An Armadillo in the Garden
By Cornerstone Classical Christian School

We are a home school of four red-headed brothers and mom (a previous biology teacher). We are located in Rogers, Arkansas, only 3 miles from Wal-Mart Headquarters. We want to share with you today the many escapades of our little bandit...we have had a armadillo to contend with as we go through the tulip experiment. The armadillo is seldomly seen. Actually, his only witness has been the man next door, Carlos. Carlos wakes early for work, and he has spied the armadillo coming down the steep hill in front of our home, crossing the street, and trespassing in our yard.

9-banded Armadillo Photo: Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept.

The 9-banded Armadillo
Our armadillo is a 9-banded mammal. We learned a lot about armadillos.

Did you Know:

• When an armadillo gets scared or is frightened, he will jump straight up in the air?

He sports 9 moveable rings of armor between the shoulder and the hip shields. His long tail is surrounded by 12 bony rings. He sports a long, narrow face and nose. His footprint shows 3 toes and sharp claws. We suspect he could weigh anywhere between 8-17 pounds.

A Natural Digger
While digging through our mulch along the house, he is searching for spiders, earthworms, insects, grubs, and invertebrates for his meal. As he makes his way through our landscaping, he digs deep holes 5 inches deep and 3 inches across...tossing mulch everywhere! We now have to keep a rake by the door, and one son must fix the mulch everyday. We live on a golf course and must keep our yard neat. After our armadillo appears, our yard looks like a disaster. The mulch appears to have been launched from a blender, landing everywhere, including in the grassy areas.

Sometimes he digs and creates deep mounds of mulch. We think he likes the moisture. Not a considerate bandit, he works at night (he is nocturnal), digging for dinner, and relocating bulbs, my grandmother's prized irises, and newly planted pansies. It can be very disapointing to lay a truck-load of mulch or create a beautiful bed of flowers only to have it all rearranged and upside down. So, our garden has many gardeners...the mom, the 4 sons, and the armadillo. He has been found in our neighbor's beds, however, he seems to prefer our residence.

Capture and Release
We have not seen our armadillo bandit this week, so we will be interested to observe our garden in the days to come. Armadillos do not like cold weather, and this week had turned cold again. Perhaps he has been resting in his burrow, dreaming of our tulips. Warm weather has returned, so perhaps that will bring our little gardener back.

Our oldest son plans to capture the armadillo in a safety trap. It was suggested we keep the trap along the wall of the home, as armadillos are known to be "wall runners," sticking close to the walls. Our goal is to relocate him to the outer banks of our neighbor, along the vast woods and streams.

Perhaps the armadillo could give up gardening and take up golf (ha). Look forward to our updates, and we will send you pictures of our armadillo (if we see him/her), his wacky gardening skills, and our beautiful tulips...if they survive.

Cornerstone Classical Christian School
teacherof4@cox.net