Route 66 in the News
Armadillos in Illinois? Believe It!
2005-06-20 18:25:26
BELLEVILLE, Ill. -- The armadillo, a symbol of Texas, has been vacationing in Illinois.
According to the Illinois Natural History Survey, 76 armadillos have been sighted in 22 Illinois counties between 1999 and 2003. Most sightings occurred in southwestern Illinois.
Gail Simpson of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources said armadillos have been pushing their way northward, but so far haven't started breeding in the Midwest.
The leathery-skinned mammals are nocturnal and eat small reptiles, insects and carrion. Sometimes they end up as roadkill themselves, which is how Belleville resident Wayne Gross happened to come across one.
He found a dead armadillo on the side of state Highway 15 in southwestern Illinois. He put the carcass in the back of his truck and showed it to curious observers.
"I've never seen any here in Illinois,'' Gross said.
How do they get here? Simpson said they walk -- very, very slowly.
Copyright (c) 2005, The Associated Press
The above article was submitted to the University by alert underclassman Don Hatch (aka RoadDog).
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