written about them a few times (see links below), I’ve never covered them in all that much detail.