Depending on the power of the gun, the hide of a armadillo is resistant to bullets fired at it. A 9mm gun despite being able to fire very fast rounds has low penetration power and will definitely bounce off a armadillo. A .45 although much slower will drill a hole through the animal's hide from any given handle. A man from Texas who tried killing a armadillo with his .38 fired at the creature three times, but one of the bullets deflected off its back and struck the man's jaw leading him to be hospitalized. Armadillos are small to medium-sized mammals. The Pink Fairy species of armadillo can be just 85 grams in weight and can grow at the most to 5 1/2 inches in length. The biggest, the giant armadillo, is equal in size to a small pig, can weigh up to 54 kg and almost 5 feet long. The thick skin acts as a defense barrier for the animal, although most armadillos, when attacked, scamper for cover into thorny growth from which their armor offers protection). But the three-banded species of armadillo of Southern American actually makes use of their awesome hide for protection against predators. It rolls into a ball when attacked. Yet another species, the North American nine-band-armadillo is known for its unusual prowess to move through water. It can traverse large bodies of water by increasing its buoyancy by swallowing air, inflating its stomach and intestines. Armadillos have poor eyesight but a keen sense of smell that helps it in hunting down insects like ants, termites and bee larvae. The life span of the animal can be anything from 4 to 30 years. Armadillos have become near extinct in Northern America and Mexico. The Northern naked-tailed armadillo and nine-banded armadillo are considered endangered. Most of armadillo species currently inhabit the South American continent and are particularly diverse in Paraguay where are there as many as eleven.