Mob Menagerie: Armadillo

Since then, they’ve been frequently spotted in not just the savanna biomes but also the various types of badlands. As my colleague Sophie wrote last year when making the case for the armadillo in the mob vote: 

"The armadillo calls the vast desert of the savannah biome its home, plodding serenely between the long grass – unless you surprise it! Just like a few of its real-world counterparts, the armadillo can roll into a blocky ball if startled – which looks just as cute as it sounds."

It certainly does. Being hurt, being near undead mobs, or just being near players who are sprinting or mounted will freak out the poor little armadillo. In its rolled-up state, it’ll take less damage and repel spiders. It’ll unroll again when a thread passes.

Armadillos are an important source of armadillo scutes – which are the main ingredient of wolf armor. They drop them over time, as well as when they’re gently brushed. They can be bred with spider eyes, if you want to create an army of armadillos, but they can’t be tamed.

Outside of Minecraft, there are 21 different types of armadillo in the world, all of which are native to the Americas. What they have in common is a leather armored shell and long sharp claws, but otherwise they differ dramatically – the giant armadillo grows up to 1.5 meters long, while the pink fairy armadillo is just 15cm.

The Minecraft armadillo most closely resembles the three-banded armadillos of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia. These are the ones that most heavily rely on their armor, rolling up into a totally sealed ball when attacked just like the ones in Minecraft.

This extreme defensive ability means that three-banded armadillos have few natural predators. Instead, the biggest threat they face is from humans – they’re hunted for food, but the deforestation of their natural habitat for agriculture and mining is a huge factor too. It’s thought that armadillo populations have dropped by about 30% in the last decade alone.

Luckily, Minecraft still has a lot of armadillos, and it's likely they won't be disappearing any time soon. Look after your armadillos – and they’ll look after you!