A million World Cup armadillos emerge in China

BEIJING (AFP) – In the wild the Brazilian three-
banded armadillo is classed as “vulnerable”, but a
million furry versions of the creature picked as the
2014 World Cup mascot are taking shape in a
Chinese factory.
Fuleco may for now still be a largely unknown
yellow armadillo with a blue shell and tail, but the
mascot of the world’s biggest single sports event
represents 80 percent of sales for Tongchuang
Toys in the eastern province of Anhui.
The company won a contract with the tournament
organisers to produce a million furry toy versions of
Fuleco, whose name, according to FIFA, is a fusion
of the words “futebol” and “ecologia”.
The toys will be used for merchandising and gifts
for sponsors, according to a report on Anhuiwang
news portal.
The company shipped 500,000 armadillos to Brazil
last month, and is now producing its second batch.
“This big order accounts for four fifths of our total
sales volume, and we will be working on it right
through to April,” factory manager Yu Renjun told
the website. It did not give a value for the deal.
The species, Latin name Tolypeutes tricinctus, was
believed to be extinct until its rediscovery in the
early 1990s and is now considered “vulnerable” on
the International Union for the Conservation of
Nature’s Red List.
“When threatened, it has the habit of rolling into an
easily portable ball,” it says on its website.
The World Cup kicks off in Sao Paulo on June 12
with a match between Brazil and Croatia, and will
run until July 13.
The mascot for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa
was a leopard called Zakumi, while in Germany
2006 it was a lion named Goleo.