Nine-banded Armadillos are fascinating creatures

These creatures look prehistoric.

After more than 2 inches of rain during the past 24 hours, this Nine-banded Armadillo was foraging for brunch along the boardwalk at Armand Bayou. 

It didn't seem to mind the humans walking by. I kind of wanted to see it jump. Armadillos can jump up 3 to 4 feet when startled, which contributes to their road deaths.

Here are nine more armadillo facts:

• Armadillos give birth to identical quadruplets.
• Armadillo races, which were popular in the 1970s, are still around. There will be armadillo racing in April at the 2015 Pearland Crawfish Festival.
• The mammal can hold its breath up to six minutes and walk underwater to cross small streams. They also can swim by gulping air for buoyancy.
• Although called nine-banded, an armadillo can have seven to 11 bands on its armor.
• It is Texas' small mammal symbol. The longhorn is the state's large mammal.
• The Nine-banded Armadillo can't roll up into a ball. Only two species of three-banded armadillos can roll up completely.
• Prolific diggers, armadillos' leftover burrows are often used by other animals such as snakes, opossums, rats and rabbits.
• The armadillo in Rango (2011) is named Roadkill.
• During the Great Depression armadillos hunted for meat were called Hoover hogs by those who blamed President Herbert Hoover for the economic collapse.

There are about 20 species of armadillos, but only the NIne-banded Armadillo lives in the United States.