Illinois Animals

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 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.

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.

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 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.

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

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.