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THE AMERICAN NATURALIST [Vol.XLVII 



peccary, which has a range quite similar to that of 

 Dasypus. 



Armadillos are essentially nocturnal in habit, although 

 one may encounter them at dusk. On warm nights they 

 spend their time rooting about in the dry leaves and 

 ground vegetation after the manner of hogs. Their 

 grunting, snuffing noises are heard at some distances on 

 quiet evenings. The strong burrowing claws are used 

 to a considerable extent in digging for food, but their 

 primary function is that of burrowing. Burrows may 

 be for temporary or permanent shelter. A permanent 

 burrow may be dug six or seven feet deep with a chamber 

 at the bottom about two feet in diameter, which is 

 filled loosely with dried leaves and grass. This is the 

 winter retreat of the armadillo, where he undergoes 

 partial hibernation during the periodic cold spells. 

 Buried in the grass and leaves, the animal defies its worst 

 enemy, cold. In this connection it may be said that there 

 is probably no mammal so sensitive to cold as the arma- 

 dillo. In captivity they shiver at temperatures when 

 other mammals are warm, and often die during the night 

 if insufficiently bedded down with straw. Their further 

 spread northward will no doubt be blocked by tempera- 

 ture barriers. Temporary burrows are made as a retreat 

 from enemies when other shelter is unavailable. Hunters 

 claim that an armadillo will dig a hole in ordinary soil 

 in a minute or two, disappearing even after having been 

 sighted. 



They seem to have their regular haunts and do not 

 ordinarily go far from their burrows or caves. From the 

 smoothly worn mouths of these retreats beaten paths lead 

 to thickets, pools and streams. Bailey lias seen evidences 

 that they, after the manner of pigs, enjoy a mud bath. 

 The trail of the tail along the paths is a ready means of 

 distinguishing the haunts of the " 'dillo," for it leaves a 

 mark like that of a dragging rope. 



In captivity the animals display the utmost gentle- 

 ness and tractability so long as one does not attempt to 



