Armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) are really pretty interesting animals. They may not be the cutest ones in the world, but they are incredibly well adapted for the lifestyle that they live. They have relatively short legs with long nails on the front feet that allow them to dig in almost any kind of soil. Unfortunately, that’s not a good combination for running quickly to get away from danger. Even though they aren’t very fast (although they can be faster than you would think), they compensate for that by having most of their bodies covered in scaly armour. They have very small eyes, and not very good eyesight, but again they compensate by having great noses. They can smell an insect, even when it’s buried deep in the ground. They also use their sense of smell to tell them where they are and to alert them to possible danger. It’s not too uncommon to see them sit up and sniff the air like this one is doing. Due to their poor eyesight, if you’re quiet, it’s not too hard to get fairly close to them, but it is important to stay downwind of them so that they can’t smell you. It’s also important not to startle them. If you do, they will usually jump straight up in the air before running off as quickly as possible. They can also make you jump if you’re not prepared, they can knock things out of your hands, and can even scratch you. Besides, it’s very important to try not to disturb the animal that you are photographing. We are intruding into their world, and we should respect them by making that intrusion as minimal as possible.