NE Kansas couple left shocked after they find armadillo in window well

SHAWNEE COUNTY (KSNT) - A Shawnee County couple were surprised to find an unusual critter outside their home earlier this week.

KSNT 27 News spoke with local homeowners Terry and Gina Lutz about the unexpected encounter with their home's visitor. Gina found that something wasn't right when she noticed some damage to a screen covering a basement window.

"She noticed the screen was all tore off," Terry said. "There were muddy footprints all over the place. She went over and investigated and found him curled up in the corner."

Terry's wife told him about what was stuck in their window well. Handling an armadillo wasn't quite what Terry expected to do that day.

"She came and told me and at first I didn't believe her," Terry said. "But there he was in the window well. I jumped down there with my gloves on and picked him up."

Terry said once it was freed, the armadillo scampered off into the wild. He said he's only seen one other armadillo in his life dead on the side of a road but considers any sighting of the critters rare this far north.

"I was just glad he was still alive," Terry said. "It would be neat to see where he headed off to."

Matt Peek with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks (KDWP) said armadillos were not common in Kansas before 1990. However, by the mid-1990's, they began moving into the state at a rapid pace.

"They're far more abundant in SE and SC Kansas than other parts of the state, but occasionally they're found in the northern parts of the state and even in states farther North than Kansas," Peek said.

Peek said armadillos are not great at surviving cold winters and have been moving further north into Kansas due to decreasing winter severity with their scarcity in the northernmost parts of the state probably caused by winter weather. Throughout most of Kansas, harsh winter weather can bring the armadillo population down but won't eliminate it.

For the most part, Peek said armadillos can be found in large numbers in southeast and southcentral Kansas. Their search for food in the form of grubs can result in a disruption to ground-nesting bird activity and make them a nuisance for homeowners and golf courses.

The only species of armadillo native to the U.S. is the long-nosed armadillo, also known as the nine-banded armadillo, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). People are advised not to handle armadillos directly as some can carry diseases such as leprosy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).