Happy Birthday Dillon and Doris the armadillos
Dillon the 'dillo and his bestie Doris are both 19
- Published
Meet Dillon and Doris, two elderly armadillos who celebrated a big birthday this week.
They turned 19, and while that may not seem very old to humans, armadillos typically only live to 15-18 in the wild.
The pair live in Telford Exotic Zoo in Shropshire, and keepers there celebrated with a big bash earlier this month.
They said the animals were firm favourites with visitors, with this big birthday marking "an important milestone".
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Their little noses pack a big punch, as their sense of smell is very good
Dillon and Doris are six-banded armadillos, which are mammals that mainly live in South America.
They're famous for their armour-like shells and cute little snouts which can smell food up to a foot (30cm) away underground.
Despite their name, they can have between six and eight bands across their backs —something visible on the pair in Telford.
Doris has six bands, but Dillon has eight, so they're quite easy to tell apart.
The different number of bands in their armour distinguishes the different species of armadillo
Amazing armadillo facts
There are 21 types of armadillo - the smallest being the pink fairy armadillo which is about 6 inches (15 cm) long
Armadillo is a Spanish word and means 'little armoured one'
They're the only kinds of mammals with the type of shell they have
They're close relatives of sloths and anteaters
They sleep up to 16 hours a day
