A desperate hunt is underway for a famously smelly armadillo called Stanley who managed to force the door to its enclosure open and make a bold escape into the wild
A “stinky” runaway armadillo is currently loose in the UK after he “managed to force a door open” and bolt from his pen. A desperate hunt is underway for Stanley the six-banded armadillo, who made a break from his enclosure at Animal Magic in East Sussex last week, with the marauding mammal last officially seen last Tuesday (September 3).
However, multiple members of the public have claimed to see Stanley on the Cuckoo Trail path that runs between the towns of Halsham and Polegate. Animal Magic Co-owner Chris Coetzer urged anyone who sees him to get in touch, telling BBC Radio Sussex, that Stanley may be drawn towards food smells from nearby campsites, or from the local farm shop.
Coetzer told The Telegraph that posters had been put up to try and alert the public about Stanley, saying: “I’d really like to get him back, because he’s quite a valuable and very much liked character in our collection.
“He’s a very much loved boy for us”, adding that the whole thing was making him “anxious”.
Explaining the details of his great escape, Coetzer explained that the intrepid Stanley had: “managed to force a door open” and bolted from his enclosure, although no details were given on the creature’s exact method of doing so.
Coetzer says he is not too worried about Stanley falling victim to some predator while in the wild, although did admit that badgers do pose some risk. He said: “Armadillos can look after themselves. I don’t particularly think anything like a fox would be trying his luck, but with badgers, you don’t know.”
He also added that anyone that crosses paths with the creature may notice his signature smell, describing Stanley as “quite stinky”.
According to Coetzer, this is not the first time that Stanley has tried to make a break for freedom, with the armadillo apparently running away from the animal sanctuary during a children’s party too.
Coetzer explained: “He escaped at a party, I had to chase him, and I had to run quite fast to catch him”.
The six-banded armadillo is a species armoured mammal native to South America. Its name comes from the six to eight flexible bands across the middle of its tough shell, which allow it to bend and move. Despite the name, individuals do not always have exactly six bands.
Adults are generally around 40–50cm long, excluding the tail, Roughly 3–7kg in weight, equipped with powerful claws for digging. They eat insects, plants, eggs and small animals.