With the plight of Cecil the lion still headline news comes the story of another trigger-happy American whose shot at a well-defended animal backfired.
A man in Texas, who has not been named, had to be airlifted to hospital after some of the shots he fired at an armadillo bounced back.
Three shots were aimed at the animal, which was spotted crossing the man’s property at 3am last Thursday. At least one of the handgun’s bullets ricocheted and hit the shooter in the face.
"His wife was in the house,” the local sheriff said. “He went outside and took his .38 revolver and shot three times at the armadillo.”
The ricochet struck his jaw which had to be wired shut in hospital, he added.
The fate of the mammal, equipped with armour plating made of bone, was not clear.
"We didn't find the armadillo," said the sheriff.
Most species of armadillo live in Southern or Central American, but the nine-banded species can sometimes be found in the southern US. Their habit of digging up lawns and crops has not endeared them to the local population.
