Life History and Behavior
Chaetophractus villosus spends most of its time burrowing in the ground and looking for insects or worms as its main foraging method. Its powerful front claws and snout allow it to rout through the sediment with relative ease. When the armadillo detects a predator, it will run to the nearest burrow and wedge itself in using its legs; only the bony plates are exposed to predators. When it cannot get to one of its burrows, it will lay down flat on the ground to better protect its softer underside.
Most of this armadillo’s activity occurs starting at dusk and continues on into the night. It can be seen active in the day, however, when enough food cannot be found during the night. It uses its sense of smell to find prey, and shovels soil away to reach it. Most individuals breed in the late winter or spring, but in captivity they have been known to conceive year round. After a gestation period of 60 to 75 days, the female will usually give birth to a litter of one to two young which are suckled for another 50 to 80 days.
C. villosus seems to be able to burrow through most sediment, but tends to shy away from rockier terrains. They tend to burrow into the side of a hill rather than on flat ground. Their temporary burrows (in search of food or safety) are usually shallower and not as complex as their home burrows, which are usually much deeper and can be quite complex, with many escape tunnels and dens. The orientation of their burrows depends largely on the wind direction. This allows them to be well adapted to arid desert terrain.
Read more about this topic: Big Hairy Armadillo
Famous quotes containing the words life, history and/or behavior:
“Whoever influences the child’s life ought to try to give him a positive view of himself and of his world. The child’s future happiness and his ability to cope with life and relate to others will depend on it.”
—Bruno Bettelheim (20th century)
“In all history no class has been enfranchised without some selfish motive underlying. If to-day we could prove to Republicans or Democrats that every woman would vote for their party, we should be enfranchised.”
—Carrie Chapman Catt (1859–1947)
“In abnormal times like our own, when institutions are changing rapidly in several directions at once and the traditional framework of society has broken down, it becomes more and more difficult to measure any type of behavior against any other.”
—John Dos Passos (1896–1970)