[6] Its body is dark brown in color, with a lighter, yellowish band running along the sides, and a pale, yellow-white head.

In the south, they reach the northernmost provinces of Argentina, including Salta, Formosa, Chaco, and Santiago del Estero.

[14] Compared with those of other armadillos, their burrows are unusually large, with entrances averaging 43 cm (17 in) wide, and typically opening to the west.

[citation needed][22] Little is known with certainty about their life history, although it is thought that the young are weaned by about seven to eight months of age, and that the mother periodically seals up the entrance to burrows containing younger offspring, presumably to protect them from predators.

Although they have never bred in captivity, a wild-born giant armadillo at San Antonio Zoo was estimated to have been around sixteen years old when it died.

[7] Hunted throughout its range, a single giant armadillo supplies a great deal of meat, and is the primary source of protein for some indigenous peoples.

In addition, live giant armadillos are frequently captured for trade on the black market, and invariably die during transportation or in captivity.

[27] Such protection helps to some degree to mitigate the threat of habitat loss, but targeted conservation action is required to prevent the further decline of this species.

[citation needed] This article incorporates text from the ARKive fact-file "Giant armadillo" under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License and the GFDL.