Armadillo Hunting?

[barnetmill]

Their shell is kind of slippery.
Maybe a coyote can't get a good grip on it.
If they can flip one over, they've got some pretty strong landing gear to kick and tear with too.

The first my pup killed he got a pretty good tear type wound over the face that got infected. The same kinds of wounds from killing a cat and raccoon. Since then, no visible injuries from killing any critter. Some appear to have their necks broken and he often kills armadillos while they are trying to bury themselves and find them mostly buried and dead. He has become an efficient executioner of four legged intruders.

[gwpercle]

This is not hunting, but more a futile attempt at extermination. I am still amazed that the expanded coyote population can not keep them in check.

Like !
Extermination ... Yeah that's the term I was missing ...

Concerning Armadillo's ... Does anyone know how to tell the males (Bucks) from the females (Does) , I mean just by looking at them ...?

About two weeks ago a coyote was photographed on the street I live on ...
I haven't seen any Armadillo's in the area ...so maybe the coyote is doing his job in this old Baton Rouge subdivision . The wildlife around here is amazing ... Hawks , Cedar Waxwings , Mississippi Kites even a family of foxes lives around here . The Raccoons and Possums are just big nuisance's ...


Gary

[barnetmill]

Like !
Extermination ... Yeah that's the term I was missing ...

Concerning Armadillo's ... Does anyone know how to tell the males (Bucks) from the females (Does) , I mean just by looking at them ...?

About two weeks ago a coyote was photographed on the street I live on ...
I haven't seen any Armadillo's in the area ...so maybe the coyote is doing his job in this old Baton Rouge subdivision . The wildlife around here is amazing ... Hawks , Cedar Waxwings , Mississippi Kites even a family of foxes lives around here . The Raccoons and Possums are just big nuisance's ...


Gary

In some places coyotes are getting bigger due to genes from wolves and domestic dogs and also evolution. Maybe your coyotes are bigger and better able to crush an armadillo.

[steve urquell]

I have an abundant supply of coyotes. They must not be an effective predator of armadillos. I have killed 25+ armadillos on my property. The shells end up being inedible and stay on the ground for at least 2 years here. The ones I have killed end up being eaten by buzzards, dogs and coyotes with the shells nearby.

I have never seen an armadillo shell of one that I have not killed and I roam my 24 acres weekly.

[Charlie Horse]

They are a nuisance for sure. My ‘dillo eraser is a T/C carbine chambered for shorts. I use BB caps and they are 100% effective. The neighbors don’t have a clue.

I wish I could find a TC barrel chambered for shorts. What length is yours? Would a 14" be quiet, do you think?

[barnetmill]

Quote Originally Posted by gwpercle View Post

Like !
Extermination ... Yeah that's the term I was missing ...

Concerning Armadillo's ... Does anyone know how to tell the males (Bucks) from the females (Does) , I mean just by looking at them ...?

About two weeks ago a coyote was photographed on the street I live on ...
I haven't seen any Armadillo's in the area ...so maybe the coyote is doing his job in this old Baton Rouge subdivision . The wildlife around here is amazing ... Hawks , Cedar Waxwings , Mississippi Kites even a family of foxes lives around here . The Raccoons and Possums are just big nuisance's ...


Gary

In some places coyotes are getting bigger due to genes from wolves and domestic dogs and also evolution. Maybe your coyotes are bigger and better able to crush an armadillo.

Been doing some more thinking. The armadillos started spreading to the Southeastern USA about the time that the red wolf and the Mexican wolf was being decimated. They are bigger than normal southwestern coyotes and likely they have big enough jaws to kill armadillos. The Mexican wolf has been reintroduced into some locales, but that is in the southwest mainly. Will not do the rest of the southern USA and points north a lot of help at the moment. At one time those areas also had jaguars that surely are capable of killing armadillos. Cougars and black bears I am sure can do it also. Maybe bears and big cats just do not care much for them.

[steve urquell]

[dallasfinch5@gmail.com]

Here out side of Sullivan, MO I use .22 LR CCI Segmented rounds. Very effective on armadillos!

[barnetmill]

Here out side of Sullivan, MO I use .22 LR CCI Segmented rounds. Very effective on armadillos!

That is very far north for an armadillo. Winters can get below 0F that far north. I did some quick searching and they are blaming climate change for armadillos going far north. A 1 or 2 degree increase in temperature allowing them withstand subzero temps. I wonder. They use burrows and do enter a torpor that is said not to be hibernation.

[barnetmill]

I have an abundant supply of coyotes. They must not be an effective predator of armadillos. I have killed 25+ armadillos on my property. The shells end up being inedible and stay on the ground for at least 2 years here. The ones I have killed end up being eaten by buzzards, dogs and coyotes with the shells nearby.

I have never seen an armadillo shell of one that I have not killed and I roam my 24 acres weekly.

My dogs will snack on armadillo shells if I let them.

[steve urquell]

That is very far north for an armadillo. Winters can get below 0F that far north. I did some quick searching and they are blaming climate change for armadillos going far north. A 1 or 2 degree increase in temperature allowing them withstand subzero temps. I wonder. They use burrows and do enter a torpor that is said not to be hibernation.

They are getting huge in NW Arkansas and I have seen them foraging in sub-freezing weather here over the last few years. I think they are packing on body fat to combat the cold. This is a relatively new development here. I don't think the current info on what they do or where they have migrated to is accurate/up to date.

[barnetmill]

They are getting huge in NW Arkansas and I have seen them foraging in sub-freezing weather here over the last few years. I think they are packing on body fat to combat the cold. This is a relatively new development here. I don't think the current info on what they do or where they have migrated to is accurate/up to date.

That is what I was wondering if they are doing things that the 'experts' are not predicting.

[steve urquell]

That is what I was wondering if they are doing things that the 'experts' are not predicting.

They definitely are. I have seen one develop a heightened sense of awareness. It could tell I was coming from 50yds away and would take off running at dog speed. First time I saw it happen I walked away thinking maybe it wasn't a dillo.

He eluded me for a year until one night I was walking along the top of a holler, heard leaves rustling down below, stopped dead still and waited until it walked up.

[barnetmill]

They definitely are. I have seen one develop a heightened sense of awareness. It could tell I was coming from 50yds away and would take off running at dog speed. First time I saw it happen I walked away thinking maybe it wasn't a dillo.

He eluded me for a year until one night I was walking along the top of a holler, heard leaves rustling down below, stopped dead still and waited until it walked up.

I bet that dillos can sense ground vibrations very well and now know what people sound like when they are walking.

[steve urquell]

I bet that dillos can sense ground vibrations very well and now know what people sound like when they are walking.

That was my thought as well. Luckily this was the only one of 25 or more I've killed that has done this. Makes me wonder if it was one I had shot at and hit poorly that got away.

[alfadan]

Ground has been so dry the grubs must be way down cause they are digging HUGE deep holes.

[barnetmill]

They are getting huge in NW Arkansas and I have seen them foraging in sub-freezing weather here over the last few years. I think they are packing on body fat to combat the cold. This is a relatively new development here. I don't think the current info on what they do or where they have migrated to is accurate/up to date.

What I am worried about are the pythons and their cold tolerance. So far they are way in the south of Florida. And I hope it stays that way.