Illinois Wildlife
Thriving with wildlife, Illinois is home to hundreds of species of animals. Everywhere you go, there will always be some type of wildlife near you. Land animals such as the wild turkey and the white-tailed deer can be found in the thick of Illinois’ forests. Also, there are many types of birds that you can see soaring through the sky, like the mallard duck. If you cast a line, you are likely to catch a fish such as a largemouth bass, channel catfish, or bluegill. Running, flying, or swimming, you can find land animals, birds, and fish living among their environment.
Wild Turkey
Throughout history, the wild turkey has been a very important bird. Native Americans hunted it for thousands of years. When the Europeans arrived to North America, they only domesticated two species of birds: the wild turkey and the muscovy duck. It is so special that Ben Franklin went to Congress to say that the wild turkey should be our national bird (“Wild” para. 1). Due to over hunting in the early 1900’s, the wild turkey was completely wiped out. In the 1940’s, they took wild turkeys from other countries to a location with a recovering habitat suitable for the wild turkey to survive. Today, they can be found in all of the contiguous United States plus Hawaii (“Wild” para. 2). Wild Turkeys have a very unique appearance. The male, called a tom, is a couple of pounds heavier than the female, called a hen. Only a tom strutts. Strutting is when a tom spreads his fan to show off for the hens. Also, every tom has a beard. The beard is a length of hair that grows from their chest. In a few cases, a female turkey can grow a beard, but it is very rare. The tom’s head is mainly red with a little blue and red while a hens head is a very brig...
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...many different species of animals. While you are exploring the woods, you may stumble upon a wild turkey or a white-tailed deer. Soaring in the sky, mallard ducks can always be found flying from body of water to body of water. The largemouth bass, channel catfish, and bluegill are just some of the species of fish that can be found in Illinois. Plentiful with natural resources, endless species of wildlife can be found in the beauty of nature.
Works Cited
"Animals - Animal Pictures - Wild Animal Facts - Nat Geo Wild - National Geographic." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2014.
"Fishing in Illinois-Sportfish." Fishing in Illinois-Sportfish. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2014.
Twesten, Gary. "Mallard." Wildlife Ecology; a Guide to the Ecological Approach of Studying the Wildlife of the Central United States. Belleville, IL: Record Printing, 1973. 444. Print.
United States. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 2010. Web. .
"Introduction for Creating Habitats and Homes for Illinois Wildlife." DNR. Web. 14 Sept. 2011. .
The film “Iowa- An American Portrait” was narrated by Tom Brokaw. It described the land, people, education, work, religion, and family life of Iowa. One of the main topics of the film was the general view of Iowa- the Farm State. Iowa has more than two- hundred- thousand farms; ninety- eight percent of Iowa’s total land is used for production; with ninety percent of total land being used for the production of food.
DUI’s vision is, “…wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever.” The site’s main focus stays true to DUI’s vision; protecting important waterfow...
In 1913 legendary football coach, Robert Zuppke, coached football for the University of Illinois (“Illinois” para. 1). Robert Zuppke led their 1914 football season to be undefeated! This created many more fans for the college football team (“Illinois” para.1). For 29 years Robert zuppke coached and he and his team won four national titles in the years of 1914, 1919, 1923, 1927 (“College” para. 8). Illinois third football coach, Edward Hall, had wrote the football code for proper conduct of players (“College” para. 14). From the years of 1971 through 1976 Bob Blackman was a football coach in Illinois (“College” para. 4). NFL stars Larry McCarren, Scott Studwell, and Revie Sorey were some of the players that Bob Blackman coached (“College” para. 4). Some coaches like George Woodruff only coached 1 season at the University of Illinois (“College” para. 11). Other coaches led the team to many victories though like Pete Elliott did in 1963 (“College” para. 3).
U.S. Department of the interior, National Park Service. (2013). Endangered Species. Retrieved from website: http://www.nature.nps.gov/biology/endangeredspecies/index.cfm
The author provides information describing the deer population in parts of New Jersey; yet, he does not include any data regarding the population in the rest of the United States, nor does he include any sources of where this information was obtained. A reader may be more
White tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are one of the most common species of mammals seen in North America, the most common of large animals actually. The last official count of deer in the USA and Canada was done in 1982, at which time 15000000 were found at an average of 3 deer in every square kilometer. The deer are very much native and were hunted even by Native Americans.
Great blue herons, Sandhill cranes common yellowthroat warblers, and even Bald Eagles are found wading, fishing, or nesting in the mudflats and reeds of the Lake Erie wetlands. The Lake Erie's marsh is particularly important globally because this is where migratory birds stop on their long journeys including more than 30 species of shorebirds, waterfowl, tundra swans, canvasbacks, red-breasted Mergansers, and songbirds. While birds flock to the mud flats and vegetation, fish spawn in the wetland shallows. With the exception of the Gulf coast, no other region of eastern North America can demonstrate concentrations of avian migrants like Lake Erie’s coastline. 75 to 90% of Great Lakes fish species use wetlands as a nursery ground, allowing species like the walleye, muskellunge, large-mouth Bass, northern pike, and many
Zartman, R. (2012, February 13). Interview by D. Housholder [Personal Interview]. Fox Island animal information , Fort Wayne, IN.
...ds, on a fishing trip, or just on a relaxing drive. Plants can also be found in your yard, in the woods, or along the rural backroads of Illinois. Illinois’ wildlife is one of the most interesting and unique characteristics about Illinois. Next time you take a walk in the woods or cruise in your car on a Sunday look for these amazing creatures that live in your local area.
Whitetail deer are said to be the most commonly hunted animal in North America. Throughout history, people that have lived in America have always wanted this animal for its meat and skin. With the large increase of hunters, our government has made rules and regulations to maintain the population of the famed whitetail deer.
“Fish and Game Warden”. What’s Next Illinois. Illinois Student Assistance Commission, 2014.Web. 7 April 2014.
The study area consisted of Latah and Benewoh in Idaho, USA. The research used a total of 105 sites to collect data; ranking the areas from lowest to highest elevation. The methods implemented in this research consisted of wetland sampling, mail survey and habitat modelling. The combined results allowed for better insight for the conservation of these species. The first section of the experiment consist...
Sikes, Roberts. and William L. Gannon. "Guidelines of the American Society of Mammalogists for the Use of Wild Mammals in Research." Journal of Mammalogy 92.1 (Feb. 2011): 235-253. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 5 Oct. 2011.