Illinois Animals

When the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) recently posted a warning about visiting black bears in Illinois this summer, it made me wonder just how many black bears live in our state. While I was looking up the information, I also got the numbers for Wisconsin and Missouri, too. We have more bears in this part of the country than I thought.

There's something going on in the woods of Illinois, or we wouldn't be ranked at number-five on the list of states with the most Bigfoot sightings, according to The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization.

There are some good things and some bad things about a mild winter in Illinois like the one we just went through. Very little shoveling and very little shivering are two of the good things, while an abundant population of coyotes running all over the state may fall into the "bad things" category, depending on your perspective.

They're here in Illinois throughout the winter, spring, summer, and fall, so pretty much everyone is familiar with them. However, there are some things that you may not have noticed about Illinois' official state bird.

A city in Illinois has such a big problem with rats that it came up with an out-of-the-box solution to help combat the rodents in that area.

You're not going to believe what store in Illinois where shoppers witnessed a wild turkey wandering through.

It may be April now, but March Madness is still underway for college basketball...and for one special penguin at Brookfield Zoo in Chicago.

I've lived in Illinois my entire life, and I've never seen as many wild turkeys out walking around than I'm seeing right now. So, like anyone, I had to do some checking to find out just how many wild turkeys there are in the state of Illinois. I'm surprised at the answer.

We recently learned what the average annual cost is of having a child in Illinois, so for those who may be torn between having two-legged kids or four-legged ones, here's what you can expect to spend each year on having a dog in our state.

It's always great to put the cold and snow behind us as we enter spring and head toward summertime, but keep in mind that while spring flowers are beautiful and mood-enhancing for us, some of them can be a real problem for your dog. Here's what to look for.