SMALLER MAMMALS OF NORTH AMERICA 



481 



motion to a small pig; it jogs along in its trails 

 or from one feeding place to anothei with the 

 same little stiff trotting gait and self-centered 

 air. If alarmed it will break into a clumsy 

 gallop, but moves so slowly that it may be 

 overtaken by a man on foot. So poor is its 

 eyesight that a person may approach openly 

 within about thirty yards before being noticed. 



When alarmed the armadillo immediately runs 

 to the shelter of its burrow, but may easily be 

 caught in one's hands, especially if intercepted 

 on the way to its den. When caught it will 

 struggle to escape, and while it may coil up 

 in a ball in the presence of a dog or other 

 mammal foe, I never saw one try to protect 

 itself in this way. While presumably serving 

 for protective purposes, the armor is flexible 

 on the sides of the body, and I have found the 

 remains of many armadillos where they had 

 been killed and eaten by coyotes or other preda- 

 tory beasts. The armor would no doubt be suf- 

 ficient protection to enable them to escape to 

 cover from the attack of birds of prey. They 

 are mainly nocturnal animals, but are fre- 

 quently seen abroad by day and in some places 

 appear to be out equally by day or night. 



This armadillo lives by preference amid the 

 cover afforded by forests, brushy jungle, tall 

 grass, or other vegetation. In the midst of 

 such shelter it usually digs its own burrow a 

 few yards deep in a bank or hill slope, beneath 

 a stump, under the roots of a tree, or a rock, 

 or even on level ground. It will also occupy 

 small caves in limestone rock. At times it 

 shows a piglike fondness for a mud bath, and 

 the prints of its armor may be found where it 

 has wallowed in miry spots. 



Well-beaten and conspicuous trails lead from 

 the burrows often for half a mile or more, fre- 

 quently branching through the thickets in vari- 

 ous directions. Armadillo burrows sometimes 

 accommodate strange neighbors, as was shown 

 by one in Texas which was dug out, and in 

 addition to containing the owner in his den at 

 the end, was found to be occupied by a four- 

 foot rattlesnake and a half-grown cottontail 

 rabbit, each in a side chamber of its own. 



The food of the armadillo consists almost 

 entirely of many species of insects, among 

 which ants appear to predominate. When 

 searching for food the animals become so in- 

 tent that they may be cautiously approached 

 and closely observed or captured by hand. They 

 root about among fallen leaves and other loose 

 vegetation and soft earth, now and then digging 

 up some hidden grub or beetle. At night they 

 visit newly plowed fields in their haunts, root- 

 ing in the mellow earth. They are accused of 

 digging up plants in gardens during their noc- 

 turnal wanderings, and in Texas have been 

 charged with robbing hens' nests of eggs, and 

 of reducing the supply of wild turkeys and 

 quail by breaking up the nests, all of which 

 needs confirmation. Their method of feeding 

 appears to vary considerably, as they have been 

 seen rising on their hind legs to secure small 

 caterpillars infesting large weeds. 



The insect food eaten by the nine-banded 

 armadillo in Texas, as known from examina- 



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THE TRACK OF THE WEASEL 



The unusual space between the fore and 

 hind feet in the middle of the left series is 

 often seen. Sometimes the tail mark is there 

 and sometimes not. Sometimes the trail is 

 like that of a small mink. The toes seldom 

 show (see pages 452 and 469). 



