Screaming Hairy Armadillo

The screaming hairy armadillo is a burrowing armadillo of arid areas in central and southern South America, found in parts of the Gran Chaco and Pampas of Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. Its name comes from the squealing it makes when handled. It has more hair than other armadillos, a light brown back and 18 bands, six to eight of them movable. It is omnivorous, eating insects, vertebrates such as lizards, birds and frogs, and plant material, especially Prosopis pods. It is nocturnal in summer and diurnal in winter, digs burrows at the base of bushes and can go long periods without water.

About the screaming hairy armadillo

The screaming hairy armadillo is a small, shaggy, burrowing armadillo from the dry lands of central and southern South America. It belongs to the genus Chaetophractus, the hairy armadillos, and gets its name from the loud squeal it gives when picked up or handled. It lives in Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay.

Chaetophractus vellerosus was first described in 1865 from a specimen collected near Santa Cruz de la Sierra in eastern Bolivia. Two subspecies are recognized, though scientists have questioned whether the split holds up. The animal also goes by several other names, including the small screaming armadillo, the crying armadillo and the small hairy armadillo.

It is one of the smallest and slenderest members of its genus, but it has longer ears than its relatives. Males measure 32.8 to 40 cm (12.9–15.7 in) long and weigh 543 to 1,329 g (1.2–2.9 lb), averaging about 860 g (1.9 lb). Females range from 26.5 to 41.9 cm (10.4–16.5 in) and 257 to 1,126 g (0.6–2.5 lb), averaging about 814 g (1.8 lb). Males are generally the larger sex.

Like every armadillo, this one carries bony armor. A shield covers the head, a small extra shield sits between the ears on the back of the neck, and a carapace protects the shoulders, back, sides and rump. The carapace has 18 bands in total, and six to eight of them are movable, which lets the animal flex its body.

What sets it apart from most armadillos is the hair. Long, bristly hairs grow out between the scales of the armor, giving the animal a scruffy look. The back is light brown, and the limbs and belly are covered with whitish or light brown hair. It has five toes on each foot. Both sexes get heavier in winter as they build up a fat layer under the skin.

Behavior and diet

The screaming hairy armadillo shifts its daily schedule with the seasons. In summer it is nocturnal, staying underground through the heat of the day and coming out at night. In winter it switches to being diurnal, active in daylight when temperatures are milder. It lives alone and wanders away from its burrow to feed.

Burrows are central to its life. Each animal uses several burrows within its home range, often dug at the base of bushes and shrubs, and a single burrow can have more than one entrance. Burrows measure 20 to 38 cm (7.9–15 in) across and can run several meters long. The depth insulates the animal against extreme heat. When an armadillo is inside, it usually seals the entrance behind it. It does not build a nest. A home range covers at least 3.4 hectares (8.4 acres).

Its relatives in the armadillo family include the nine-banded armadillo and the six-banded armadillo, but the screaming hairy armadillo carries more hair than most armadillos and is one of the smallest of the hairy armadillos.

Outside the burrow, most of its time goes to foraging. It is an omnivore, and what it eats changes a lot with the season. Insects are a staple, with beetles as the main insect prey. Plant material matters too, especially the pods of Prosopis trees. Vertebrates make up a surprising share of the diet: about 27.7% by volume in summer and 13.9% in winter. Lizards, birds, frogs and small mice are the most common vertebrate prey.

Feeding in sandy ground has a side effect. The armadillo swallows a great deal of sand, and sand can fill as much as half the volume of its stomach at once. Before winter, it puts on up to 10% more body weight, building a fat layer 1 to 2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) thick under the skin.

This armadillo is well adapted to dry country. It can go long periods without drinking water, partly because its kidneys produce highly concentrated urine that helps it hold on to water.

Breeding takes place in autumn. Gestation lasts 60 to 75 days, and females can produce two litters a year. A litter usually has two young, often one male and one female. Newborns weigh about 155 g (5.5 oz), open their eyes at 16 to 30 days, are weaned at 50 to 60 days, and are sexually mature at about 9 months. In captivity, the species has lived about 16 years.

Range and habitat

The screaming hairy armadillo lives in parts of the Gran Chaco and Pampas regions of Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay. A separate, isolated population lives along the coast of eastern Buenos Aires Province in Argentina.

It is an animal of arid country, found from low to high elevations. Typical habitats include dry tropical and subtropical forest, temperate and dry shrubland, temperate grassland, dry lowland grassland, hot and temperate deserts, and sand dunes. It also uses farmland, pasture and plantations. The one thing it needs is ground it can dig, so it is absent from rocky areas.

Rainfall across most of its range is low, averaging 200 to 600 mm (7.9–23.6 in) a year. The coastal Buenos Aires population is the exception, living in an area that gets about 1,000 mm (39 in) of rain a year.

Conservation status

The screaming hairy armadillo is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, in a 2017 assessment by the IUCN's anteater, sloth and armadillo specialist group.

It still faces local pressures. In parts of the Bolivian Chaco it is heavily hunted for meat. Farmers sometimes treat it as a pest, because it can burrow extensively in loose farm soil and damage crops, and it is killed with hunting dogs. The isolated coastal population in Buenos Aires Province is harmed by mining. Its shell is also prized for making the charango, a small South American string instrument similar to a lute.