Morgan Gstalter

mgstalter@dmreg.com

Are there armadillos hanging out in Iowa?

Well, not really, although a few of the Southern critters have been spotted in recent years. Spoiler alert: Around here, they're not normally seen alive.

The Iowa Department of Transportation posted a picture on its Facebook page Tuesday afternoon of some interesting roadkill they were sent to scoop up.

"A crew from Carlisle found this poor guy on Iowa 5 at the Fleur Drive interchange," the post read.

This vehicle vs. mammal encounter is usually how armadillos are discovered in the Hawkeye state. Todd Gosselink, a wildlife biologist with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, said that most armadillos in Iowa are found at the side of the road.

"There's not really a live population of armadillos in the state," Gosselink said. "Occasionally they're loaded onto a semi-truck carrying fruit or something like that and they can fall off and just show up here."

From what he's aware of at this point, the DNR hasn't seen a live critter in Iowa before.

"We've only seen them as roadkill before," Gosselink said, maybe having one or two dead ones a year. "And the fact that we've never seen small babies before makes me think they're not reproducing here ... it's most likely adults are the ones climbing into truck cargo."

Their closest habitats are in southern Missouri, a bit of a trek for the little armored animals that aren't suited for harsh Iowa winters.

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, armadillos often end up as roadkill because they have a habit of jumping up into the air when they're spooked — a deadly trait when they're trying to cross highways underneath moving cars.

"We're not sure how they will affect native wildlife likes plants and animals here," Gosselink said. "We'll just have to wait a few years and see if they head north."

R.I.P., little fella.

5 armadillo facts

From the Missouri Department of Conservation:

They typically weigh between 11 to 14 pounds

Each year, armadillos can eat up to 200 pounds of insects, which consist of 90 percent of their diet

In the summer, they are active from twilight to the early morning hours

In the winter, they only come out during the afternoon when the temperatures are warmest

Armadillos can carry slow-moving leprosy bacterium. Always wear gloves when handling a dead or alive armadillos and cook meat thoroughly before eating

Related: Watch an armadillo try to escape a water fountain recently in Jackson, Miss.: