Armadillo and Flower
by AnnaJo Vahle
Title
Armadillo and Flower
Artist
AnnaJo Vahle
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
I chased this little guy for quite awhile. I was at the Kennedy Space Center. I had been photographing the Cape Canaveral Light House. As I wandered about the area, I saw many armadillos. I was enchanted by their odd appearance. This particular armadillo kept running away from me. I persisted even as he ran into a thicket of bushes. I sat down on the ground and hoped that he would reappear. Sure enough, he did. I caught him just as he reached this little wild flower. As soon as I photographed him, he disappeared back into the bushes.
The nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus), named for the nine breaks in the creature's leathery armor that allow it to flex its stiff hide, is an odd-looking mammal about the size of a cat.
Armadillos are not native to Florida, but are now common over most of the state. Armadillos like forested or semi-open habitats with loose textured soil that allows them to dig easily. They eat many insects, or other invertebrates, and some plants. They most often feed at night, and have very poor eyesight.
Armadillos dig burrows for homes or to escape predators, and a single armadillo can have several different burrows with multiple entrances. A mature armadillo is 15 to 17 inches long (not counting the tail) with a weight of eight to 17 pounds. Pregnant females always give birth to identical quadruplets. She produces one egg that splits into four identical offspring that are either all female or all male. This trait differs from most other mammals.
Armadillos are fascinating in other respects. When they need to cross narrow water bodies, they often walk on the bottom under water. If it is a wide body of water, they will inflate their stomach to twice its normal size, allowing for enough buoyancy to swim across. When startled, armadillos often leap high into the air, and then run quickly to a nearby burrow.
Uploaded
April 23rd, 2016
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Viewed 1,047 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 03/29/2024 at 5:58 AM
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Comments (16)
Gary F Richards
Congratulations on your Top Finish in the contest… PASSION OF PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST! Fl
Chris Mercer
Congratulations, I featured this image on the Florida Photography Enthusiasts Home page. It's a GREAT Capture of an animal that is seldom photographed.
Phyllis Kaltenbach
What a delightful capture of this wonderful Armadillo and his flower, AnnaJo! I don't think I want to get in the way of those claws, however. Smiles! V/F
Donna Kennedy
A true photographer you are AnnaJo, your persistence paid off! Fantastic detail on this "cute" Armadillo!...F/L
Dawn Currie
AnnaJo, Congratulations for your feature in our group, Florida-Images of the Sunshine State!
AnnaJo Vahle replied:
Thank you, Dawn. I am honored to be featured in "Florida-Images of the Sunshine State."
Jeff at JSJ Photography
Great armadillo shot AnnaJo! Usually you don't see them alive on the side of the road--but this one was smart enough to hang out at the Kennedy Space Center where there is not so much high speed traffic! Congratulations on your feature on FAA's Strangest or Most Unique Animals group homepage! L/F/F, ~Jeff at JSJ Photography, Administrator
AnnaJo Vahle replied:
Thanks so much, Jeff. I am honored to be featured in The Strangest or Most Unique Animals group homepage.