Yes there are some animals that appear to be bulletproof. Armadillo ‘armour’ – composed of bony plates known as osteoderms – has been seen to deflect bullets.
In one incident, a Texan man was hit in the face when his own bullet bounced back from an armadillo that he tried to shoot – justice perhaps? In another, a bullet ricocheting off an armadillo penetrated a house, injuring an elderly lady.
Accounts from early colonial times describe bullets glancing off the hides of saltwater crocodiles or being lodged in their robust skulls without penetrating the brain.
The semi-bulletproof nature of crocodiles and other large animals, such as elephants and rhinos, gave rise to the ‘elephant gun’ in the late 1800s – this was a very heavy-duty weapon specifically designed for killing big game.
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Main image: Armadillo © Enrique Aguirre Aves/Getty Images