leathery, tough shell, Armadillos, (mainly Dasypus) are common roadkill due to their habit of jumping 3–4 ft vertically when startled, which puts them into collision with the underside of vehicles. Wildlife enthusiasts are using the northward march of the armadillo as an opportunity to educate others about the animals, which can be a burrowing nuisance to property owners and managers. Culture Armadillo shells have traditionally been used to make the back of the charango, an Andean lute instrument. In certain parts of Central and South America, armadillo meat is eaten; it is a popular ingredient in Oaxaca, Mexico. During the Great Depression, Americans were known to eat armadillo, known begrudgingly as "Hoover hogs", a nod to the belief that President Herbert Hoover was responsible for the economic despair facing the nation at that time. A whimsical account of The Beginning of the Armadillos is one of the chapters of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories 1902 children's book. The vocal and piano duo Flanders and Swann recorded a humorous song called "The Armadillo". Shel Silverstein wrote a two-line poem called "Instructions" on how to bathe an armadillo in his collection A Light in the Attic''. The reference was "use one bar of soap, a whole lot of hope, and 27 pads of Brillo." See also Pangolins, another mammal group with defensive keratin body coverings Porcupines, another mammal group with defensive keratin body coverings Echidnas, a type of monotreme with a defensive keratin body covering Hedgehogs, another mammal group with defensive keratin body coverings References Further reading External links "Armadillo online" website hosted by zoologist Dr. Joshua Nixon Photographs of armadillo rolling into a ball Armadillos Cingulates Rolling animals Extant Thanetian first appearances Mammal common names