Just returned from St. Louis. When did the armadillos arrive?

golocx4

Got Beretta's?
Went home to visit family and attend a family wedding.
I lived in Mo for the first 35 years of my life.
Grew up playing in the Meramec and Bourboise Rivers.
Hunted around Union and Ironton.
Camped and floated many rivers.
Spent a ton of weekends at Lake of the Ozarks.
I saw some pretty big rats scurrying around the warf and River de Peres.

Anyway as I was there I saw what I thought was the biggest rat I have ever seen at 270 and 40 but it turned out to be an armadillo.
Now in all of my travels, I never saw one before.
My sister says they are everywhere now.
When the heck did they arrive?
 
Not sure when they got there, but I've seen them in North Georgia for the first time this year. I have to be very mindful, hitting one of them while I'm on the Goldwing would be a bad thing.

Leave them alone, I also seem to remember they can carry disease.
 
Leave them alone, I also seem to remember they can carry disease.

They're the only animal besides humans that can get leprosy. But other than that, I don't think they're particularly disease prone.
We've been seeing them in Kansas for a few years now. Well, dead ones anyway. I've never seen a live one. I've heard they have a habit of jumping straight in the air before you hit them. So on a bike, that could be extremely bad.
 
They're the only animal besides humans that can get leprosy. But other than that, I don't think they're particularly disease prone.
We've been seeing them in Kansas for a few years now. Well, dead ones anyway. I've never seen a live one. I've heard they have a habit of jumping straight in the air before you hit them. So on a bike, that could be extremely bad.

Leprosy is what I was thinking about. I would think that up in the air would be bad (especially if you tried to steer around them) but on the ground would be worse for the bike. It would be like hitting a large rock.
 
They have been here for at least 10 yrs, im from Tx and used to seeing em there allot. But been in Mo for 28yrs, pretty sure it was close to ten yrs I saw my 1st here,
If you hit one on a bike,, hold one tight, dont try to steer away, just straight thru, I have hit coons, possums,owls,birds, an 8pt buck, and haven't crashed. Now put a cable gaurdrail up and that's a different story,,lol. Trust me,, that hurts!
 
I can't tell you when they arrived there. I live in far east Texas/Southern New Mexico
and I can tell you I only saw road killed Armadillos until I visited a wild life refuge
down on the Texas coast. I can't remember the name of the refuge, sorry.

I learned that the animals are very near sighted and love to eat roots and plants.
My wife and I were standing alongside a road through the refuge and one of them came
up to my wife. It was frantically grubbing for roots. It sniffed my wife's toes then
turned and continued his searching for food. It was the only live one I have ever
seen.

I think one reason so many of them are killed along the highways is that they have
such bad eyesight and can't see the vehicles approaching them.

I hope you never hit one!
 

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