A dead armadillo in Ohio

One was found beside a road near Oxford, Ohio in early September, likely hit by a car. Researchers took it to Miami University.

This one walked there

Ohio had four armadillo sightings before, but researchers pegged those animals as stowaways riding vehicles up from the south. This is the first they believe arrived on its own.

A 175 year march

A 2025 USGS study traces the nine-banded armadillo from its first US sighting in Texas in 1849, creeping north and east ever since.

Built like a house cat in armor

About cat-sized, barely any fur, hard shell. They swim well and hold their breath for six minutes, and they often give birth to identical quadruplets.

Mild winters opened the door

With little fur, armadillos freeze easily, so cold used to be the wall. USGS points to land use change, climate change, and one human-assisted release in Florida.

“We just don't have those really cold winters any more, and I'm sure that's helped them”

Seventeen states and counting

They're established from Texas and Florida up through Missouri, Iowa, Indiana and Illinois. Nebraska, Michigan, Ohio and Virginia get occasional reports.

Leprosy and wrecked lawns

They rarely attack, but they can carry the bacteria behind leprosy and pass it on after long contact. A single animal can dig up to 10 burrows, hazardous to livestock and turf.

Not an invasion, a preview

Officials don't class armadillos as invasive, and Ohio researchers will watch for more. Their spread hints at other warm-climate species shifting north as temperatures climb.