Alert!

Armadillos warn each other of danger by calling loudly. They have different alarm sounds for danger in the air, in the trees or on the ground. In zoos, armadillos and red varieties can understand each other. They respond to the other's alarm calls and join in in their own "language." This is quite remarkable because in the wild they never encounter each other.

Dangerous cradle

The gordelvari's young are born in a nest. This is unusual because most young prosimians hold tightly to their mother after birth. Such a nest sits 10 to 20 meters above the ground in a tree. For the first three weeks of their lives, the young stay in the nest. If they need to be moved, the mother takes them in her mouth. Those first weeks are quite dangerous for young armadillos. Many young die from falling out of the tree.

Stinkers

Armadillos make all kinds of different sounds. But they can also tell each other things with smell. Males have scent glands under their chin and on their chest. In females, the scent is under their tails. They rub these
scent glands over branches and tree trunks. This is how they let other armadillos know this is their territory.

From flower to flower

In the wild, armadillos sometimes eat nectar. This is a sweet liquid found mostly in flowers. When a gordelvari eats nectar, pollen often sticks to its face. It then takes that back to the next flower. Thus, the gordelvari helps to pollinate plants.