A once thought to be extinct animal will now be the face of the 2014 World Cup as the Brazilian three-banded armadillo has been chosen as the mascot for the event.
The animal was only recently rediscovered in the 1990s and lives in remote pockets of South America. Appropriately, it is one of only two types of armadillos that can roll itself into a ball.
Officials chose the animal as a mascot in a concerted effort to help conserve the species, which faces possible extinction.
The 2014 Commonwealth games, held in Glasgow, Scotland welcomes “Clyde,” a thistle named after the river that runs through the host city. Event officials chose the mascot from a contest where kids drew up concepts to represent the games.
The winner was 12-year-old Beth Gilmour’s creation, chosen out of 4,000 entries. The Commonwealth Games pits 71 British-linked nations against each other in over 20-different sports.