know that, if it's a wild armadillo, you might get Hansen's disease (formerly known as leprosy) from your expression of appreciation.
Photo credit: http://www.birdphotos.com
Apparently Europeans gave this lovely condition TO the armadillos years and years ago (I'd like to know how that happened) and it seems the armadillos can give back.
I, personally, think they're adorable, and was super psyched to see them when I was in Texas.
But now I know, that in addition to the fact that my advances would most likely NOT be appreciated, and armadillos have wicked claws for digging (look closely at that photo!) and fending off crazed fans, I could also get a very rare disease.
Odds are low, of course.
Like, so low I could probably run around embracing every armadillo I can find and probably never get it.
But, you know...
And, checking out Wiki's page on armadillos, I see this creature...
Photo credit to cliff
I saw that and thought: Yeah. Right. As IF this is a real animal.
It's name is "pink fairy armadillo."
Of course, it is.
I'm no fool.
That's OBviously some fuzzy pet cruelly clothed in a pink I'm-really-a-planet-Klingon-native-species outfit.
Or, more likely, photo-shopped.
Then I see the picture is FROM one of my favorite sites, Animal Diversity Web, based at U of Michigan. Hm. I consider that site pretty reliable...
And the Wiki entry for it lists Wilson and Reeder's Mammal Species of the World on www.bucknell.edu, and here's that entry. And it's on the IUCN red list, so I guess it's real.
Also, looking at additional photos, the one above looks like it's on display in a museum, so at the very least is taxidermied. That can make the most ordinary creatures look odd.
They are small, only 3.5 - 4.5 " long, endemic to Argentina, and MAY be at risk but SO very little is KNOWN about them, they cannot say for sure.
IUCN says "It is present in a number of protected areas including Lihué Calel National Park in La Pampa (9,905 ha), and some provincial protected areas in Mendoza. There is national and provincial legislation specifically in place for its protection, such as Provincial Law 6599 Mendoza. Further studies into the population status, demography and ecology of this species are needed." [emphasis added]
SO, if you are looking for something to study for your Ph.D., you might do worse than look into these little guys, and by shedding light on their pink, sometimes subterranean lives, you might help them persist on this planet.
They are CUTE and something this unusual and stylistically innovative is too precious to lose.
And I bet they are great huggers.
xobb
Armadillos are soooo cute. And as for the small risk of a disfiguring disease .... pffft!
ReplyDeletePrompted by your post, I looked up armadillos on Wikipedia. Apparently there is a screaming hairy armadillo. Maybe armadillologists should come up with a better common name.
Yes, yes, YES.
ReplyDeleteI FORGOT to write about that and was totally gonnna. Screaming hairy armadillo? Like throwing a screaming hairy fit, but it's a 4 legged creature?
There were SO many things I LOVED about the armadillo Wiki entry. *sigh* =)
Glad you are unphased by huggy risks. Love is the answer! =)
(armadillologists hee hee hee....)
Speaking (off topic, sorry) of great animal names, how about the Sierra Cantankerous Meadow Mouse? It's in Grinnell's Animal Life in the Yosemite, though probably reclassifed since 1924.
ReplyDeleteDood, that's so NOT off topic. That is de-LIGHT-ful. Sierra cantankerous meadow mouse. I want a t-shirt with that and its name-sake on it. CP: Are you in the mood to find out what it's called today?? You historian, you? =)
ReplyDeleteBut of course! It used to be Microtus mordax sierrae, and it's now Microtus longicaudus sierrae. So I guess it has to be happy with being just a local variety of long-tailed vole. Or maybe it was unhappy being called a mouse, which is why it was cantankerous in the first place?
ReplyDeleteAh, THANK you. =) Why, indeed.
ReplyDeleteI would think if some giant alien behemoth traps you (with the intent of the dreaded "sampling without replacement") then you most certainly get to be cantankerous, and any field person who interprets defensive behavior as cantankerous is probably a little sleep deprived and cranky (speaking from experience, having checked mouse traps at 5 a.m.).
All animals need love. And sleep. =)
The bane of my garden. They dig. And dig. And dig. We trapped and dispatched one last week.
ReplyDeleteClick my name to see my post about the nasty, smelly creature.
Excellent post, and good warning! Everyone knows about turtles and salmonella, but what about armadillos and leprosy?? I actually learned about the armadillo-leprosy risk a couple of years ago from a good friend and epidemiology fan (the only person, in fact, to whom I've ever given a book about leprosy). And just recently, talking with a good friend, I discovered that he and I had shared, as children, a misinformed conviction that leprosy was not only terrifying and completely incurable but that it could be transmitted just anywhere, like on the street or something. I think we read too many 19th-century novels...
ReplyDeleteOlivia
Excellent post, and good warning! Everyone knows about turtles and salmonella, but what about armadillos and leprosy?? I actually learned about the armadillo-leprosy risk a couple of years ago from a good friend and epidemiology fan (the only person, in fact, to whom I've ever given a book about leprosy). And just recently, talking with a good friend, I discovered that he and I had shared, as children, a misinformed conviction that leprosy was not only terrifying and completely incurable but that it could be transmitted just anywhere, like on the street or something. I think we read too many 19th-century novels...
ReplyDeleteOlivia
I love, love...love these creatures. I found my first wild one a few years ago in southern Missouri and followed it through the timber. It meandered at a slow pace, stopping every little bit to root its nose in the ground looking for grubs or the like. I always found it remarkable that the female always has identical quadruplets (all males, or all females). I would SOOOO risk any chance of leprosy or sharp diggy claws to get my hands on one of these.....I also heard they defecate when grabbed by the tail.....suppose I would do the same if someone grabbed me by the tail, come to think of it. :o)
ReplyDelete