It's not unusual for coyotes to end up on airport runways................ They're seen at O'Hare(Chicago) once or twice a week, according to Federal Aviation Administration Spokesman Tony Molinaro ............... Of 198 coyotes hit by planes from 1990 to 2005, 23 were in Illinois............. "Coyotes know how to make a living in the urban environment," said Bill Stanley, collection manager for mammals at Chicago's Field Museum............Around Ohare airport(and many others around the USA), there are wooded patches that make up portions of Chicago's 3000 Urban Coyote population

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/travel/flights/2007-02-27-coyote-delay_x.htm

Coyotes at Chicago's  O'Hare cause delays Updated 2/27/2007 8:05 PM E-mail |Print |

ANIMALS IN THE FLIGHTPATH Airplanes struck wildlife 66,392 times in the USA from 1990 to  2005. More than 97% of those incidents involved birds. A sampling of strikes involving other animals: White-tailed deer: 652 Coyotes: 198 Alligators: 14 House cats: 11 Moose: 3 Source: Federal Aviation Administration  Digg  del.icio.us  Newsvine  Reddit  Facebook What's this? By Judy Keen, USA TODAY CHICAGO — Two planes  preparing to land at O 'Hare International  Airport aborted their  landings after another pilot spotted coyotes  near the runway, the  Federal Aviation  Administration said Tuesday. The flights, operated by  United and American  airlines, did  "go-arounds" and landed  safely on their second  attempts  on Sunday, said FAA spokesman Tony Molinaro. The pilots were about a quarter-mile from O'Hare with their  landing gear down when they were warned, Molinaro said.  The pilot of a flight landing ahead of them saw the coyotes  and alerted controllers. "We don't want to take any chances," Molinaro said. One pilot  told his passengers why he had to make a second attempt at landing. The FAA said reports of planes hitting wildlife quadrupled from  1,744 in 1990 to 7,136 in 2005 because there are more flights, more wildlife near airports and more reports from  pilots. In the same period, 172 people were injured and nine died in  such incidents, which resulted in $233 million in  losses . Even in urban areas, it's not unusual for coyotes to end up on runways. They're seen at O'Hare once or twice a  week, Molinaro said. Of 198 coyotes hit by planes from 1990 to 2005, 23 were in Illinois. "Coyotes know how to make a living in the urban environment," said  Bill Stanley, collection manager for  mammals at Chicago's Field Museum. Fewer coyotes are hunted and trapped, he said, and they are  venturing closer to cities to hunt rabbits, birds and raccoons. They frequent forest preserves and dumps that might be close to airports, Stanley said. Coyotes are usually scared off when airport workers drive toward them,  said O'Hare spokeswoman Wendy Abrams.  The best way to keep them away is "ensuring that the airport's perimeter is secure" by maintaining fences so  coyotes can't burrow under them, she said. Coyotes, which can weigh as much as 50 pounds, can cause significant  damage to aircraft. In October 2005, a  19-passenger Beechcraft 1900 turboprop hit a coyote on takeoff at the Ogdensburg, N.Y., airport. The nose gea r collapsed, and the plane skidded to a stop. It was declared a total loss, according to FAA records. Birds are responsible for more than 97% of mishaps involving airplane s and wildlife, the FAA said. Stanley said coyotes are moving deeper into the city and breeding with  dogs. One was recently hit by a car near  the Art Institute of Chicago, which is in the heart of downtown, he said, and drowned coyotes have been found on  Lake Michigan beaches north of the city.