Woah, giant armadillos? That sounded super cool and I wanted to share some info about these shy and elusive creatures with you!
First of all as you may have guessed the Giant armadillo is the largest species of armadillos, they can apparently grow up to four and a half feet long and weigh up to 130 pounds. So these guys are pretty darn big, which may mean we should have a good chance of seeing on while we are in the Pantanal, right?
Sorry armadillo lovers, this guy is rarely seen and is facing a very serious threat of extinction. In fact, they are so rare that we barely know anything about them even though they live all over South America. On the website it describes them as having "cryptic behavior" which just means they behaviors are still a mystery to us.
These armadillos also have low population densities. So unlike the herds of Capybaras we will encounter these quiet giants don't hang out in large groups, making them much harder to track.
So the Royal Zoological society of Scotland has taken a special interest in these creatures and are conducing the Giant Armadillo Project in the Pantanal. It's aim is to establish the first long term study of giant armadillos in these Brazilian wetlands. They hope to understand the function of the giant armadillos in the ecosystem by using camera traps, radio transmitters, burrow surveys and resource mapping.
Since the project started they have expanded it to look at other armadillos in the area and even the giant anteater whose niche seems to overlap with the armadillos.
They have also made video diaries of some footage they've collected of these creatures. So if you want to see a minute in the life of a giant armadillo check out the video below.
Thanks all!
-Martell
Sources: http://www.rzss.org.uk/conservation-programmes/projects/current-projects/giant-armadillo-project
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-edinburgh-east-fife-12336131
Too bad we probably won't get to see any! But these creatures do sound cool. I wonder how people can know that they're found all over South America if they're so hard to find?
ReplyDelete^above comment was from Gwynn
ReplyDeleteHow cool are these guys! I found it kinda funny/ strange that in the first picture, the person was trying to grab the armadillo by the tail. I wouldn't mess with one. They seem enormous!
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm the only one who feels this way, but giant armadillos kind of remind me of giant tortoises. Maybe we'll get really luck and encounter one. You never know, it could happen.
ReplyDelete