The world’s smallest species of armadillo may also be its cutest.
A nocturnal creature from central Argentina, the pink fairy armadillo is roughly the size of a dollar bill.
Although it isn’t actually a fairy, it could be just as difficult to learn about because it spends most of its time underground. It is also quite uncommon to witness one in the wild.
So uncommon that Mariella Superina, an armadillo researcher, spent 13 years working in its environment without ever seeing one.
As a result, scientists don’t have a lot of information about its population size or trends.
Even though it goes by the moniker of a pink fairy armadillo, it lacks the ability to fly or cast spells like a true fairy but does have a rose shell that acts as a radiator.
The armadillo gets its fairy-pink color from its capacity to control blood flow, which also allows it to control its internal body temperature.
It is the smallest species of armadillo, and it almost spends its whole life digging in the dirt to look for various insects and consume plant matter.
The pink fairy armadillo seldom stayed above ground for more than a few seconds. Only 6 inches below the surface, it is a particularly adept burrower.
If maintained as a pet, it will probably die from stress or from being unable to adapt to a food that is not natural. According to Superina, 95 percent of pink fairy armadillos raised in captivity pass away after eight days.
Even though the habitat of armadillos only receives 8 inches of rain per year on average, when storms do happen, they are strong soaks that flood burrows and force the armadillos to the surface.
Superina and other scientists are unable to even determine if the lovely little pink fairy armadillo is endangered or not because it is so seldom seen, so we can only hope to get a glimpse of it sometimes.
The figures are inadequate, to put it simply. Although they can’t be certain, they believe that human encroachment on its habitat is endangering its survival.
If you don’t believe they really exist, watch this video: