In older mythology vampires needed to sleep in the dirt of their homeland, so having something good at finding worms wasn't a bad idea. They were another eccentric sign of wealth, as in 1931 armadillos were only found in the southwestern US and parts of central/south america so he probably had to have them imported to his castle.Īnd armadillos are really, really good at sniffing out worms and other insects (like, up to 5ft deep). History of Armadillos in Texas Armadillos have become very popular in Texas for more than a century now. They can also be susceptible to drought and cold and therefore cannot live full-time in any northern states because of the freezing temperatures. Are Armadillos Good Hunters Armadillo hunting habits. So there's two legit reasons why Dracula would have armadillos. Largely nocturnal, the nine-banded armadillo has weaker vision during the day. Armadillos are great nocturnal hunters, but they hunt down insects and grubs using their sense of smell. Now would a vampire choose someone with leprosy as their prey? Probably not, but then again I'm not a vampire.ĮDIT: Apparently people didn't know that armadillos transmit leprosy in 1931. Nobody's gonna get close enough to notice if a vampire is feeding on a leper, and any negative effects will definitely get written off as 'I have leprosy, I'm all sorts of fucked up.' To find their prey, they dig in the soil with their strong claws and use their keen sense of smell. Cast aside, banished to the slums or run out of town where they're vulnerable (and alone). are these nocturnal and seemingly harmless creatures in Castle Dracula?

Leprosy has the taint of being a disease caused by divine curse, a fitting disease for an unholy abomination to spread. They usually sleep during the day, deep inside one of their burrows. It turns out that the armadillos are the only thing besides people that carry leprosy. Armadillos are nocturnal animals, and do most of this foraging at night, although they will occasionally emerge and become active during daylight hours, often in cooler weather or after a good rainstorm - when the worms come up. Recall that the german film Nosferatu implies these undead horrors spread disease. This is a definite oddity for Transylvania. Another animal that stands out, seen as Renfield first enters the castle, are armadillos. It might show that one of the Brides/Weird Sisters can shapeshift into one, but its unclear. Another is a nocturnal carrion eating insect - a Jerusalem cricket - of undetermined size (a JCUS).

There are bats, a shape Dracula is shown to take, spiders, and we hear wolves - children of the night.

In the beginning of the 1931 Universal film, Dracula, we find several unexpected animals in or near the crypts.

Are armadillos nocturnal