An Odd and Armored Animal

Armadillos have a carapace (shell) like a turtle, but unlike a turtle (or the human skull), not all of the plates come together to fuse solid. The completed skeleton is quite remarkable, as can seen above.

Armadillos have — somehow — managed to expand their range from Texas and Louisiana northward all the way to Wisconsin. A digging animal, they are sometimes hunted with terriers.

I have no experience with this creature as they have not yet come to the mid-Atlantic, though I read that they may do so eventually. They appear to have invaded (in low numbers) the most south-western counties in North Carolina -- as close as they have come, so far.

Armadillos can swim well, have terrible eyesight, a terrific sense of smell, and mostly eat insects and small vertebrates like frogs. They are not very aggressive, but are remarkable jumpers and diggers.