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A six-banded armadillo mother moves her baby in her mouth. Photo courtesy of Embiara Lodge. Click to enlarge.
A rare image of a female six-banded armadillo (Euphractus sexcinctus) moving her image was captured by the Embiara Lodge in Brazil’s Pantanal.
“First, it looked as if she was carrying a round fruit in her mouth (as we often see these animals eating fruits), but then we spotted a small tail sticking out of this little fruit-like ball. We realized that this was the armadillo’s young in her mouth, and it almost felt like she was presenting it to us,” the lodge wrote on its blog.
Six-banded armadillos are found throughout South America. While the species is found in rainforest, it prefers savannah such as the Pantanal. The six-banded armadillo is the only member of the Euphractus genus. While a number of armadillos are considered endangered, the six-banded armadillo is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List. There are 20 species of armadillo, most of which are found in Central and South America, though one species is present in the U.S.