Armadillos in Illinois

By Margaret Lyons in News on May 7, 2008 6:49PM

Armadillos are the latest surprising species to be making its way through Illinois. A New Athens man spotted one in the woods of St. Clair County in March (and took photos), and according to Dr. Joyce Hoffman of the Illinois Natural History Survey, 130 'dillos have been spotted in the Land of Lincoln since 1999.

"The thing we don't exactly know is how they are getting here," Hofmann said. "They can swim, but the Mississippi is a pretty big river to cross."

Hofmann has several theories. One is they are being brought into the state as a prank. Another is people want to keep them as a pet, change their mind and let them go.

"There's so many now, it's hard to believe they are all prank armadillos," she said. "They walk along highways, so maybe they walk along bridges across the river. Maybe they swim to one island and after a while, swim to another."

Oh, those pesky prankadillos.

Did you know a typical armadillo litter is identical quadruplets? [AP, Humane Society, photo by Rich Anderson]