(WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- You may have seen them during takeoff or landing: the animals that have grazed at O’Hare International Airport for a decade.
Ben Robel’s flock of goats and sheep were making their second pass this year over a patch of land on the north end of the airfield along Willow-Higgins Creek. They’ll soon take a seasonal break as cold weather sets in.
“They’re lawn mowers,” Robel said. “Three or four times a day they eat, lay down and take a break, all over, all day long.”
The Aviation Commissioner Jamie Rhee said the 73 animals from Vegetation Solutions have chewed up more than 15 acres at the airport this year as part of a longstanding sustainability program.
Robel said the animals will eat buckthorn and prickly teasel but won’t ingest trash – that’s a myth.
By limiting the vegetation that grows around the airport, the animals discourage birds from making homes there. That can lead to dangerous interactions with planes.
Since the department began the program a decade ago, it has used llamas and burros in addition to the goats and sheep.
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