This fascinating animal forages by moving slowly along, snuffing through the soil and leaf litter. Once food has been sniffed out, it is dug up with the fore-claws (4). An omnivorous species, the Andean hairy armadillo’s varied diet includes insects, larvae, fruits, roots and carrion (6) (7). Individuals are known to dig beneath decomposing carcasses to find a feast of maggots and insects (2). Like many other armadillo species, the Andean hairy armadillo also employs its powerful claws for digging burrows, in which it lives, rears offspring and uses to escape from predators (2) (4).
Andean large hairy armadillo courtship involves the male following the female avidly, and mating occurs with the male mounting the female from behind. Male armadillos have one of the longest penises amongst mammals, extending to two-thirds of the body length (4). While little is currently known of this species’ reproductive biology, it probably reaches sexual maturity at 9 to 12 months of age, and gives birth to a litter of one or two offspring during the summer (5).