Armadillo on World Cup stage
Others live in total obscurity, never tasting the limelight. But ‘every dog has his day and cat his night’. Just now, it’s the turn of a most unlikely animal to ‘strut and fret his hour upon the stage and then (be) heard no more’. The creature’s showbiz name is ‘Fuleco’, a concoction of ‘futebol’, Portuguese for ‘football’, and ‘ecologia’ meaning ‘ecology’. The three-banded armadillo, a shy little forest dweller, has become the official mascot of the 2014 World Cup Tournament. The choice is apt; like the hedgehog, the armadillo rolls itself into a ball when danger threatens.
‘Armadillo’ means ‘little armed creature’ in Spanish; this animal equivalent of the medieval knight wears thick bony armour. The defence is effective; only pumas and jaguars can penetrate it and there’s a bonus; the armadillo need not dig a defensive burrow. It may even hold the plates of its armour partially open when confronted by an enemy. Once the attacker makes physical contact, it snaps the plates shut, frightening the would-be predator. A baby armadillo can roll into a ball within hours of being born.
