Jumping Armadillos!

[jeffghs]

I had a new experience the other night. My dogs started barking at 1:30 in the morning, so I got up to see what it was all about. I went outside with a flashlight and a stick and found an armadillo on my patio behind the dog's water bowl. I took the stick and prodded the armadillo with it and to my surprise it jumped about 4 ft in the air, then landed in the dog's water, jumped again and took off running. Anyway, I was able to corral the armadillo out of the yard without the dogs getting ahold of it.

It really surprised me to see an armadillo jump like that, I never knew that was in them.

[GaryM]

I've been told that's why they get killed so much on the hiway. They don't get run over so much as they jump to grill height just as you get there! If they just held still the car would pass over without touching a hair.

Maybe one of our Texas members can confirm?

[wiltat2]

I know 2 things about armadillos.

1. they are tasty if properly prepaired.
2. If you grab one by the tail and lift it off the ground they will start kicking and spinning.

I'll never forget an incident with an armadillo when I was a kid. Our family was at a friends place on the river visiting. Durring the evening an armadillo wandered up and my mom grabbed it by the tail to catch it. It went to spinning and mom was passing it from one hand to the other, because the scales on its tail where digging into her hands, and hollering at my dad to " get over here and get this **** thing" That was an amusing site I'll never forget. Mom wasn't about to let that critter get away. [img]/forums/images/icons/smirk.gif[/img] It was tasty. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[Bird]

Yep, I've seen them jump pretty high when startled. And in the 8 years we lived way out in the boondocks 60 mile south of Dallas, I rarely saw an armadillo, and now that we're back in town, the darned things are tearing up the lawn here at night. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]

[gsganzer]

In Texas, we call 'em "speed bumps".