Believe it or not, armadillos have been slowly expanding their territory further north into Illinois—and one even reached into western Bond County recently. The Belleville News Democrat reports that an armadillo was struck by a vehicle along Mettler Road near New Douglas in far western Bond County in July. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources says armadillos continue to move northward in the state and that they have had reliable reports-many with photos-of armadillos in Macoupin, Montgomery and Sangamon Counties, among others. Armadillos are about the size of a large cat, but their body shape is more like an opossum. Armadillos can only survive in areas with a constant source of water that have annual temperatures about 28 degrees. There haven’t been, as of this time, any reports of armadillo sightings in Fayette County.