Armadillos inch closer to Michigan as new study reveals range expansion

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Armadillos may soon become commonplace in Michigan.

A new study reveals that the nine-banded armadillo is expanding its range across the U.S., reaching as far north as Indiana and Iowa, indicating potential future expansion into states like Michigan.

The study explains that “this rapid range expansion has been a result of land use change, climate change, and at least one human-facilitated release in Florida.”

Brett DeGregorio, Ph.D., from Michigan State University, is one of the authors of the study. He says the migration of armadillos – which first arrived in southern Texas in 1849 – has been centuries in the making.

“Human development and kind of the way that we changed the South Texas landscape allowed them to finally cross the Rio Grande,” DeGregorio said. “Si