{"id":138463,"date":"2025-01-06T02:41:40","date_gmt":"2025-01-06T08:41:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=138463"},"modified":"2025-12-20T19:39:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T01:39:18","slug":"nine-banded-armadillo-excitement-at-osage-hills-state-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2025\/01\/06\/nine-banded-armadillo-excitement-at-osage-hills-state-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexican Long-nosed Armadillo Excitement At Osage Hills State Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was thrilled to see and photograph a Mexican Long-nosed Armadillo last week at Osage Hills State Park<\/span><\/a> in Oklahoma. The last time I photographed one was in Florida. That would have been in 2009.<\/p>\n

\"Nine-bandedMexican Long-nosed Armadillo close up at Osage Hills State Park \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/1600, ISO 1600, +0.7 EV, Canon 100-400mm at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Until now, I hadn\u2019t shared any Mexican Long-nosed Armadillo photos or created a photo gallery for these strange-looking mammals. Now I do. I\u2019ll round up some of the photos I took of them in Florida when or if I find some spare time.<\/p>\n

Mexican Long-nosed Armadillos have distinctive armor-like shells, consisting of bony plates covered in leathery skin. They have 9 visible bands (though this can vary from 8 to 11), a long snout, small eyes, large pointed ears, and short legs with strong claws.<\/p>\n

These armadillos can do a lot of damage in yards and gardens when they dig for small invertebrates. They also eat some fruits, small reptiles, amphibians, and the eggs of ground nesting birds.<\/p>\n

Mexican Long-nosed Armadillos are often called \u201carmored possums\u201d or \u201cTexas speedbumps\u201d due to their appearance and tendency to be hit by cars.<\/p>\n

\"AdultAdult Mexican Long-nosed Armadillo walking at Osage Hills State Park \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/2500, ISO 1600, +0.3 EV, Canon 100-400mm at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

The habitat at Osage Hills State Park must be great for Mexican Long-nosed Armadillos because we saw them quite frequently or we saw where they had been digging.<\/p>\n

Seeing my first armadillo at the park was exciting, I could barely speak. I hopped out of the pickup and walked over to photograph the armadillo as quickly as I could. I\u2019d been waiting months to have a live one in my viewfinder.<\/p>\n

My friend and wonderful wildlife photographer Steve Creek shared some images and information about these fascinating creatures and the park on his site: Starting the New Year at Osage Hills State Park<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

I can barely wait to see and photograph more Mexican Long-nosed Armadillos!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Mexican Long-nosed Armadillo photos plus facts and information about this species. I’ll be adding more images to the gallery as I find more armadillos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was thrilled to see and photograph a Mexican Long-nosed Armadillo last week at Osage Hills State Park in Oklahoma. The last time I photographed one was in Florida.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":138451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[16102,13973,16112],"tags":[4004,16117,16118,4142,16114,6259,1632,16113,16115,4046,16116,4236,373],"class_list":["post-138463","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mexican-long-nosed-armadillos","category-oklahoma","category-osage-hills-state-park","tag-adult","tag-armadillo","tag-armadillos","tag-close-up","tag-dasypus-novemcinctus","tag-forest-edge","tag-mammals","tag-nine-banded-armadillo","tag-mixed-deciduous-forest","tag-portrait","tag-upland-woods","tag-walking","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t