Armadillos are often considered pests and are especially unpopular among farmers as they cause a lot of damage to gardens and lawns by digging holes. Of course, these poor creatures were only in search of food, but many find their digging habits to be bothersome. Technically speaking, if it weren’t for the holes these creatures dig they would actually be quite beneficial to your farm since they eat many of the bugs that can destroy one’s garden plants.
An armadillos diet can differ from species to species. Armadillos are omnivores meaning they eat a meat and plant based diet. This diet consists mostly of insects like worms and ants. However ants are their favorite and are often easy for the creature to catch as they mostly dig in soft grounds near rivers or trees in search of the bugs. Something that may come as quite a shock is that armadillos also eat dangerous insects like scorpions and venomous spiders. Other times they might be found resorting to eating berries and roots, however this is more common in times of food scarcity, since 90% of their diet consists of insects and larvae.
Being very good diggers and having claws that are very efficient when searching for food in the ground, these creatures make hunting insects look like a piece of cake. Some armadillos prefer to build their burrows near streams so that they have easier access to their food, while other species just live mainly off of ants and do nothing else. One thing is for sure though, when it comes to all species of armadillos they absolutely adore eating and can be found spending most of their time either eating or searching for food to eat. Surprisingly enough, these animals have poorly developed eyesight, but what they lack in seeing they make up for in their digging skills and strong sense of smell. In fact, they are able to smell their prey from a certain distance (20 cm underground) and can often be seen stopping abruptly and digging aggressively to get to their prey. Armadillos technically hunt purely on their sense of smell. These creatures can also sometimes be found occasionally searching in narrow burrows and dens for a tasty meal.
Another thing that makes armadillos excellent hunters is their special ability to hold their breath for approximately six minutes. This can be very useful when digging up ants and other insects since they do not breathe in the dirt. Another thing that makes insect eating a lot faster and easier for the armadillo are their long, sticky tongues.
Armadillos are unable to survive in a place where the ground is too hard as it renders them unable to dig and eat. If an armadillo is unable to dig to search for food it will eventually starve to death. It is for this reason that these creatures are most often found in sunny warm areas where the ground is soft enough to find food.
Leave a Reply