ARMADILLOS. 221 



with at any hour. I have very often made a peludo post-mortem examination, 

 and several times found his last meal consisted of putrid flesh, as well as insects 

 and vegetable fibre. I do not mean to assert that he cannot live on vegetables 

 alone ; but he evidently does not prefer them, and looks on a dead lamb or other 

 animal as a bonne bouche by no means to be despised. A fresh peludo-burrow may 

 almost invariably be found by or underneath a stinking carcase. This is not 

 merely that the occupant may avail himself of the maggots bred in the carrion, 

 for pieces of the flesh may frequently be seen drawn partly into the burrow, 

 and the softer parts chewed and eaten." These flesh-eating propensities of the 

 peludo frequently lead to its destruction, since these animals often devour the 

 poisoned meat spread for wandering dogs and foxes. It is also stated that in some 

 districts, where peludoes are so numerous as to render riding dangerous, on account 

 of their burrows, flesh poisoned with strychnine is exposed for their destruction. 

 The foregoing observations are confirmed by Mr. W. H. Hudson, who writes 

 that the peludo, like its fast-disappearing congeners, " is an insect-eater still, but 

 does not like them seek its food on the surface and on the ant-hill only ; all kinds 

 of insects are preyed on, and by means of its keen scent it discovers worms and 

 larvae several inches below the surface. Its method of taking worms and larvse 

 resembles that of probing birds, for it throws up no earth, but forces its sharp 

 snout and wedge-shaped head down to the required depth ; and probably while 

 working it moves round in a circle, for the hole is conical, though the head of the 

 animal is flat. Where it has found a rich hunting-ground, the earth is seen pitted 

 with hundreds of these neat symmetrical bores. It is also an enemy to ground- 

 nesting birds, being fond of eggs and fledglings ; and when unable to capture prey 

 it will feed on carrion as readily as a wild dog or vulture, returning night after 

 night to the carcase of a horse or cow as long as the flesh lasts." Mr. Hudson adds 

 that this armadillo resorts, to a vegetable diet only when animal food fails ; and 

 states that on such occasions it will eat not only clover, but likewise grains of 

 maize, which are swallowed whole. The peludo also displays marked intelligence 

 in capturing some of the animals on which it preys. Mr. Hudson had a tame one 

 which was an adept at catching mice in a most ingenious manner. After stating 

 that the creature had a most keen sense of smell, and was in the habit of trotting 

 along with its nose to the ground like a beagle, Mr. Hudson writes that " when near 

 his prey he became agitated, and quickened his motions, pausing frequently to 

 sniff the earth, till, discovering the exact spot where the mouse lurked, he would 

 stop and creep cautiously to it; then, after slowly raising himself to a sitting 

 posture, spring suddenly forwards, throwing his body like a trap over the mouse 

 or nest of mice concealed in the grass." Still more remarkable is the manner 

 in which a peludo has been observed to kill a snake, by rushing upon it and 

 proceeding to saw the unfortunate reptile in pieces by pressing upon it closely 

 with the jagged edges of its armour, and at the same time moving its body 

 backwards and forwards. The struggles of the snake were all in vain, as its 

 fangs could make no impression upon the panoply of its assailant ; and eventually 

 the reptile slowly dropped and died, to be soon after devoured by the armadillo, 

 which commenced the meal by seizing the snake's tail in its mouth, and gradually 

 eating forwards. 



