Pink Fairy Armadillos: A Zoo Visit, a Surprise, and the Armour of God

An unexpected discovery, a sleepy armadillo named Dave, and a little reminder that there's always something new to notice.

Did you know there's an actual animal called a pink fairy armadillo?

PINK. FAIRY. ARMADILLO.

I'm still smiling about that one!

I certainly didn't know such a creature existed until a recent family-and-friends field trip to the zoo sent me down a wonderfully unexpected armadillo rabbit hole. (Armadillo hole? Probably more accurate.)

I spent years living in other parts of the country, where armadillos were familiar sights along the highways. Unfortunately, most of my encounters were with the unfortunate ones along the roadside. I called them arma-dead-o's.

Not exactly a fond introduction to the species.

And until this zoo visit, I don't recall ever seeing a living armadillo!

Perhaps I was simply moving too fast to notice. There was a time when life seemed to travel at 65 miles an hour. These days, in my wonderful season of being "pretend retired," I have more opportunities to slow down, look around, and discover what I've been missing.

Gotta love it.

Four Curious Humans and a Zoo Full of Surprises

Our little group of four had quite the vocabulary going that day.

"OHHHH!"

"AWWWWW!"

"WOOOOOW!"

"HOW CUTE!"

Apparently, we were easily impressed.

Although, in fairness, not every animal qualifies for the "how cute" category.

A lion? Magnificent, yes. But I doubt I'd be using the word cute if we met in the wild.

Reindeer with those massive antlers? Not quite the cuddly Santa companions we imagine.

Snakes, spiders, poisonous frogs? Fascinating. Beautiful, even. But let's admire those from a respectful distance, shall we? Behind glass works for me. I'm guessing you too.

It was one of those lovely Pacific Northwest days when the rain decided to take a holiday. Around 70 degrees, pleasant skies, and surprisingly few visitors.

We practically had the zoo to ourselves!

That gave us opportunities to linger and enjoy conversations with the wonderful volunteer docents.

Jordan, Eileen, and Mia, thank you! Your kindness, patience, and willingness to share your knowledge made our visit especially memorable. You were awfully good sports with our somewhat silly group.

And Mia introduced us to Dave.

Meet Dave, Our Sleepy Armadillo Friend

Dave, as Mia shared, apparently enjoys his pale-yellow hamster wheel.

An armadillo. On a hamster wheel.

Who knew?!

And as we discovered on our drive home, Dave is a bit of a TV celebrity.

Naturally, we were quite impressed.

Unfortunately, Dave wasn't accepting visitors for much of our time there. He was tucked up in a tree, catching up on his beauty sleep.

Wait. Armadillos can climb?

Another thing I didn't know.

By the time we headed home, Dave had become the subject of an important discussion.

What color was he?

I was firmly in the light-yellow camp. Someone else remembered black and brown.

Out came the smartphones.

As it turns out, there's more variety in the armadillo family than any of us realized. We never quite settled our debate about Dave, but our curiosity introduced us to a relative we'd never heard of.

The pink fairy armadillo.

And just like that, another discovery!

Wait. There's Really a Pink Fairy Armadillo?

Yes, indeed.

The pink fairy armadillo, scientifically known as Chlamyphorus truncatus, (say that three times fast) is the smallest living armadillo species.

It comes from Argentina.

It's roughly hamster-sized, with silky pale fur, a pinkish protective shell, and little digging claws.

Its delicate pink armour isn't quite what you'd expect. Researchers believe that remarkable little shell helps regulate its body temperature. Who knew armour could do that?

And despite that wonderfully whimsical name, it's a real wild animal, not something dreamed up for a children's storybook.

It's also surprisingly difficult for researchers to study because it spends so much of its life underground.

So, to be clear, Dave was not a pink fairy armadillo. Meeting him simply opened the door to learning about this remarkable little relative.

But goodness, what a discovery.

Pink. Fairy. Armour.

Three words I never expected to find together in the animal kingdom!

A Little Armour and a Much Bigger Reminder

Now, you know how I love finding connections.

Especially those moments when something in God's creation reminds me of something I've read in Scripture.

And naturally, that tiny suit of armour brought my thoughts straight to Ephesians.

"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

— Ephesians 6:11, King James Version

I purposely chose the King James Version because there's something delightful about the old-fashioned ye alongside a creature belonging to such an ancient family of animals.

And like me, you might not have known that armadillos have a family history stretching back millions of years!

Does that make them older than dirt?

Well, not technically. But goodness, they're certainly no spring chickens!

Which brings up another question. Where did that expression come from, anyway?

See what happens when curiosity gets loose?

I think I'm a word nerd.

Anyway, back to that little armadillo and his armour.

Of course, Paul's words are about spiritual protection, not an armadillo's actual armour. I probably didn't need to explain that, but here we are. :-)

The connection made me smile.

Here was this tiny animal, equipped with protective armour, reminding me of something much bigger than itself.

God's Word encourages us to put on spiritual armour: truth, righteousness, faith, salvation, readiness through the gospel of peace, and the Word of God.

What an extraordinary thought to encounter while learning about a pink little critter most of us will never see in person.

From a Zoo Visit to a Little Piece of Art

As you might imagine, my newfound fascination didn't end with our drive home.

As you can see, that tiny pink fairy armadillo found its way into my Scatter Joyfulness studio.

Before long (around 4 a.m., actually!), a new Micro-Art greeting card began taking shape, inspired by the creature's remarkable appearance and the Scripture it brought to mind.

I named the design Little Armor, Mighty God and you can see it by clicking the link.

It's funny how these things happen.

One day, you're standing at a zoo, laughing with people you love about an armadillo sleeping in a tree.

The next, you're learning about a tiny pink relative in Argentina, thinking about the armour of God, and creating something to share with another person.

All because you stopped long enough to notice.

This is absolutely one of my favorite parts of this pretend-retirement season.

Sometimes, the most wonderful surprises come wearing pink armour.

Cute, right?

Where will you scatter joyfulness today?