Like high school juniors trying to impress college admissions officers, some animals enjoy a wide variety of interests. If you belong to the species of land lobsters known as pink fairy armadillos, however, only one activity matters: tearing the ground asunder like a tiny pig-nosed god.

 In 2006, the armadillo was placed in the near-threatened category on the IUCN Red List. In 2008 it was moved to the data deficient category due to the lack of scientific information on its population dynamics and natural history. Field sightings were confirmed to be rare and to become less common than before, even though pink fairy armadillo is already difficult to observe due to its nocturnal fossorial lifestyle

Pink fairy armadillos are found less commonly than they were a few decades ago, and the field sightings have been rare and incidental.


Pink fairy armadillos are nocturnal burrowing mammals endemic to the xeric environment in central Argentina. They have been found south of Mendoza province as well as north of Rio Negro and south of Buenos Aires