Don't Mess With Texas Wildlife

Armadillos are common throughout much of the American Southwest. Aside from the fact that they are the only known mammal other than humans who can carry and transmit leprosy, they are harmless. If you live in Texas, you mostly know armadillos as road kill. Don't know why anyone would want to shoot one, but a Texas man recently took three shots at one, and one of the rounds bounced off the armadillo's armor, and hit him in the jaw. The wound was severe enough that he was airlifted to a local hospital. Full story here.

I shouldn't laugh at this but I did.

Yeah, why would anybody want to shoot at an armadillo anyway unless they are just gun-happy and shooting at anything that moves. Probably serves him right.

On a side note, most armadillos that you find as road kill aren't actually hit by cars or trucks. Usually, while they are being passed over, they freak out and jump up into the air where they hit their head on the undercarriage of the vehicle. That is usually what kills them.

When I lived out in the country, I saw a mother armadillo walking slowly across the county road with 3 little babies following her just like ducks do. It was a pretty sight. Would hate for some numbskull to shoot them!

Back in '70, when I was a freshman at UT Austin, there was an armadillo burrow under the Student Union Center. There was some grad student as I recall doing a population study. He would pile vanilla wafers on the sidewalk outside the burrow, and then hit the concrete with a hammer until an armadillo came up to check out the noise. While the 'dillo ate the vanilla wafers, the student would paint a number on the 'dillo's back, and make a record in his journal. Previously tagged 'dillos just got a journal entry and the vanilla wafers.

The armadillo's startle reflex accounts for a lot of 'dillo deaths, but I just can't imagine why someone would shoot one of these harmless and amusing little guys.

So I guess this isn't the best thread to bring up the time I shot one out at the hunting ranch?

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Originally Posted by Cleetus

So I guess this isn't the best thread to bring up the time I shot one out at the hunting ranch?

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Hell, I'm curious. Fire away, Bubba:)

Drunk, group of us, my father had already told me to shoot 'em, buddy whose ranch it was told us to shoot 'em(they will f' up an open field), been listening to them for years at my stand(they are even louder than squirrels in making you think a deer is around as they dig non stop). We were dropping off a carcass for the buzzards and coyotes, buddy was pissing and one started up maybe 20 feet from him. Took it out with my .44 watching my buddy jump up in the air mid stream.

Think it messed up my luck out there as I have yet to have a mature deer come anywhere near my stand since then

OK, that's really funny, and I get why you shot the 'dillo. They can sure tear up land.