Shy baby armadillo finally opens up to greet the world - PHOTO

Named 'little armoured one' by the Aztecs, armadillos are notoriously guarded characters.And this new-born creature is no different.Greeting the world for the first time since his birth on September 26 in Bergzoo, near Halle, Germany, Eddy took some coaxing to come out of his shell.Zoo keepers were eager to display the infant - a rarity in Europe.But for a few minutes, they could easily have been staring at a static, wooden ball.With the help of his father, Tattoo, Eddy eventually satisfied the crowds by peeking his nose out to see what the fuss was about.Like anteaters and sloths, armadillos were originally confined to South America.Over time a small number migrated to North America, but it wasn't until the advent of zoos that Europe became acquainted with the hard-shelled animals.Eddy and Tattoo are members of Europe's most common form of armadillo: three-banded, meaning their shell is formed of three segments.Central America is home to its cousins with more complex shells, including the nine-banded armadillo and the northern-naked tailed armadillo.But three-banded is the only kind that can curl into a ball to hide from predators.(dailymail.co.uk)ANN.Az