Habitat: Found in many habitats from rainforest to grassland.
Geographical spread: S America; east of the Andes from N Venezuela and Colombia south to N Argentina, Paraguay and S Amazon Basin of Brazil.
Status: Considered vulnerable by the IUCN, US-ESA endangered, USDI endangered and CITES Appendix 1.
Size: Head and body length 750-1,000mm, tail length 500-550mm.
Weight: About 30kg, although an overfed zoo specimen reached 60kg.
Average life expectancy: 12-15 years in the wild, about 19 years in captivity.
Normal diet: Insectivorous, feeding mainly on ants and termites which it obtains by digging into their nests. They also eat other insects, spiders, worms, larvae, snakes and carrion.
Normal lifestyle: Solitary, nocturnal and terrestrial. At night they move 2,765m (Carter 1985). They live in burrows which they excavate in flat termite mounds. Both sexes have their own home ranges, on average 452.5ha and deposit droppings and u rine on prominent objects or along paths to indicate their presence. Territorial disputes are occasionally resolved by kicking, chasing and fighting. Females give birth to 1 or 2 young which have tough, leathery skin. They are weaned at 4-6 weeks and rea ch sexual maturity at 9-12 months.
Previous geographical spread: Has disappeared from much of its former range in Brazil, Peru and elsewhere. Basically from areas where there is human settlement and from savannas where they are unable to hide.
Reasons for decline: Populations of Giant armadillo have been exterminated or reduced by overhunting, settlement and agricultural development. It is valued for use as food and is hunted wherever it is encountered by people.
File last modified Thursday, October 3, 1996