Comments on: Armadillo Sunrise

By: Mnynames

Mnynames — Thu, 24 Aug 2006 01:44:24 +0000

Maer- You make a point, but the main difference here is that the range of Big Cats is actually decreasing, and yet people are seeing them in places they couldn’t possibly have expanded into naturally, like Britain or Cleveland. Now, an Armadillo in London, that’d be news.

By: Jeremy_Wells

Jeremy_Wells — Mon, 21 Aug 2006 22:13:52 +0000

Shumway,

I believe shovethenos is talking historically, not in a contemporary sense. Yes today they are protected after having been nearly wiped out.

Also I hear a lot about coyotes mating with wolves. Where is the evidence for this?

I have read a lot about “coydogs”, but these are often rendered effectively sterile, not because of a lack of viable sperm/ovum, but because of difference in the estrus cycles of the two canines.

Can anyone point me to this coywolf evidence?

By: Maer

Maer — Sun, 20 Aug 2006 18:46:09 +0000

If Armadillos are not Crypto-significant because they are merely expanding their boundaries, why are big-cats Crypto-significant? Aren’t they doing the same thing?

By: shumway10973

shumway10973 — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 15:43:54 +0000

shovethenos where do you live? In California mountain lions are protected better than humans, in fact if you were to shoot one, without proper rancher/shepherd permit to protect your herd, literally the mountain lion will have to attack and at least scratch you so when fish and game come to check things out you could say it was self-defense. as far as the note about coyotes, you all realize that in some areas the coyote mated with the last of the wolves, so that now we have larger coyotes that are willing to do whatever it takes to eat. I love armadillos. I lived in texas (dallas area) for 3 years. Not a day went by that I didn’t see one on the road. They can get to good sizes.

By: cor2879

cor2879 — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 13:00:58 +0000

“Coyotes have also been expanding their range. If I remember correctly, their range is even greater now than it was before the colonial period. I believe this is attributed to their ability to live in close proximity to man. The apex predators like bears, wolves, and mountain lions have been reduced, so the coyote has moved into their niches. I think I also heard something about some of them starting to grow bigger, also attributed to them moving into the niches vacated by the apex predators.

And this is cryptozoologically significant, as this accounts for some unknown canid or “wolf” sightings. And of course you have the “mangy coyote as chupacabras” flaps. ”

Funny thing about that is that wolves were basically eliminated in the continental US because people (wrongly) feared them to be dangerous… even though wild wolves rarely if ever attack people. The flipside is that now Coyotes are taking their place. And coyotes will attack people. That’s what you get for fooling with mother nature.

By: Mnynames

Mnynames — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 01:18:40 +0000

Coyotes have recently been causing a stink in Cape May, NJ, owing to their habit of making off with defenseless poodles about once every few weeks or so.

By: EastexQueenB

EastexQueenB — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 19:44:01 +0000

I’ve seen them get pretty large (if they don’t meet their maker on a highway), so if reports of armored dogs start coming in, I’ll know what they are! The oldtimer that I saw once had a broken tail that was forked…I don’t know if they can regenerate a broken tail, but it was really strange. It was at the tip, and kind of looked like what happens when the little green anoles don’t lose their tail completely when they break off. I would’ve given it 20 lbs. easily, and it looked like a little tank bulldozing it’s way through the woods. I imagine anyone coming across something like this animal not knowing what it was would be a little freaked out.

By: Fyre

Fyre — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 14:42:24 +0000

They aren’t aggressive! They have big claws, but that’s for digging up worms and insects. I’m not sure what local animals they might compete with, since in the South they live alongside creatures like opposums, raccoons, skunks, and the like.

Part of the reason they spook so easily is that they have poor eye-sight, and when you get too close without them hearing you they will jump like in the article. I love these little guys myself, although they will tear the heart right out of your flowerbeds and gardens. I wonder if they’ve made it to NC yet?

By: twblack

twblack — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 14:17:50 +0000

Well just another animal trying to survive by finding somewhere else to live. I do not know much about them are they agressive or docile. Are they a threat to any of the local wildlife in Illinois?

By: ndiandy

ndiandy — Sun, 13 Aug 2006 14:00:55 +0000

We have them moving north through Kansas also. My wife and I saw road kill armadillo right outside Topeka not long ago. (Along with a LARGE Black Cat not much further down the road—but that’s another issue).