Why Do Nine-banded Armadillos Jump?

The nine-banded armadillo is the only species of armadillo that has the ability to leap straight up into the air approximately three to four feet in height when it is startled, and some sources suggest it can leap as high as five feet.

They are very common from South and Central America through Mexico and into the southern United States. Armadillos Jump when surprised or scared by a predator, they launch themselves straight up. Predators like coyotes and bobcats usually strike horizontally, so jumping helps the armadillo avoid the attack while surprising the attacker. This reflex often causes problems on roads, as a startled armadillo may jump straight into the undercarriage of a passing car.

Armadillos have long been a source of food for humans. The nine-banded was nicknamed “poor man’s pork” and “Hoover hog” by people who blamed President Hoover for the Great Depression.

The Latin name for the nine-banded armadillo is Dasypus novemcinctus. The word Dasypus is derived from the Latin word for rabbit. Novem means nine and cinctus means band. Literally, it translates to “nine-banded rabbit.” It is said that armadillos without their shells resemble rabbits.

The nine-banded armadillo always gives birth to same gender quadruplets from a single egg.

Armadillos can cross bodies of water in two ways: they can inflate their stomachs and intestines with air and float across the water, or they can sink down and use their sharp claws to walk across the bottom. They can hold their breath for six minutes or more!

A common misconception is that nine-banded armadillos can roll up into spherical balls. In reality, only two species of armadillo (both three-banded) are able to roll up completely. Nine-banded armadillos are about 2.5 feet (0.7 meters) long from the nose to the tip of the tail and weigh an average of 12 pounds (5 kilograms).

Content for this question contributed by Steven Firestine, resident of Venetia, Washington County, Pennsylvania, USA