Translocation of Nine-Banded Armadillos

Abstract

During the last 150 years, nine-banded armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) have increased their range and abundance in the southeastern United States. When foraging, armadillos cause damage to agricultural crops, as well as structural damage to driveways and foundations. Homeowners frequently use translocation to reduce local armadillo abundance. Despite its popularity with the general public, however, the appropriateness of nuisance wildlife translocation presents concerns for biologists. Our objective was to address some of these concerns by examining survival and movements of translocated armadillos. We translocated 12 armadillos (9 male, 3 female) equipped with radio-transmitters and compared their survival and movements to that of 29 (11 male, 18 female) resident armadillos. Most (92%) of the translocated animals dispersed from their release site within the first few days after release. Resident armadillos generally maintained stable home ranges. We found evidence that translocated animals were able to return to their original capture sites. Therefore, we recommend against translocating nuisance armadillos.

Keywords

• armadillo
• armadillo mortality
• dasypus novemcinctus
• home range
• human–wildlife conflicts
• nine-banded armadillo
• nuisance animal relocation
• translocation