Urgent hunt to find Stanley the armadillo who is on the loose in Sussex

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 20:03 EDT, 6 September 2026 | Updated: 20:14 EDT, 6 September 2026 An urgent hunt is underway for a missing armadillo who escaped from his owners in East Sussex. Stanley, a six-banded armadillo, absconded from Animal Magic - a company that provides educational animal handling experiences for schools and children's birthday parties.Stanley 'managed to force a door open' to escape an enclosure, Animal Magic co-owner Chris Coetzer told BBC Radio Sussex. Despite their small stature, armadillos can achieve surprisingly fast speeds for a short duration. When Stanley previously escaped at a party, Mr Coetzer said he 'had to chase him, and I had to run quite fast to catch him.' The runaway mammal was last spotted near the Knights Farm Shop just off the Cuckoo Trail path between Hailsham and Polegate on September 3, Lindsey Parker, Animal Magic's other co-owner, told SussexWorld. Stanley, a six-banded armadillo, escaped from Animal Magic in East SussexThe Cuckoo Trail is a 14-mile-long 'green corridor' path for walkers and cyclists which follows the former ‘Cuckoo Line’ railway track which ran between Polegate and Eridge. Mr Coetzer requested that any members of the public who spot Stanley in the wild contact Animal Magic.He said the fugitive armadillo is likely to have been drawn towards food smells from a farm shop or nearby campers. Six-banded armadillos originally hail from South America and are best known for their distinctive armour-like shells - known as a 'carapace'. A grown adult has a head-body length of between 40-50cm and weighs between 3-7kg, according to the Anteater, Sloth and Armadillo Specialist Group (ASASG).They are omnivores who eat everything from carrion and small rodents to insects, spiders, bird eggs and plants. Armadillos are highly adaptable and can live in a number of diverse habitats, according to ASASG.