An armadillo made a surprise cameo during a Florida reporter’s live newscast Wednesday.
Vic Micolucci, of News Jax 4, was covering flooding amid Hurricane Dorian in Davis Shores on Anastasia Island, near Jacksonville.
The journalist was standing in about a foot of water when suddenly an armadillo came splashing into view.
The adorable creature, a relative of an anteater, later made it to the TV station’s Instagram page, and quickly become a mini social media star. The caption for the viral video read, “Dorian’s Dillo.”
Micolucci talked about the armadillo on another segment about Dorian’s displaced wildlife.
“I didn’t know what it was,” he said of the nimble mammal that is coated with a natural armor. “I just [saw] this little face coming. It was paddling through the water.”
While an armadillo won’t pose much risk to humans (though they do have sharp claws), Micolucci stressed that other wildlife seriously could.
“Long story short: You don’t necessarily want to be in this water,” he said, adding that “anything” could be in the floodwaters; e.g. venomous snakes, alligators, and fire ants.
“The armadillo is cute. We love it,” said Micolucci. “But it’s a reminder. While people are affected by this storm, our nature, wildlife, our animals are affected as well.”