68 
HAMLYN'S MENAGERIE MAGAZINE. 
ciers, and those connected with them, because 
these are the only people who find interest and 
pleasure in living thingsi. I also suspect the 
"nature-lover,' who is generally a faddist, de- 
voted to the animals of his own country only, 
and blind to the beauty and interest of anything 
that is not a zoological compatriot, and fear the 
establishment of "nature reserves," which must 
ultimately interfere with farming, and seem to me 
only justifiable when a harmless species is 
threatened with total, not local, extinction. 
Some Observations on the Hairy 
Armadillo in Captivity. 
By B. W. Tucker. 
For those whoi have a taste for keeping 
curious animals, there are few more suitable pets 
than an Armadillo. Its tameness, its quaint and 
interesting ways, its hardiness, and the ease with 
which it is fed are all very mcuh in its favour, 
and it is a pity that these sigular creatures are 
not better known and more frequently kept by 
animal-lovers in this country. 
The protective armour of the Armadillo is 
quite unique in the animal world. People seeing 
one for the first time frequently compare its 
"shell" to that of a Tortoise, but a somewhat 
closer examination will show that it is formed on 
an entirely different plan. It is composed of a 
number of small, bony plates set close together 
in the skin, so as to form a hard shield over the 
upper part of the body. This is divided into two 
main portions, separated by a series of movable 
transverse bands near the middle of the back. 
These are made up of parallel rows of plates, simi- 
lar to those on the rest of the body, but each of 
them is separated from its neighbour by a soft, 
fiegible skin. This allows the animal much 
greater freedom of movement, and in some species 
it even stretches sufficiently to' enable them to roll 
up into a ball, hedgehog fashion. The bands 
vary from thre to thirteen according to the species 
and several kinds gain their names from the num- 
ber which they usually possess — as, for example, 
the Three-banded Armadillo, the Six-banded Ar- 
madillo, and so on. The two portions of the 
armour which are thus separated are respectively 
known as the scapular and pelvic shields. These 
reach sufficiently far down the animal's sides to 
afford protection to the underparts, which are not 
provided with regular armour. In the Hairy Ar- 
madillo these shields are edged with large, blunt 
teeth, which the animal has been observed to use 
for killing snakes and other reptiles, which it 
literally saws in pieces before making a meal of 
them. In addition to this, there tea small, rough- 
ly triangular shield on the top of the head, while 
the tail is similarly protected by numerous bony 
scutes. The under parts, as already mentioned, 
are practically unarmed, and are covered by a 
soft skin, sparingly clothed with long, coarse 
hairs, which give it the appearance of a plucked 
chicken. 
The Armladillo is one of the Edentata or 
"Toothless mammals,' but the name, in this case, 
is peculiarly inappropriate as the animal is well 
provided with teeth. Curiously enough the Giant 
Armadillo (Priodon gigas), of Brazil, possesses a 
larger number than any other mammal, with the 
exception of certain members of the Cetacea. In 
point of fact quite a number of the Edentates 
have teeth, but they are always of a very simple 
type and are absent from the front part of the 
jaw. 
The species which it is proposed to describe 
in this article is that known as the Peludo or 
Hairy Armadillo (Dasypus villosus), which is one 
of the commonest and, at the same time, one of 
the most frequently imported of the whole family. 
The Peludo is about 22 inches long from the 
snout to the tip of the tail, and is a remarkably 
heavy animal for its size. The English name is 
derived from the numerous hairs which spring up 
between the plates of the armour, and give a 
rather curious effect, reminding one somewhat 
of a tortoise with bristles growing out of its shell. 
It is a native of Argentina. The foregoing notes 
refer more especially to this species, but they may 
be applied more or less to all Armadillos, for the 
general arrangement of the armour is very similar 
in all members of the Dasypodidae. 
In captivity the Armadillo should be given 
plenty of space. It will do very well in a small 
rabbit-hutch, but in such a home its kuaint and 
amusing ways cannot be properly appreciated, 
and it loses half its interest. 
The subject of these notes is kept in a good- 
sized enclosure, with wooden sides about a yard 
high. The Armadillo is no climber, and it is not 
necessary to put any lirework or netting over this.* 
It is very important, however, that the run should 
have a strong bottom, for these animals are most 
persistent burrowers, and thei rstrength is aston- 
ishing. The specimen in the writer's possession, 
for example, when digging in the earth, will 
remove stones and bricks almost as large as him- 
* It should be explained that on one side of the run the 
bank in which the animal has his burrow reaches up to 
within about IS inches of the top. For a long time the 
writer believed that the Armadillo could not even get over 
this, but on November 24th, a day or two after the above 
was written, he finally managed to struggle over. Nothing 
was known of his escape until, about 7 p.m., he was 
brought back by a villager, who was under the impression 
that he had caught an escaped tortoise. He had been seen 
several times during the day, so could only have been at 
large for a very short time. He had, however, travelled a 
considerable distance, and was captured on the highroad 
quite a quarter of a mile away. He seems none the worse 
for his escapade, but a considerable alteration will have to 
be made in the height of the wall on the burrow side. 
