I’m not sure what’s wrong with this Armadillo but it looks like it has a bad case of road rash. Anyone have a clue?
Does The Armadillo Have Leprosy?
Armadillos have very poor eyesight
This Armadillo seemed healthy and was getting around just fine. Here is a short video I made of this Armadillo:
Update Information Since Posting These Photos. Could This Armadillo be showing signs of leprosy?:
(Science Now) For years, scientists have speculated that armadillos can pass on leprosy to humans, and that they are behind the few dozen cases of the disease that occur in the U.S. every year. Now, they have evidence. A genetic study published in The New England Journal of Medicine shows that U.S. armadillos and human patients share what seems to be a unique strain of the bacterium that causes leprosy.
9 Comments
I suppose it might be leucistic?
Thanks Mia! I had to look leucism up: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leucism
If you look close in the photos, it seems as if some of the scales are missing and they appear raw.
A naturalist friend looked at the pics and rsminded me that armadillos are a reservoir for leprosy.
Thank you Nena! The info I’m getting now is that this maybe leprosy. I’m still doing research.
I’m no diller expert, but I think this critter just has a pigment problem and not leprosy.
Scientific American notes armadillos in the wild don’t usually show symptoms of leprosy. Medical Mondays describes “skin lesions that can look like circular burn marks, target lesions, thickened reddish patches” not just a blotchy appearance. National Geographic shows and armidillo with sections of unpigmented carapace similar to the one in your photos.
Anyway… That’s my uninformed speculation. Thanks for a great post, Steve.
Thank you Marvin for the great info!
first of all, nice to find your blog via way of Marvin. I agree with his opinion as he cites a good reference for skin lesions. Interesting phenomena, and thanks for sharing
Thank you Cindy and I’m glad you found me.
Interesting news about armadillos and leprosy. We are teaching Sunday school this month and the story is about the 10 men who had leprosy and asked Jesus to heal them and only one returned to give Him thanks. (Luke 17:11-19). (Are there armadillos in Israel?) :0) I thought the armadillo just had some skin disorder like some people get when they lose the melanon in their skin. Oh well. Thanks for the information.