# @nationalparkservice on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/CPZb4ZnjNaf
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/21101801-nationalparkservice-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/thumbnails/99e9994e40.jpg
- **Posted:** 2021-05-28T01:01:01.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** National Park Service (@nationalparkservice) — https://gondola.cc/nationalparkservice

## Caption

“I’m the holiday armadillo!” - Ross Geller ⁣
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The nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) is the only one of the twenty species of armadillos whose range includes North America. #Armadillos are related to sloths and anteaters and also to gylptodonts, which were large armored mammals that went extinct at the end of the last ice age in the Americas.⁣
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Spanish for "little armored one," armadillos are the only mammal with a bony plate, which is covered by brown, leathery skin. Although named "nine-banded,” they can have between seven and eleven bands. ⁣
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The nine-banded #armadillo has an interesting defense mechanism. Most people think that armadillos curl into a ball, but the nine-banded armadillo cannot do this. (Think three-banded armadillo.) Instead, when frightened, it may jump about three feet in the air. It is unable to control the direction of the movement which helps scare off predators. Wild!⁣
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Image: A nine-banded armadillo seen at Cumberland Island National Seashore, #Georgia. ⁣
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#naturephotography #cumberlandisland #nationalparkservice

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 52,975
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- **Comments:** 260

## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| National Park Service | @nationalparkservice | https://gondola.cc/nationalparkservice | Government Organization |

## Tags

armadillo, naturephotography, georgia, cumberlandisland, armadillos, nationalparkservice

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