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White-tailed deer are the only Illinois animals that grow antlers, and only males grow them. Antlers fall off each winter and regrow, sometimes growing a quarter-inch a day. Deer are related to elk, moose and caribou, which also grow antlers. Elk antlers can grow an inch daily, and moose can grow a pound of antler tissue a day. Caribou are unique because both males and females grow antlers.

Male cardinals are bright red while females are pale brown with red highlights. Their red beaks and tinges of red on their crests, wings, and tails help tell them apart. Cardinals are easy to spot and well loved. Seven states including Illinois have named the cardinal their state bird.

Opossums play dead when threatened by lying still with their teeth showing for minutes or even hours. Before that, they may hiss, growl, and show their teeth. This behavior is not a choice but an automatic response, similar to fainting in humans.

Those spinning helicopters you see each spring are called samaras, the seeds of maple trees. Their winged shape helps them gently whirl to the ground. Norway, red, and silver maples produce the most. They’re fun to toss in the air and watch spin, and if conditions are right, they can even grow into new maple trees.

Beaver’s front teeth, called incisors, never stop growing, so they must gnaw on hard surfaces like wood to shave them down. Their incisors appear to be yellow because of the iron present on their incisors tooth enamel, which also makes them tuff and resistant to acid. Beavers’ incisors are sharp and historically made for perfect tools 11,000 years ago.

Not all ducks quack only female mallards make the classic quacking sound, while males make a quieter raspy noise. Mallards are common around waterways, but feeding them bread or crackers isn’t healthy. These foods are like junk food and not part of their natural diet. In the wild, mallards eat plant matter, insects and crustaceans.

There are about 1,000 different kinds of tardigrades, or moss piglets, in the world, but only one can be found in Illinois - the Milnesium tardigradum. They can survive extreme conditions, even in outer space, and can live just about anywhere. Moss piglets live in moss, lichens, and freshwater and are fierce, microscopic predators with eight clawed legs, a straw-like mouth, and a soft cuticle. They can survive years without water or food, reanimating when moisture returns.

Real maple syrup comes from maple trees. In late winter or early spring, trees are tapped to collect clear and slightly sweet sap. The sap is mostly water, about 98 percent, so it is cooked to evaporate the water and leave behind sweet syrup. It takes about 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. Real maple syrup is thin like water and much sweeter than imitation syrup found in stores.

Rings around the sun or moon, called halos, form when light passes through ice crystals in high cirrus clouds. These 22-degree circles are usually white but can show faint color. Moon halos may signal rain as the clouds often come before storms. Sundogs are rainbow-like spots beside the sun and sun pillars are vertical beams of light seen at sunrise or sunset. All are caused by sunlight interacting with ice crystals in the atmosphere.

Red-headed and red-bellied woodpeckers are often confused, but they look quite different. Red-headed woodpeckers have fully red, deep crimson heads and bold black-and-white bodies. Red-bellied woodpeckers have red patches on their heads and faint red bellies that are hard to see. Both live in wooded areas, nest in dead trees, and eat insects and plant matter. Red-bellied woodpeckers visit feeders more often, while red-headed woodpeckers rarely do.

Raccoons are omnivores that eat both plants and animals. In spring and summer, they mainly eat insects, birds, small mammals, and turtles. In fall and winter, they add fruits, grains, and seeds to their diet. In residential areas, raccoons often raid unsecured garbage cans for food scraps, earning them the nickname “trash pandas.”

Eastern gray squirrels love nuts and seeds and bury many for later. However, they forget some, which can grow into new trees and plants. By burying mostly healthy nuts and eating the damaged ones first, squirrels unintentionally help with reforestation. Their forgotten food plays an important role in spreading and growing new plants in the forest.

A blizzard isn’t just about heavy snow—it’s defined by strong winds causing blowing snow and low visibility. Winds must gust at least 35 miles per hour, reducing visibility to a quarter mile or less for three hours or more. Blizzards can happen with falling snow or when wind blows snow already on the ground, called a ground blizzard. This makes travel difficult and unsafe, even if no new snow is falling.

Great horned owls are the most familiar owls to many people, known for their iconic look and hooting call. Despite their name, they don’t have horns. The “horns” are feather tufts called plumicorns, not ears. Other owls like long-eared, short-eared and eastern screech owls also have them, but great horned owls have the most prominent ones, which is how they got their name.

Eastern cottontail rabbits, named for their fluffy white tails, are common in Illinois. Females can have multiple litters a year, and it’s normal to find nests of baby rabbits. Don’t worry — the mother hasn’t abandoned them. To avoid attracting predators, she visits the nest only twice a day. The babies leave the nest at about three weeks old.

Bald eagles, our national bird, are known for their white heads, brown bodies, and yellow beaks—but they aren’t born that way. It takes about five years for young eagles to develop the iconic white head and tail. Juveniles are mostly brown with mottled wings. Despite their name, bald eagles aren’t truly bald—their white heads are fully feathered. The name comes from the Old English word “balde,” meaning white.

Crows and ravens are all-black birds often mistaken for each other, both unfairly seen as bad omens. In Illinois, you’re likely seeing a crow, as ravens are rare here. Ravens are much larger, have shaggy throat feathers, large, curved beaks, and make a croaking sound, not a caw. In flight, crows have fan-shaped tails and flap often, while ravens soar with wedge-shaped tails. Crows gather in flocks while ravens are usually seen in pairs.

Animals show love in many ways, from gift-giving to dancing and lifelong partnerships. Field crickets offer wings to mates, gray squirrels help build nests, and bald eagles and sandhill cranes mate for life and perform bonding dances. While it’s hard to define animal love like human love, these actions suggest deep connections.

Minks are powerful swimmers, climbers and hunters found near water across Illinois. With waterproof fur and sleek bodies, they hunt fish, frogs, birds and even beavers. Mostly nocturnal, they’re more visible in winter during mating season. Minks live in dens near water, often taking over muskrat burrows. They give birth in spring and raise 4 to 7 kits. Despite being top predators, they’re prey for coyotes, foxes and owls.

Fossils are rare remains or signs of ancient life, with some over 3 billion years old. Due to decomposition, fossil formations are very rare and need the right conditions to form. Less than 0.1% of organisms become fossils. There are four types: trace fossils (like footprints), mold fossils (imprints), cast fossils (replicas formed in molds), and true form fossils (actual body parts, often petrified, frozen or trapped). These fossils help scientists learn about life long ago.