This adorable armadillo was rescued from illegal trafficking and now lives at a Wildlife Refuge.
She doesn't interact much with people, but she is very curious and wanted to smell all the other animals the caretaker had been working with!
The illegal wildlife trade is the third most valuable illicit commerce in the world, losing only to drugs and weapons.
That, along with loss of habitat by deforestation, fires, etc., results in an enormous amount of animals in need of rescuing.
Only 1 in 10 animals survive trafficking!
Do not support the pet trade!
Animals should be free!
The Six-banded Armadillo (Euphractus sexcinctus), also known as Yellow Armadillo, is the only member of the genus Euphractus, but there are five recognized subspecies: the Euphractus sexcintus boliviae, which occurs in Bolivia and northwestern Argentina; the Euphractus sexcinctus flavimanus, from Mato Grosso, Brazil, through eastern Paraguay, Uruguay and northeastern Argentina; the Euphractus sexcinctus setosus, in extreme southeastern Brazil; the Euphractus sexcinctus sexcinctus, from southern Suriname through the northern Brazilian states of Pará and Amapá; and the Euphractus sexcinctus tucumanus, in Catamarca and Tucumán Provinces of Argentina.
The Six-banded Armadillo is omnivorous, and its diet includes carrion, small vertebrates, insects, and plant matter, such as fruit, tubers and palm nuts.
It inhabits several biomes, including the Amazon, Caatinga, Cerrado, Pantanal, Chaco and the Atlantic Forest, being found in open areas, savannas, shrubland and dry, semi-deciduous forest, as well secondary forests, and primary Amazonian forest, and it can also adapt well to habitat modifications, and it can be observed in plantations, sugar cane plantations, pasturelands, and areas with subsistence agriculture.
The Yellow Armadillo is primarily solitary, except for breeding and the case of mother and young, and will congregate only to feed on carrion.
They are territorial and live in self-dug burrows, which have a single, inverted, u-shaped entrance.
Territories are marked with the use of scent glands, which are located at the base of the tail.
Breeding occurs throughout the year, and the female usually gives birth to a litter of one to three babies.