Armadillo attack

I heard him long before I saw him. It amazes me how much noise an armadillo can make. They are built like a tank and just go crashing their way through life, it seems. Their skeletal structure is heavy and well reinforced, and that tough shell provides a coat of armour. Since the sprinkle of rain yesterday, food may have become more plentiful and he was out foraging. He was plowing along, with his snout and head under the dry leaves, scouring that hillside for something to eat. Eventually, he headed my direction. I was sitting on the ground, watching the squirrels play and hoping to see a deer, and he kept coming directly toward me. It made me nervous, he was way up the hill and making a beeline straight toward me. Well, armadillos don't bite that I know of, but they do have long sharp claws mounted on powerful forelimbs. There also have been some instances of them carrying leprosy. They don't see well and don't respond to shouting, and he kept coming at me. Finally, I reached out with an arrow and tapped him, lightly and then more vigorously... didn't faze him; he just kept coming! So, just before he started rooting against my leg, I put my hand on his back and pinned him down to the ground. He didn't like that treatment very much. He squirmed and wiggled and bucked and arched his back, and when I let up, he reversed directions and hurried off to do his armadillo- things elsewhere.