A man from south Georgia shot and killed an armadillo, but ended up wounding his mother-in-law after the bullet ricocheted off the creature's hard shell.

Larry McElroy, 54, fired his 9mm pistol at the armored mammal outside their mobile home in Lee County on Sunday night. However, in a freak accident, the bullet bounced off the critter's leathery hard shell, hit a fence and traveled nearly 100 yards to the back of their home.

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The bullet hit the back of 74-year-old Carol Johnson, who was sitting on a recliner that time. 

"Just the circumstances, just all the way around, the whole situation was unusual," investigator Bill Smith said. 

Johnson was immediately rushed to the hospital. Luckily, she only sustained non-life threatening injuries.  Smith said, Johnson was able to recover fast and is now able to walk around.

The Lee County Sheriff's Office is still investigating the incident. No charges have been filed.

Only one species of Armadillo is found in the United States. It measures about 75 centimeters to as big as 1.5 meters.

The animal has a hard outer shell that can curl into a ball covering all soft body parts as defense against predators. Its armor is made up of plates of bone covered with scales.

The armadillo also has long claws used for digging insects --- its favorite food.  Its primary predators include bears, wolves and cougars. 

Residents in Georgia consider armadillos as pests. Their endless digging in search of food does the damage to households. 

Some residents resort to catching the critters by hand. However, due to the mammal's speed, it usually gets away fast. Others use a large net to catch the armadillo. 

For those who would notwant to go through the sneaking, and setting up traps, shooting the armadillo --- like what McElroy chose to do --- would be a lot simpler. But a shotgun could get the job done better. 

Tagsarmadillo, lee county