A BIG FIND It was nighttime in the Pantanal pan-TEH-nal a huge wetland in South America Bugs chirped loudly under the glowing stars Field biologist Arnaud Desbiez crouched next to a video screen watching and waiting He was hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the rarest animals in the world the giant armadillo LOOK CLOSER The Pantanal is the biggest freshwater wetland in the world It covers 80,000 square miles 207,199 square kilometers including parts of Brazil Paraguay and Bolivia It’s about the same size as the state of Kansas 4
After 10 years of living and working in the Pantanal Arnaud had yet to spot one It was a species I really wanted to see he says Suddenly Arnaud saw movement on the screen which was connected to a special camera set up near a giant armadillo’s burrow Then as if out of a dream Arnaud saw the huge armored animal It had claws the size of kitchen knives Seeing the creature Arnaud says was amazing This picture of a giant armadillo was taken at night with Arnaud’s special camera Field biologist Arnaud Desbiez tracking giant armadillos 5
rarely seen Arnaud was astonished by the animal’s size Giant armadillos can grow up to 5 feet 1 5 meters long and weigh over 100 pounds 45 kilograms But their large size has not made them easy to study The giant armadillo is rarely seen and poorly understood says Arnaud Why Giant armadillos mostly live alone and are nocturnal And they spend three-quarters of their lives underground in burrows In the Pantanal local people once believed the giant armadillo was an underground monster 6
Arnaud measures a giant armadillo’s burrow Often the big burrow is the only sign of the animal In addition giant armadillos are especially fearful of people A strange scent or noise can send them scurrying into their burrows Even locals who live close to the massive animals seldom see them It’s right there But you don’t see it says Arnaud LOOK CLOSER Giant armadillos make their homes in large deep burrows that can stretch 20 feet 6 m into the earth 7
