Illinois Animals

Imagine spotting a black bear while out for a hike. It’s happening more often than you might think around here.

With half the summer left for outdoor adventures, here are 5 spots in Illinois that you might want to avoid if you have a fear of snakes. If you love snakes, here's where to go in Illinois.

Did you know that the annual expense of dog ownership in Illinois barely scratches the surface compared to raising a child? Let’s break down the numbers.

You've more than likely seen them soaring high in the sky hundreds of times in your life, but how much do you know about one of Illinois' largest birds?

The Northern Cardinal is the official state bird in more states than any other, so let's take a look at a few things that maybe you didn't know about the cardinals that populate Illinois.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is asking for Illinoisans to help them out with a survey of wild turkey sightings around the state so they can get a more accurate estimation of the overall wild turkey population and how well it's doing on a yearly basis.

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.