Charles Darwin ate one on his trip to Brazil. Apparently it tasted more like pork than chicken. My nine-year-old, football-mad, half-Brazilian son could identify one on his World Cup merchandising and my Brazilian biologist wife knew it was some kind of armadillo, but not which species. It is of course Brazil’s World Cup mascot, the three-banded armadillo, named Fuleco.
It was brave to choose such an obscure animal as an official mascot. The English used a lion when they started this tradition in 1966 and the South Africans used a leopard in 2010. It is refreshing to see such a non-emblematic species chosen — and one that is endangered and needs awareness of its existence to be raised. But I can’t help but feel an opportunity has been lost when it comes to conservation in Brazil. Read more...
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