I was on the porch of the Sor Juana cabin one day when I heard a lot of rustling and crunching of leaves under the big old hackberry tree nearby. What the…?, I I asked myself.

Well, lookie here!

Answer: 4 young pink armadillos crawling out from under a shed, snuffling in the dense leaf litter!

They pay no attention to the sound of my feet slowly approaching them, crunching in the leaves. They pay no attention to my voice either.  I think this may be their First Encounter with a not-an-armadillo. They are busy, on a mission, burying their noses into the mulch.  All of them are gathering up armloads (?) of leaves—and then, because their front paws are so occupied, each one hops backward, holding on to its bundle and carries it down under the shed into their hidey-hole from whence they all came.  Pink armadillos! Backward hops!

I returned a little later, bringing a measuring tape so that I could get an idea of their size. I know the hugeness of a full-grown, fat armadillo, but these little ones were such a surprise to encounter. Nose to butt they are 9 inches. Add the tail for another 9”, I guess. One sniffed or nudged my shoe, walked right between my legs, and snuffled on.

When I came back a day or so later, they were not gathering leaves; they were exploring the territory beyond the shed and the tree.  And they were not afraid. They had not learned yet to be afraid. I was glad about that.