# So this morning I killed my first mammal.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 26, 2017, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-morning-i-killed-my-first-mammal/799907 "2017-10-26T18:07:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 39
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-morning-i-killed-my-first-mammal/799907/39 "2017-10-27T14:32:08Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > I’ve run _over_ a groundhog, literally. > … > It was a phenomenon quite unlike the other small mammals I’ve squished and I figured it had panicked and jumped straight up. > … I’ve told the story before, but many years ago when I was learning to fly I killed a rabbit in midair with a Cessna. Airports unsurprisingly have lots of small critters: open spaces, lot of tallish grass, and no larger predators. So I’m landing one day and I’m a few seconds from landing when I spot a jackrabbit sitting on the runway just ahead, just beyond where I’m aiming to touch down. Being a benevolent sort, I adjust my aim up a bit intending to fly over him at a couple feet of altitude and set down past him. I was still a foot or so above the runway when he gets Cuisinarted and sprayed all over the airplane including the windshield. He must’ve jumped straight up. Oops. It was one heck of a mess to wash off. I \*think \*that when small critters suddenly see a shadow looming overhead they assume it’s a bird of prey about to snatch them. Jumping straight up is a way to foil the bird’s aim regardless of which direction it’s coming from. It might work against hawks, but apparently it doesn’t work against cars or airplanes. 😃 --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-this-morning-i-killed-my-first-mammal/799907)._