We knew that armadillos are on the march. We see carcasses on I-64 starting at about Okawville, and from Okawville to Nashville, IL it's normal to see several on a trip. Last year we saw one in Carmi at the Little Wabash bridge. This piece of armadillo hide is from a roadkill that was at the Little Wabash bridge in Edwards County, between Mt. Erie and West Salem. Since then I have learned of one that was killed in Wayne City, and also of numerous roadkills on I-57, almost to Effingham.
Supposedly these critters couldn't make it in Illinois because of the cold winters, but they appear to be well established. They mostly eat insects, but they grub around on the ground and I think they will have an impact on quail and turkey populations. We already have an overabundance of coons, possums and skunks that feed on eggs and young birds, so we sure did not need armadillos.
Ahh yes, possums on the half shell! Be careful about handling the remains, its been reported that some of them carry nasty diseases.
ReplyDeleteMerle