#burrowing animals

Space for wombats is at a premium as farm and ranch lands increasingly encroach upon the their natural habitats. The damage to crop fields and pastures caused by wombats' burrowing can be a big nuisance. They've been hunted as vermin for this reason, as well as for their fur and simply for sport. They're easy targets because, like their cousins, the koala, they move so slowly. But they're amazingly cute, too, so please stop hunting them. ☮️Peace… Jamiese of Pixoplanet

Giant armadillos have extremely large, powerful front claws, meant for digging burrows and breaking into concrete-hard termite mounds.  In particular, their third foreclaw is long, thick, and sickle-shaped, and it is proportionately the longest and largest claw of any living mammal.

Tragically, in June of 2015 Alex was found dead in his burrow.  A necropsy showed that Alex likely died of wounds suffered in an attack by a puma.  However, his contribution to science and our knowledge of the giant armadillo has been invaluable and will lead to greater protection for the species in the future.

Giant armadillos are so elusive and shy that it is difficult to guess its numbers, though it is clear they are declining.  One reason for this is that, as such a large animal, it is often hunted by indigenous communities, sometimes as the village’s primary source of meat.  Some hunters also target it to collect its large front claws or shells for collectors.  Animals are sometimes caught alive for sale on the black market, but they almost invariably die in transport.  Interviews have shown that some native peoples also believe that seeing the giant armadillo brings bad luck, and the only way to prevent this is to kill the animal.

Unlike most armadillos, the giant armadillo is incapable of rolling into a ball to protect its soft belly.  Instead, it has refined the art of speed-digging.  When threatened, a giant armadillo will swiftly dig into the soil until only its tough, armoured back is left aboveground.  Despite its massive size, a giant armadillo can completely bury itself in under a minute.

Giant armadillos, predictably, dig giant burrows, which average 35 centimeters in diameter.  These massive burrows have proven of vital importance to other local species, serving as dens, hiding places, shelter from heat or rain, and feeding grounds.  Over two dozen other species have been found using the giant armadillo’s abandoned burrows, including rare animals like the short-eared dog.  Because it alters the local ecosystem in a way that benefits other species, the giant armadillo is considered an ecosystem engineer, and its existence is considered vital for the other animals in the area.

Caecilians are harmless to humans, but in their ecosystems they are ferocious predators.  Unusual for an amphibian, the caecilian possesses a mouthful of needle-like, often backward-curving teeth meant for seizing prey.  They also have a powerful bite; most animals have one set of muscles for closing the jaw.  Caecilians have two.  When prey, usually a worm, enters the caecilian’s tunnel, the amphibian latches on and then spins in a rapid, corkscrewing motion.  This action pulls the entire body of the prey into the tunnel, and may have the advantage of disorienting the hapless animal.  Most caecilians feed on worms and insects, but larger species may eat small snakes, frogs, and lizards.

Caecilians are supremely adapted for burrowing.  Their skulls are long, with a pointed snout, and in most species the bones are fused, making it the perfect tool for pushing through soil and mud.   In addition, the deep muscles of this amphibian’s hind end work like a piston, forcing the head forwards like a spear or harpoon.  This makes these animals surprisingly strong; a biologist at the University of Chicago set up an experiment to test a caecilian’s burrowing power, creating an artificial tunnel lined with force plates and blocked with a brick.  All of the researchers present were shocked when the two-foot-long caecilian promptly shoved the brick clean off the table and escaped!