Wildlife

A wildfire forced evacuations around the Green River State Wildlife Area south of Harmon on Friday, March 14, 2025. Departments from Harmon, Ohio, Wyanet and Tampico were seen fighting the blaze.

Ed Britton, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Refuge Manager, Savanna District, will speak about the 100th anniversary of the refuge.

The Will County Forest Preserve District hosted an event this week educating the public on the role fire plays in maintaining natural habitats in Illinois and the processes surrounding controlled burn programs.

A snowy owl that has been drawing thousands of birdwatchers to McHenry was found dead on Bull Valley Road, police confirm. All the attention might have contributed to its death.

A snowy owl delighted birders and photographers in McHenry County in recent days before it was found dead Dec. 17 after apparently having been hit by a car. Readers shared their photos of the stunning bird.

A juvenile snowy owl swooped into McHenry County, attracting crowds to a McHenry field over the weekend.

In the 1980s, Henri and June Giugni introduced four pairs of trumpeters swans to a manmade lake on their property near Harvard. Decades later, there are now dozens of trumpeter swans that return to the area each winter.

Henri Giugni brought in four pairs of native trumpeter swans in 1985 and now up to 100 trumpeter swans return every winter to the Harvard castle he owns with wife, June.

The South Suburban Center of the Northern Illinois Food Bank donates its meat and fish waste to Big Run Wolf Ranch, an educational facility in Lockport specializing in North American wildlife.

Now that we know better, we can do better when it comes to our wild neighbors.

Spoiler alert: In this thriller of a turtle rescue, the turtle lives happily ever after. Watch the video.

The McHenry County Conservation District is helping to reconstruct former prairies, providing new homes for a variety of wildlife species, including the federally endangered rusty-patched bumblebee.

Tuesdays through Sundays, Sept. 1-29, at Hidden Lakes Trout Farm in Bolingbrook stop by the Tackle Box bait shop to pick up your guide to the scavenger hunt.

The Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge is celebrating 100 years of conservation and recreation in 2024.

Endangered Blanding's turtles are getting head-start help from the McHenry County Conservation District.

Many species of insects and animals call DeKalb County home. Click on the photo to see images of a few of them.

Coyotes, owls, an orphaned beaver and others are being given a second chance at life thanks to a wildlife rescue service that has called DeKalb County home since 1984. Forty years on, Oaken Acres has become the third largest wildlife center in Illinois.

Temperatures in the 90s didn't stop area residents and wildlife from enjoying the outdoors on Saturday, June 22, 2024.

Sunset Views residents Cindy Braden and Abby Drommerhausen are tired of seeing turtles in their neighborhood get run over by cars, and are taking matters into their own hands by raising money to install turtle crossing signs.

After two rabid bats were discovered recently in Will and Cook counties, health officials are warning to residents to avoid exposure to the deadly virus.

A Canada mother goose protects her nest that she made at the top of a mulch pile in the Sullivans grocery store parking lot on Tuesday, April 23, 2024 in Princeton. The goose has been there for about two-weeks. It takes 28-35 days for the eggs to hatch. Canadian geese are protected under the Migratory Bird Act and nests cannot be tampered with.

Besides particle physics research, Fermilab has also long provided a habitat for American bison. The Fermilab herd currently consists of 24 cows and two bulls.

A bald eagle took some time to hang out in a puddle in a farmers field near Bethany Road in DeKalb. The heavy rains recently have created a lot of standing water in fields in the area.

The program, originally scheduled for Jan. 17 and hosted by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, was postponed to February when Mother Nature swept the region with a winter storm.

The fourth annual Flock to the Rock took place Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024, in Rock Falls.

The animals at Big Run Wolf Ranch in Lockport will be getting a new expanded enclosure soon, thanks in part to 100 Women Who Care Will County.

The event is being sponsored by the Prairie Preservation Society of Ogle County

National Wildlife Refuge Week runs from Oct. 8-14.

Rabid bats have been found in Will County and the surrounding areas, prompting the health department to advise residents to take extra precautions.

A new facility at Willowbrook Wildlife Center gives animals room to thrive

People and wildlife alike are stopping by the sunflowers fields at Shabbona Lake State Recreation Area near Shabonna in DeKalb County.

The only thing thing out-of-the-ordinary about this urban Mallard love nest is its location.

Many bird species show us that clothes – I mean feathers – really do make the man.

Last year, this local wildlife rescue group took in between 800 and 900 animals that found themselves in unfortunate circumstances, usually due to some sort of human action or interaction.

The Forest Preserve District of Will County will host its annual Eagle Watch program on Jan. 14 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Four Rivers Environmental Education Center, located at 25055 W. Walnut Lane in Channahon.

But Will County residents can take steps to protect themselves and theird birds.

'Everyone knew that beard and that hat’

Kathy Stelford founded Oaken Acres Wildlife Center in Sycamore on April 1, 1984