When people think of animals being struck by aircraft, birds come to mind. However, researchers have studied how many mammals were hit by aircraft. They found that worldwide, mammals hit by aircraft have increased by 68% world-wide. The range in size was from voles to the giraffe and everything in-between.

In the United States alone, damage to aircraft over a thirty-year period was 103 million dollars. Most of the animal strikes occurred during the landing phase of flight. Typically, the take-off and landing of an aircraft are the riskiest times. The study did not suggest how to alleviate the risk of hitting mammals.