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Congratulations to all those who guessed armadillo! It was indeed an armadillo, a Nine-banded Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) to be exact (the name is derived from the alternating bands of black and white on the armadillo’s tail).

We came across it loudly snuffling in the brush while we were hiking at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas. Funny thing about that; we heard the noises and saw the brush move and we both jumped because we weren’t sure what was coming towards us (remember this is a new environment for us). As soon as we realized what it was we collapsed into nervous laughter and then I thought about taking its picture but alas, the moment had passed.

Nine-bandeds are the only armadillo species in the U.S., the other 19 species are found in South America. Nine-bandeds only arrived in the U.S. through Texas in the 1880s but they are rapidly expanding their range through the south and up into the mid-west.

Nine-bandeds will eat almost anything although they seem to prefer ants and beetles. Which is probably what ours was looking for that day. They have notoriously bad eyesight and tend to jump straight in the air when startled. This happens often on roadways where, unfortunately, the Nine-bandeds collide with vehicles by jumping into them. Earning them the moniker, “Texas Road Kill”.

Nine-bandeds are unique in that one egg produces four identical, same-sex babies. No other animal in the world does that!

Try this website if you’d like to see a good picture of one.

Thank you to everyone who participated, we enjoy reading your guesses! Since you are all so good at this I’ll see if I can’t dig up a more challenging one next time…