Few animals have captured the attention of the marketers of tourist kitsch like the armadillo (see Armadillo Fun). Despite quips that the armadillo has been “shortchanged in beauty, grace, and intelligence,” the armadillo has emerged as quite an important animal to current scientific research. In the 1970s, it was discovered that the armadillo is one of few mammals (other than humans) that is susceptible to infection by Mycobacterium leprae, the bacteria that causes leprosy. Compared to other mammals, the relatively cooler body temperature of the armadillo is ideal for the proliferation of M. leprae. Because M. leprae cannot be cultivated in vitro, the armadillo has become a boon to researchers (Storrs, 1982).