You are here:
Wild Animals/armadillos
Advertisement
Question
HI there,
In Toronto, Canada, I spotted a strange animal late at night in a downtown
neighbourhood. While I couldn't see it extremely clearly in the street-light, it
honestly looked like a rabbit-sized armadillo! It had a pear-shape, and a
pointed snout, and a straight and shortish tail. It seemed to be a greyish
colour, possibly with some brindle or orange patches. Didn't look "furry". It
was definitley NOT a racoon, fox, rat, bunny, squirrel, or a groundhog. Do
you have any idea what this animal may have been? I could swear it was an
armadillo, and yet I have NEVER heard of any armadillos (noctural or
otherwise) in Toronto -- I have lived here my whole life, and I thought I knew
the wildlife in and around this city very well!!!
Thanks for any help with this one.....
Carolynne
Dear Carolynne
Thank you for your question. I also wish to thank the authors of the websites I used.
Your animal seems very similar to that seen by Daniel (http://en.allexperts.com/q/Wildlife-2507/Strange-nocturnal-raccoon-sized-1.htm). Daniel discounted the following animals, not all of which live in Canada: coati (the animal he saw was nocturnal), kinkajou, raccoon, anteater, aardvark, rodent David Stringer tried to answer the question, but, like me, the animal doesn't bear a strong resemblance to a native Canadian mammal. David suggested that the animal could be a mink, pine marten, fisher or red fox.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mammals_of_Canada is a list of mammals from Canada. There are two animals that could be the animal you saw. These are the American badger and the Virginian opossum. Both have pointed snouts. The opossum would be near the northern limit of its range and northern opossums can lose parts of their ears and tail due to frostbite, thus making them appear strange.
An alternative view is that you saw a nine-banded armadillo. This is a primitive mammals that is spreading its range north. It is very adaptable and could spread to Canada (see https://www.msu.edu/~nixonjos/armadillo/expansion.html). If you have any photographic evidence, I'm sure that the local wildlife service would be interested if there is a new species and order of mammal living in Canada.
While I like the idea of an aardvark or anteater in Canada, I don't think this is very likely.
All the best
Jonathan
Related Articles
Answers by Expert:
Jonathan Wright
Expertise
I can answer questions about wild mammals and other animals, as well as extinct animals and zoos. I am not an expert about every animal species. I can look up information from books and the internet, but can't verify if all the information is true. Please don't ask questions about: 1. Pets. I am not a vet. Please contact a vet if your pet is ill. You may need to spend some money if you want your pet to live. Don't get a pet if you don't know how to look after it and if you can't provide it with the space, food and possible companions that will help it live a healthy life. Don't take animals from the wild, unless they are ill and/or injured and you can protect them until a wildlife charity can help. It is cruel to take animals from their parents, especially if the parents will look for the babies, while putting their other babies at risk. You may be breaking the law by keeping wild animals or you may need a licence to look after some species. Please check with a local wildlife group. 2. Eggs: Please don't remove eggs from nests. The mother birds provide the right temperature for the eggs and won't sit on them if the temperature is warm enough for them to develop naturally. It is illegal to remove eggs of some species and, unless you have an incubator or a broody hen, the egg may not develop. If you are allowed to touch the eggs, you can candle them to see if they are fertile. If theys aren't fertile, they won't hatch. 3. Fights: Please don't ask about fights between different animals. These questions assume that individuals of two species fight each time they meet and that one species will always be victorious over another. This is untrue. There are cases where a live mouse has been fed to a venomous snake, bitten the snake leading to the snake's demise. 4: Diseases: Please ask doctors or other medical experts about diseases that you may catch from animals. I can't advise on how to deal with viruses, bacteria etc.
Experience
I have a zoology degree and have been interested in animals since I was two. I am a zoo volunteer at London Zoo. I have appeared on a BBC Radio Quiz, 'Wildbrain'.
Organizations
WWF. ZSL. Natural History Museum. RSPB. London Bat Group.
Publications
Newsletters of London Zoo volunteers and the London Bat Group
Education/Credentials
BSC degree in Zoology. 'A' level in Zoology. 'O' Level in Biology.
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.