Deer captured in O’Hare terminal

I spent the summer after high school working as a security guard in Terminal 1. So I found this story interesting. He isn’t the first young buck to be pushed out of his herd and then choose to live in an airport… Chicago Tribune | Deer captured in O’Hare terminal
Deer captured in O’Hare terminal

By Jon Hilkevitch
Tribune transportation reporter
Published November 16, 2004, 2:56 PM CST

Chicago Animal Control officers today captured and removed an unlikely traveler–a young deer–that wandered into the lower level of Terminal 2 at O’Hare International Airport.

The animal, a young buck, was spotted on airport grounds between 11 and 11:30 a.m. and inside the terminal shortly afterward when it apparently walked through a freight door on the side of the building, officials said.

The deer was at the north end of the building, away from the baggage claim area. Airport personnel used plastic construction fencing to contain the creature until Animal Control officers arrived.

The officers used a tranquilizer gun to shoot and subdue the deer. The animal was removed from the airport by 1 p.m. It did not gain access to any secured areas, and operations were not disrupted by its presence, officials said.

The buck appeared to have been injured, possibly struck by a vehicle, officials said. It was not immediately known if the animal survived its capture or what Animal Control would do with it if it had.

Officials theorized the animal had been pushed out of its herd by other males and was looking for a sanctuary. They suspected it may have gained access to O’Hare by following Interstate Highway 190 into the airport.

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